I overwinter a host of plants in my cold dark basement. Every year I try new ones and am perennially amazed at what succeeds. Basically the idea is to trick a plant into dormancy, then keep it there. Cold-or at least coolness- helps. So does darkness. To survive, many plants need light, others need warmth,[...]
OK, so I’m a world-class procrastinator. That meant that the dwindling light of the other day found me outside, desperately preparing tender plants for their winter hibernation. Frost was coming, and a lot of my favorite plants do NOT like frost. That meant they had to come in. I’ve grown bananas in the ground[...]
October fairly well wraps up the season in my garden, but it goes out with a bang! We haven’t had a frost yet–which is odd (but I’m not complaining)-so things are looking mighty festive. Most of what’s happening is thanks to my annuals and tenders, along with a few perennials. Here’s a sampler. Above, we’ve got[...]
It’s tough for me to pick a plant of the month in October. Fall’s fiery finale is in full swing, and the garden’s ablaze with tropicals, annuals and a slew of late season perennials, all blooming like crazy, getting in their last licks before Jack Frost mows them down with his icy scythe. But I’m going[...]
I wrote last month about my affinity for big leaves. I love the really massive ones, like the butterburr above. Those that create instant focal points, that raise the bar for potentially dramtic foliage groupings and that add the tropical pizzaz I’m after to transform my gardens into the landscape of my imagination. Last time out, I[...]