Spring Into Action
The mailbox has been brimming with seed and gardening catalogs for the past month or two. If you are a gardener, no doubt you are like a toddler anxiously awaiting Christmas.
Flowering Vines
There's something irresistibly romantic about a split-rail fence softened with intense clove-scented sweetpeas. Flowering vines of all sorts add an extravagant air to outdoor living areas.
Summer Vegetables
Who can resist just-picked home-grown vegetables? Not only are vitamins at their peak, but the taste is exquisite and wholesome, quite unlike vegetables that have been shipped hundreds of miles to your supermarket.
Basil
Whether you say bay-zil, and I say baa-zil, there's one thing everyone will agree on. Juicy, sun-warmed tomato chunks mixed with olive oil, freshly torn basil and garlic spooned over hot pasta is truly a feast sublime.
Parsley
Parsley, (Petroselinum crispum) a member of the carrot family, is a lot more than a decorative green bit on the side of a restaurant plate. The Greeks and Romans knew parsley well as a medicinal plant and a seasoning.
Discover Dill
Dill (Anethum graveolens), a member of the carrot family, has been a favorite culinary herb for centuries. It is valued both for its flavorful foliage and for its pungent seeds.
Annual Attraction
Say "flowers" and most people think "annuals." Of course there are all kinds of flowering plants for residential landscapes.Perennials, vines, shrubs, trees - they all have flowers.
It's The Dirt
To the uninitiated, gardening seems to be all about plants. Certainly each of the seemingly infinite variety of trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables and grasses is fascinating.
Plant Genealogy
Some people think all new varieties are hybrids. This is not true. There are new flowers and vegetables introduced each year that are open pollinated (OP) varieties.
Back to Basics: How to Start Seeds Indoors
Gardening is a wonderful pastime and filling your garden with plants you started yourself from seeds simply doubles the pleasure. If you think growing from seed is difficult and takes too much time and equipment, the steps and tips here will dispel those apprehensions.
Sow What? Annuals!
Serious gardeners plant perennials not annuals, right? Well, yes and no. They plant perennials for beauty that returns from one year to the next, but they also indulge in annuals to bring season-long color to the garden. Annuals
Tropical Times-A Garden From Seeds
The lush landscapes of the tropics seem unattainable to most gardeners but the lure is irresistible. Actually, many of the plants we use regularly in the garden come from tropical climates — we simply think of them and use them as annuals.
Nurturing Seed To Bloom
The tragic events of the 11th of September 2001 changed the world, the way we view it, and how we relate to it. In the aftermath, more and more people are seeking solace and tranquility-their own quiet personal space. Many have turned to gardening for solace. Any time spent in the garden is beneficial-to the gardener, humanity in general, and to the Earth.
Vegetables - The Fresher, The Better
Even in the dead of winter, you can recall the juiciness and delightful sweetness that burst forth in your mouth, as you tasted the first sun-warmed cherry tomato picked straight from your garden. The first bite is most memorable, yet the superb flavor is there in every tomato you harvest through the season. In fact, the quintessence of any homegrown vegetable or fruit is superior to comparable store-bought veggies, or even those purchased at a farm stand. The fresher, the better-taste, texture, and especially nutrients.
Great Gardeners Use Seed - Everything Old Is New Again
It is curious that at the same time modern hybrid plants are getting attention, heirlooms are garnering more appeal among home gardeners. So, what are heirlooms? They are cultivated plant varieties that have been grown for at least 50 years, time-tested and open-pollinated. Chiefly of European descent, heirloom seeds have been passed down from one generation to the next. Through the centuries, people selected out and conserved seeds of those plants with enhanced characteristics such as flavor, vigor, scent, and local hardiness. Heirloom seeds were often among the few belongings immigrants brought to America. Many heirlooms are still being kept in families and some are now available to gardeners everywhere.
Fall and Winter Greens & Reds & More
When the trees begin to show fall colors, your garden can too. Unless you live in a mild winter climate, you may not have thought about planting for a fall harvest that can continue even into the winter.
Great Gardeners Use Seed™ Program Takes The Mystery Out Of Gardening
The National Garden Bureau, through its Great Gardeners Use Seed™ program, will be distributing information that emphasizes the ease of starting flowers and vegetables from seed for home gardeners. The campaign will use information, instruction, and promotion through the Bureau and member companies to encourage gardeners young and old to explore the benefits of starting their plants from seed.
Why Garden? The National Garden Bureau's Top Ten
Cell phones, PDAs, and MP3 players have become the tools of our modern lives. But it wasnt that long ago that a shovel, a patch of soil and a bag of seeds were the only tools needed to provide sustenance and satisfaction. Gardening was a part of daily life. Ask any gardener today why they garden and youll get a variety of reasons why its important to them.
