Home & Garden category, Page 14
Your houseplants are getting hungry
No matter what the weather outdoors, plants indoors are getting hungrier and thirstier this time of year. How are you going to give them the food they need to keep growth apace with burgeoning sunlight? If the plants are new to your home or you just repotted them, the potting...
Take note now, plant new bulbs in the fall
The stunning color of the first crocus flowers fills our hearts with joy. The cheery blooms mark the start of the garden season. But the only way to get them is by planting the bulbs in the fall. Why talk about that job now? Because this is the time to...
Timing is everything when it comes to spring planting
With two days of rain in the forecast, and warmer weather on the horizon, the perfect combination was in place to begin planting the spring garden. It’s exhilarating to be back in the cool soil after another long winter. Although traditionally St. Patrick’s Day has been the benchmark for an...
Blume Honey Waters founder spreads the word about bees, pollinators
Spring’s arrival brings the return of flowering plants and trees to western Pennsylvania that serve as pollinators for thousands of bees that produce honey to enrich people’s lives. That’s good news for business owner Michele Meloy Burchfield, co-founder and CEO of Blume Honey Water, who depends on the natural sweetener...
Friends of Flight 93 seek volunteers for annual Plant a Tree effortVideo
The Friends of Flight 93 are closing in on a goal of planting 150,000 seedlings over 10 years, with the project at the Flight 93 National Memorial site expected to conclude in just a few years. This year’s Plant a Tree effort will be held April 26-27, and interested volunteers...
How a horticulturist patented a unique climbing hydrangea
Dan Benarcik was handing out little cuttings of a fascinating variegated climbing hydrangea he introduced called ‘Firefly.’ It was at a convention of garden writers more than 15 years ago and looking down at the little plant wrapped in plastic that I became obsessed with the variety, falling in love...
Phipps spring flower show is ‘all about color’
Colors aren’t a hot topic this time of year in Pittsburgh. It’s a city consistently ranked among the dreariest in the nation – except for gray, as in gray skies, and winter blues, although that’s more of a feeling than a shade on the color spectrum. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical...
Spring is in the air with Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania show
As the days lengthen and green shoots push up from the earth, the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania welcomes the approaching spring with its annual show on March 16-17. For the first time, the show will be held at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh in Mt. Lebanon. Fans of orchids should...
Plant for the pollinators
Last summer I had the pleasure of watching a fat bumblebee joyfully buried deep in the center of an orange tithonia blossom, covering itself with pollen. The insect was oblivious to me as I moved in closer and closer to photograph the spectacle while standing in the garden barefoot on...
Indoor seeding for gardeners program set at Mt. Pleasant Public Library
Gardeners itching to plant and bring forth spring’s green can get a head start at 6 p.m. March 20, when the Mt. Pleasant Public Library, 120 S. Church St., presents a program on indoor seed starting. Presenter and local garden designer Martha Oliver will discuss timing and supplies needed, along...
Magnolia Plantation tells 2 histories
Herb Frazier has spent a lifetime telling important stories, first as a newspaper journalist and now as public relations director for Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, S.C. It’s America’s oldest public garden, founded in 1676 by the Drayton family. It opened its doors to everyone in 1870, becoming Charleston’s...
All American Selections boast new and improved plants
The annual announcement of the latest All-America Selections means spring can’t be too far away. Any variety holding the coveted AAS-winning title has been through rigorous trials by volunteer judges from all over the country. Founded in 1932, with the first winners announced the next year, it’s the oldest independent...
Doug Oster speaking daily during Duquesne Light Home and Garden Show
Everybody Gardens editor Doug Oster will be appearing at the Duquesne Light Home and Garden Show from March 1-10, speaking every day. The event is held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Oster will be speaking from the Green Thumb Stage, which is on the first floor, in...
Discover 5 great plants for hummingbirds
As you plan your garden for the coming season, consider including some annuals, perennials, and vines that attract and support hummingbirds. These tiny little birds are summer residents of Pennsylvania, and they require particular flowering plants from which they can access nectar. If you’re lucky, a family of hummers will...
Keys to preventing black spot on roses
Question: My mom and I are big fans of your and Doug’s show on KDKA radio. I was listening last Sunday morning, and an organic black spot prevention product was mentioned. I wasn’t able to write it down at the time and forgot the name of it. I would really...
Here are the secrets to getting those big, blue hydrangea blooms
Hydrangea expert and author Lorraine Ballato has just spent 10 minutes telling me how difficult it is to make the plant bloom in a northern climate. Asked then why her property was filled with countless varieties of the shrub, she laughs and says, “Because my heart belongs to them.” The...
Think spring with a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show
In late winter, a gardener’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … the Philadelphia Flower Show. Billed as the “oldest and largest indoor flower show in the world,” the annual harbinger of spring is scheduled for March 2-10 in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Drawing more than 250,000 visitors...
Foodscape expert Brie Arthur to speak at Uniontown program
Noted horticulturist and foodscape expert Brie Arthur will speak at a March 23 program in Uniontown. Hosted by Penn State Master Gardeners of Fayette County, the event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Grayson House at 157 Riggin Hill Road. Arthur will discuss how to interplant ornamentals with...
White-flowering shrubs add understated drama to the garden
White gardens, including the most famous example at Sissinghurst Castle in England, are dramatic in the most understated of ways. A collection of plants with green and gray foliage that produce only white blooms, white gardens are one of the most elegant ways to combine plants. While your own backyard...
Rose of Sharon isn’t fussy about how or when it’s pruned
Question: We have a hedge of Rose of Sharon plants down the side of our driveway. They’re getting a little overgrown. They’re also very thick because they’ve spread by seed, too. What is the best time to prune them, and how do we do it? Answer: Unlike most other trees...
Step into the tropics during Phipps annual orchid, bonsai show
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens knows how to brighten up a cold winter’s day in Pittsburgh. Its annual Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show, “Eye Candy” — which opens Jan. 12 and runs through March 10 — is a treat for the senses, spotlighting more than 1,000 orchid blooms and some...
