EVER BEMOAN HOW MUCH POTTING SOIL it takes to fill a really big pot, and how much it all adds up to at the nursery checkout counter? If I’m going to grow something big, or something in there longterm, I’m happy to fill a container up with fresh, high-quality potting soil. But some plants don’t stay in the pot long enough or have big enough root systems to warrant the wasted medium, and money. I employ a bit of trickery in the form of a false bottom for the pot, and here’s how: [read more…]
container gardening
It needn't be an "annual" to belong in a pot. From "houseplants" doing outdoor summer duty to all manner of edibles and tropicals and even perennials, shrubs and young trees, the moveable garden.
how trash helps me save on potting soil
May 4, 2010 at 12:02 am
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growing fancy-leaf begonias, indoors and out
March 12, 2010 at 6:55 pm
IN LATE WINTER ‘YOU JUST TRY TO KEEP THEM BARELY ALIVE,’ Mobee Weinstein said the other day when we met at a professional event. I was lamenting my winter-weary collection back at home, and consoled to hear from a pro that I wasn’t abusing my begonias, plants that Mobee, longtime foreman of gardeners for the New York Botanical Garden, introduced me to early on in our gardening careers. My begonias are at their lowpoint foliage-wise but some are flowering anyhow—tis the season. What courageous, forgiving members of my household and garden. [read more…]
soldier on, yucca ‘color guard’
November 18, 2009 at 4:55 pm
IAM NOT SURE IF YUCCA ‘COLOR GUARD’ EVER HAS A BAD DAY, hair or otherwise. This flashy, white-whiskered creature is regarded as among the best in a genus of plants that I didn’t even like, or grow, until this variety came along. Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’ is a must when a never-say-stop attitude and a lot of color-power is called for—much appreciated right about now, with the garden going largely toned-down. [read more…]
annual keepers: things i’ll re-order next year
October 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm
IT WAS A HARD YEAR FOR ANNUALS HERE: crazy rains and no heat to speak of. But one plant that impressed me (and still is, despite several nights lately in the high 30s), was an impatiens called ‘Fusion Glow’ (above). As I take the garden apart for winter, I’m keeping a list of good plants like this I’ll want to have again, because my memory sometimes tricks me by the time spring and annual-shopping roll around. [read more…]
brrrr! overwintering tips for tender plants
September 25, 2009 at 12:36 pm
A THREAT OF FROST LAST WEEKEND sent me scurrying to haul in the houseplants, and though it was a false alarm, it’s time: time to make plans for them and for other tender things like cannas and bananas, cordyline and a favorite pelargonium or two in hopes that what I call these “investment plants” (not perennial on their own, but carried over year to year with extra effort by me) are still around come spring. With frost warnings posted here again tonight, what better day to offer tips for how to overwinter some favorites? [read more…]
august-tour aftermath: any more incoming feet?
August 23, 2009 at 11:33 am
SOMEONE FELL ASLEEP IN A CHAIR LAST NIGHT AT 8, but this toad (loyal old tight-lipped friend that he is) is not saying who. In fact, he’s not saying much today other than good morning, before hopping away to hide behind the big pots in case carloads of people arrive at the gate for any more garden tours. We’re exhausted, as is the garden, but in case you weren’t here during or between storms yesterday for Copake Falls Day, we’ll give you a little look around. [read more…]
a milder-mannered cousin of begonia ‘bonfire’
July 12, 2009 at 8:50 am
I AM KEEPING MY EYE ON BEGONIA ‘BELLFIRE,’ A MILDER-MANNERED COUSIN of ‘Bonfire,’ whom we all agree is delightful, but whose hot-orange flowers can be a bit too insistent for some designs. With coral flowers and reddish-olive foliage, my two little plants of ‘Bellfire’ (above) are so far, so good. Shall we review a few really good begonias to believe in? [read more…]
out with the old: goodbye pansies, hello…?
June 12, 2009 at 11:21 am
T HE BIG BOWL OF PANSIES by Jack the Demon Cat’s cabin was nice while it lasted, but enough’s enough: Bring on the summer replacements; bring on a whole mix of goodies that looked interesting at the garden center to make some pots full of promise for the hot months ahead. (Waste not, want not, though: The pansies had their last hurrah on the windowsill this week, to help me celebrate my birthday. Now they’re doing their thing in the compost.) See a slideshow of what I’ve got assembled for my summer pots. [read more…]
tour aftermath: 375 visitors, 1 million questions
June 1, 2009 at 4:07 pm
A BOUT 375 VISITORS AND A MILLION QUESTIONS LATER, Jack and I are resting comfortably—Jack in his giant terra cotta bowl out back (lined with kitty bedding, thank you), me in my favorite chair. Garden Conservancy Open Days are over (“Thanks goodness,” he says, in the funny way he talks), and it is possible we may not get up for quite some time. But before our next nap, a recap…in words and also in a slideshow…of new friends who visited from as far as Canada and Seattle, of the most-popular plants, and the most-asked questions (and their answers): [read more…]
