Jessica Walliser stories

Early spring is a great time to start planning your plantings for the coming season. Look over photos of your garden from last year to see where blank spaces occur or where the design of your flower plantings could be elevated. One of the most wonderful opportunities we have to...

Question: Like everyone else, I’m stuck at home and itching to do some work in the garden. What can I do this time of year that isn’t jumping the gun? I can’t spread mulch because there’s none available yet and I think the ground is still too wet. Is it...

If you enjoy eating carrots and growing them in your garden, I encourage you to try your hand at cultivating parsnips, too. They’re one of my family’s favorite root crops. Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are in the same plant family as carrots, celery, parsley, and dill (Apiaceae). They are all biennial...

Question: I’m looking to add some more bee-friendly perennial plants to my flower garden this summer. Can you make some recommendations? It would be a bonus if the deer don’t eat them, but I know that’s a tough request! Answer: Kudos to you for wanting to provide more nectar-foraging plants...

Arugula is a salad green that adds a punch of peppery spice to salads. It’s also surprisingly delicious cooked. While you may think it’s difficult to grow simply for the fact that the word “gourmet” is often associated with it, arugula is quite easy to grow in home gardens, raised...

Question: What is it about plants that makes it possible for you to grow them from a cutting rather than having to always start them from seed? I’m planning to expand my garden this season and want to grow a ton of new plants from cuttings and divide the plants...

Over the next few weeks, gardeners everywhere will take on the challenge of starting their own seeds. Whether it’s sowing seeds of your favorite heirloom tomato variety, planting herb seeds, or starting a collection of annuals like sunflowers, cosmos, or marigolds, it’s one of our most favorite times of the...

Question: Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers to grow. This year, I’d like to try growing a few of the climbing types. Are they easy to grow from seed or will I need to buy transplants somewhere? Answer: Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are a favorite of many gardeners. Their glossy...

Homegrown tomatoes are one of the garden’s greatest gifts. And for those of us who make and preserve our own tomato sauce and soup, paste tomatoes are particularly special. Also known as sauce tomatoes, these elongated varieties have flesh that is very dry and meaty with few seeds. This, combined...

Question: I just found out that geraniums aren’t actually geraniums! I’ve been growing them in a porch pot for years and didn’t realize there’s also a perennial called a geranium. What’s the difference between them and are the perennial ones worth growing? Answer: When most gardeners read the name “geranium,”...

For many gardeners, cauliflower is a challenging vegetable to grow. Not only do cabbage worms find it irresistible, but it can be persnickety to grow, requiring just the right weather and soil conditions to thrive. Today, I’d like to offer you some cauliflower- growing tips to help increase your chances of...

Question: Everyone in my family takes elderberry syrup in the winter because there’s evidence that it is antiviral and helps fight against the flu. We’d like to start growing our own elderberries and making our own syrup. Are there particular varieties we should grow? Answer: Elderberry (Sambucus spp.) plants have...

Purple coneflowers are a favorite among many gardeners. Known botanically as Echinacea purpurea, this North American native perennial produces colorful magenta blooms in late summer and is a butterfly and bee magnet. While the straight species of this plant is my personal favorite, there are many cultivars and varieties that...

Question: We always have spider mites on our flowering garden phlox and a few other perennials in the summer. The leaves look speckled with tiny pin-pricks of white, and we can see their webs on the undersides of the leaves. We’ve read that spraying can lead to other problems (and...

Winter is a rest period for the garden (and the gardener), but it’s also a time when we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors. I’m not talking about biting into a freshly picked tomato or a sweet, ripe strawberry; instead, I’m talking about enjoying winter storage vegetables. These...

We would love to grow a redbud in our backyard, but we’ve heard that their life spans aren’t very long. Are they still worth growing? If so, can you give us any tips for success? One of my favorite harbingers of spring is the redbud tree. Though we’re a few...

Question: Please help! I just noticed that my wild plum tree in my backyard has some sort of fungus growing on it. Is there anything I can do, or is it diseased beyond repair? It was healthy this summer with many blooms. It has been in my yard for at...

Gogi berries (Lycium barbarum) are the latest super fruits. They’re high in antioxidants and nutrients, and several cultures dry the berries and use them for medicinal purposes as well. They are said to support immune function and regulate blood pressure. Nightshade- family cousins of the tomato, pepper and eggplant, goji berries...

Question: Several of my jade plants have developed black spots as well as places on the edge or middle of the leaf that totally dry up. I’ve never encountered anything like this and feel it must be some kind of weird virus. I’ve been spraying with a biofungicide and also...

If you’d like to try something new in your fruit and vegetable garden this year, how about growing alpine strawberries? These little jewels are so much sweeter and more flavorful than large-fruited strawberry species. Plus, they’re easy to grow and require less space. Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are small in...

Question: Our spring vegetable garden is filled with lettuce, arugula, spinach and many other salad greens, but by the time summer rolls around, they always go to seed and leave us without salads for the rest of the season. Can you recommend some edible salad greens we can grow in...

Grafting is a centuries-old craft in which a person takes pieces from two or more different plants and grafts them together so they grow as one plant. The grafting process is performed because it brings multiple positive traits from separate plants into a single plant. It’s a technique that can...

Question: My husband installed an arbor over the entrance to our patio from the side yard. It’s big and very sturdy. I’m considering planting a trumpet vine there because I love the hummingbirds, but I’m not sure if there’s a better option available. Do you have other ideas or should...

Among the most popular houseplants today is the fairy washboard (Haworthia limifolia). This compact succulent plant stays small, making it a great choice for a windowsill, desk or bedside table. The plant reaches about 4 inches in height and width. Its ease of care is another endearing factor, along with...

Question: Help! I have a fiddle leaf fig in my front window that I adore. It has tiny bumps all over the stems and the floor beneath the plant is sticky. I did an internet search, and I believe I have an issue with scale insects. What can be done...