Ticks
When working outdoors we should tuck our pant legs into our socks, wear long sleeves, and use tick repellent often and liberally.
May 26, 2022•2 min
Focus on Flowers
Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.
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Episodes
Lavender Means Devotion
Many of us had grandmothers who used lavender as their signature fragrance.
May 20, 2022•2 min
No Red Needed
Research shows that despite the commonly held idea that hummingbirds love red, that is not the case.
May 19, 2022•2 min
Plant Them Now
Spring is a time to plant perennial chrysanthemums. They'll mature during the summer and produce breathtaking fall color in your garden.
May 12, 2022•2 min
Larkspur
I would not be without my annual larkspur, which I have enjoyed year after year and some often self-seed and return, but in order to be sure, I always buy some seeds. I don't want to risk a year without it!
May 06, 2022•2 min
Growing Roses
While roses take care, trial and error over time will help a gardener learn which varieties thrive best in their climate.
May 05, 2022•2 min
Magnolia x soulangiana
There is a large number of more modern hybrid cultivars now available, and some produce flowers in other shades such as white, rose, magenta, burgundy, and purple.
Apr 29, 2022•2 min
No Dividing Dicentra
If you want to minimize work in the garden, you can try to plant perennials that do not like to be disturbed and so never need to be divided.
Apr 28, 2022•2 min
Sequencing Iris Blooms
I read of a grower in lower New York who has iris in bloom continuously from February until the end of July.
Apr 21, 2022•2 min
Hepatica acutiloba
A walk in the woods in early April, when the air is cool and crisp, allows us the delight of discovering sweet little flowers such as the sharp-lobed Hepatica.
Apr 14, 2022•2 min
Seductive Descriptions
“I have grown wise, after many years of gardening, and no longer order recklessly from wildly alluring descriptions, which make every annual sound easy to grow and as brilliant as a film star.” -Vita Sackville-West
Apr 07, 2022•2 min
Jeffersonia Diphylla
Twinleaf's botanical name celebrates a U.S. president who loved gardens, Thomas Jefferson.
Mar 31, 2022•2 min
Winning in Winter
As winter winds down, witch hazel is the shrub to watch.
Mar 24, 2022•2 min
Long-Lived Lilacs
Many of our best lilacs resulted from the work of Isabella Preston, who spent her career hybridizing plants.
Mar 17, 2022•2 min
Sheila Macqueen
I have been reading a book on flower arranging by Sheila Macqueen published in 1972 in England.
Mar 10, 2022•2 min
Women's Words
I have been reading a book about women gardeners in times past and find that they have wonderful wisdom to share.
Mar 03, 2022•2 min
Versatile Crocuses
Crocus sativus' stamens are the source of saffron. Henry I of England was so fond of saffron as a spice in food that he forebade ladies in his court from using it as a hair lightener.
Feb 24, 2022•2 min
Carefree Annuals
Many people want a low-maintenance garden, yet no garden is truly low maintenance, but one possibility is an informal garden of easy-care flowering annuals.
Feb 17, 2022•2 min
Celia Thaxter's Words
Celia Thaxter gardened on an island off the New England coast.
Feb 10, 2022•2 min
Groundhogs, Whistle Pigs, Woodchucks, Oh My!
Groundhogs, whistle pigs, woodchucks--whatever you call them, they hibernate all winter and wake up in the spring feeling ravenous, ready to eat your flowers.
Feb 03, 2022•2 min
Beatrix & Willie
When Beatrix died, she left over 4000 acres to The National Trust to be preserved forever in its natural state. Many visitors come from all over the world to England’s Lake District, looking for Peter Rabbit and his creator.
Jan 27, 2022•2 min
Potter's Pinks
“She is pleased with her Pinks."
Jan 20, 2022•2 min
Houseplants
Plants add vitality to our indoor living spaces.
Jan 13, 2022•2 min
Foundation Plantings
Select the largest herbaceous specimens that you can afford to plant. Otherwise, you may have a large house with tiny little blobs of green lined up in front of the structure for a long time.
Jan 06, 2022•2 min
Hardy Hellebores
Cold-season bloomers are rare in the flower world.
Dec 30, 2021•2 min
Squirrels
Squirrels are such fun to watch!
Dec 23, 2021•2 min
An Ancient Poem
James I of Scotland wrote a poem in 1413 describing his view of a densely screened pleasure garden set in a corner of the castle wall.
Dec 16, 2021•2 min
Wardian Boxes
Dr. Nathanial Ward, a naturalist and physician living in London, discovered a way to transport and protect plants from the sea air and adverse temperatures during long sea voyages.
Dec 09, 2021•2 min
More on Deer
In the fall deer start on the woody plants and most often go after evergreens in the winter.
Dec 02, 2021•2 min
Flower Arrangers Speak
Quotes from Violet Stevenson and Gertrude Jekyll.
Nov 25, 2021•2 min
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