At Hartley Botanic we have a good relationship with many knowledgeable garden writers both in the UK and USA â here you can enjoy reading their articles and gardening tips
May! At LAST! And all craziness in the garden has broken loose. The mantra in the Rockies is not to plant anything before May 14, or Motherâs Day, whichever is latest. This is, however, a newer rule. Consulting my trusty volume, How to have Good Gardens in the Sunshine States, published in 1957, the author, […]
I have tried to grow a lot of plants in my greenhouses. They have ranged from orchids to vines, from seasonal vegetables to perennial fruit and I have found that there are certain plants that or either difficult, invasive or just plain ornery when grown in the greenhouse. They range from plants that cannot stand […]
One of the secrets to success with plants is simpleâlook at the conditions where the plant has evolved in the world and then duplicate those as close as you can. This is true of both species and the cultivars and hybrids that are derived from them. By knowing whether they grew in damp or dry […]
Spring burst upon the scene this month, and was I ever glad to see it, as was just about everyone else I know in my part of the southwest, i.e. from the Rockies south thru the Sangre de Cristo mountains to Albuquerque. We had the errant snowfallâŚlike it lost its way then dropped a desultory […]
There are so many ways to enjoy strawberries, a bright-colored topping on your breakfast cereal being just one. So why not try your hand at growing them. Strawberries can be grown in pots, both inside and outside a greenhouse. Or you can grow them in the ground, either outdoors or in a greenhouse bed. If […]
There is never a perfect time to have knee replacement surgeryâŚor any surgery for that matter. However, for this gardener, May 1, 2024, was exactly the wrong time since it erased for all practical purposes an entire gardening year. Even now, as I write this, my right knee is complaining after just a brief totter […]
Space in a greenhouse is often at a premium. Traditionally, seed starting requires room on tables for multiple containers, heat mats, etc. So, when I found out that my colleague, Seattle garden journalist and speaker, Erica Browne Grivas was working with a new space-saving method, I was interested. Basically, it involves creating long rolls of […]
Last year the US Department of Agriculture released a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which is based on average minimum winter temperatures over the prior 10 years. Most locations were given a somewhat higher categorization on this new map to account for global warming. So, because of ongoing climate change, gardeners may be seeing earlier […]
âBy the Light, of the Silvery Moonâ was top of the charts in the early 1900s; a vaudeville standard that young lovers crooned to each otherâŚgiven the chance, which was often taken beneath a full moon to the gentle strum of a ukelele echoing across a gardenâs shrubbery depth, accompanied by a girlish giggle and […]
Many people use a greenhouse to start seeds, but where do you put all the potted-up plants when the greenhouse isnât large enough for them? An outdoor, raised bed can be an ideal location. Plus, with a few additions, the bed can be easily converted to a polytunnel or even a small, temporary greenhouse. The […]
Many gardeners are particular about protecting their hands with gloves for different jobs. But what about their feet? Anyone familiar with a greenhouse knows that the coolest part is at floor level. Boots or shoes can only go so far. If you stand around for any time on those floors, your feet will be getting […]
Iâve been a gardener since childhood. In England, as I was growing up, I tended the family garden while my dad traveled frequently for work. After I moved to the US, my wife and I bought land in Rhode Island. A Victorian-era house had previously been on the property, but it had long ago been […]
