MARGARET ROACH A WAY TO GARDEN

The words joy and delight figure prominently in writer Ross Gay’s work – and so do moments he spends in his garden, and descriptions of his relationship to plants.  Is that a coincidence — that the garden is a main character... Read More ›

It’s not time quite yet for what I call the mad stash – storing those non-hardy plants for the winter that we wish to keep alive for another year of service – but it is time to make some plans... Read More ›

The question “What do I do about the Asian jumping worms that are destroying my soil?” has outpaced what was the most common thing I was asked year in and out for decades as a garden writer—the relatively simple challenge... Read More ›

I saw news of a new book called “Pressed Plants” recently, and it got me thinking about my grandmother, and one of the many crafts she enjoyed way back when. Grandma made what she called “pressed flower pictures,” bits of... Read More ›

Maybe seven or eight years ago, in a conversation with landscape designer Claudia West, she said a sentence that has really stuck with me, as she explained her approach to selecting and combining plants.  “Plants are the mulch,” Claudia said... Read More ›

The term food forest, from the permaculture world, sounds big—like if I suggested you start one, you’d probably say, “I don’t have room for a forest of any kind.” But today’s guest bets that most of us who garden have room... Read More ›

I saw a video reel on social media the other day of a harvest of shallots, and it made me realize that I haven’t grown those delicious little Allium bulbs in forever—and who knows why.  The harvest video was on... Read More ›

Around this time each summer I look forward to the onslaught of fresh tomatoes—while at the same time hoping against hope that what I call “tomato troubles” don’t reveal themselves and get the upper hand.  I’ve been hearing from lots... Read More ›

We gardeners all know the experience of loss: of plants that don’t make it, for one reason or another—from a tomato felled by disease in a too-humid summer to a venerable old tree taken out by a nasty winter storm.... Read More ›

Succulents: You probably already grow some perennial ones in your garden, and perhaps others that aren’t hardy are among your favorite houseplants. But what if some of those indoor types started playing seasonal roles in the garden, too? That’s what... Read More ›

Can a historic formal space become the home to a forward-thinking landscape of native plants? The team at Stoneleigh, a five-year-old public garden on an old estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania, says the answer is an emphatic yes, and their horticultural... Read More ›

No doubt all of you who are listening, all you gardeners, would agree that interacting with plants, and with nature, has a restorative benefit—that it has the undeniable power to lift us up and make us feel better.  That idea—that... Read More ›

Summer has just officially arrived … and with it a whole new to-do list of tasks aimed at keeping the garden going in the best possible shape all season long. We’re succession sowing vegetables, of course, as the spinach and... Read More ›

How well do you really know the piece of land on which you live and garden, or the bigger landscape context it sits within—that forms your neighborhood, perhaps? A new book I’ve been reading called “These Trees Tell a Story:... Read More ›

When I spoke to naturalist and nature writer Nancy Lawson recently about her adventures in wildscaping at her Maryland garden, there was one topic in particular that I wanted to double back to, and dig in deeper: her tactics for fighting unwanted... Read More ›

I was remarking to my friend Ken Druse earlier this spring about a garden I’d just visited, and how the stands of primulas in it made me jealous, and crave more more more. But only a few primrose varieties are... Read More ›

I am crazy about pineapple lilies – bulbs in the genus Eucomis – and though in my Zone 5 garden they aren’t hardy, I can’t imagine a growing season without pots full of them. In his South Carolina garden and... Read More ›

Some of us plant a row or two of annuals for cutting, but Frances Palmer has taken the phrase “cutting garden” to the most delightful extreme. From the first spring bulbs to the final asters of fall, ceramic artist Frances... Read More ›

Our human-centric way of looking at things in the garden and tasting, hearing, seeing and touching things is just one person’s opinion, and hardly represents the consensus of all the living creatures whose home it is.  Today’s guest is naturalist... Read More ›

The time is approaching for my annual pass with the tractor through my little meadow on the hill above my house, the one time each year I really intervene in it, by mowing. Meadow making is an exercise in patience,... Read More ›

As a garden writer, I get a lot of questions every year basically asking this: What’s wrong with my (fill in the blank) plant? An accurate diagnosis is the critical first step before taking any corrective action…but how do gardeners... Read More ›

Marianne Willburn appreciates the bold and often vertical element that some favorite tropical plants add to her temperate garden. But maybe best of all are the ones that also provide that something extra: ingredients for cooking, which is her other... Read More ›

The days are longer and the light is strengthening—triggers that don’t just start to wake up our plants, indoors and out, but also get us gardeners going. The signals have my propagation-mad friend Ken Druse starting more seeds each week... Read More ›

Today’s guest says you can tell a lot about a tree by the company it keeps – from unseen microbes to fungi, countless insects and other arthropods, to vertebrates like birds, squirrels, and even porcupines. From soil life around their... Read More ›

Could your houseplants use a tuneup after a hard winter indoors? I know mine will need it, from re-potting, to light pruning, to full scale rejuvenation in some cases, so I wanted to get expert advice. Today’s guest has been... Read More ›

Each year the powers that be in the horticulture industry declare what the trends are—what color is “in” and what design styles we’re all meant to adhere to, and what plant is hot—or not. Today’s guest and I beg to... Read More ›

. It’s probably the question I am asked most: Gardeners want to go wilder and use more native plants to create habitat. But how do they figure out which plants, since it’s not one size fits all regions, or even... Read More ›

Like any gardener looking ahead to another growing season, I’m deep into the seed catalogs, dreaming of things to come. But many seeds also offer us a window to look back in time by telling us their stories, which are... Read More ›

Promises of less work with more garden productivity often raise my suspicions, perhaps sounding too good to be true—except when the subject is no-dig gardening.  The no-dig method of caring for our vegetable beds, which today’s guest, Charles Dowding, has... Read More ›

If you think you know what a cucumber is, think again. Spend even five minutes on the website of The Cucumber Shop, a passion project of today’s cucumber-mad guest Jay Tracy, and you will realize that you don’t. At all.... Read More ›

With the surge in interest in lawn alternatives and other native choices for groundcover, the genus Carex is always mentioned high up on the list. But which of these grass light perennials, most of them labeled as best suited to shade, can... Read More ›

Have you started browsing the incoming seed catalogs yet or clicking around their websites, looking to see if the 2023 lineups have been unveiled? Today’s guest, Lane Selman is always on the lookout for exceptional varieties of edibles, particularly those... Read More ›

It’s that time of year when we look both ways. Not left and right, like we’re crossing the road, but back and forward at the year just wound down, and ahead at the one coming into view. It’s a moment... Read More ›