For the past eight years, Jeff Lorenz and his team at Refugia, a landscape design-build firm, have been part of a quiet revolution in the Philadelphia suburbs. Little by little, they’re transforming yards, replacing traditional—and ecologically sterile—lawns with vibrant native gardens that teem with pollinators, handle weather extremes with ease, and flaunt their good looks four seasons of the year.
“We want to restore nature to neighborhoods by recreating the habitat that has been stripped out of most of our urban and suburban yards,” Lorenz says. Working with a native plant palette from the mid-Atlantic region, as well as some prairie species and varieties from southern locales, they design dynamic landscapes that are planted densely to create a lush web of vegetation, which cuts down on weeds. Since native plants are adapted to the region, they don’t require much intervention to thrive. They are also resilient, weathering drought (“They may go dormant for a bit, but they pop right back up”) and deluges caused by super storms (“It was unbelievable how they soaked up water like a sponge and mitigated flooding, unlike at neighboring properties”). “We like to say we put our plants to work,” Lorenz says.
As a result, pollinators flock to their gardens. “Within minutes of taking plants out for planting, you’ll see insects buzzing around the goldenrod,” says Lorenz. And that’s the point. “We called our company Refugia because that’s what we want our landscapes to be—refuges for our clients and for the wildlife all around us.”
Below, we tour two of their hardworking landscapes.
Newton Square, PA
Above: Bees flock to ‘Baby Joe’ Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium ‘Baby Joe’) that grows around a bluestone path, connecting the foundation beds with a butterfly garden at the rear of the house in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.Above: If you plant it, they will come. Pollinators zip to bee balm, like this swallowtail butterfly, which sips nectar from Monarda fistulosa or wild bee balm. The summer-blooming native species can reach four feet in height and does best in part to full sun in areas with good drainage.Above: Refugia wants to create immersive experiences for their clients, inviting spaces that are an extension of their home. This path is surrounded by purple Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium ‘Baby Joe’), yellow prairie coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), blue cardinal flower (Lobelia siphilitica), magenta Echinacea purpurea, and golden Rudbeckia fulgida.Above: Coneflowers, such as Echinacea purpurea and the cultivar Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’, are especially loved by bees and wasps.
Above: Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) and bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) grow together in a meadow. Lorenz has found that bottlebrush grass has been effective in stopping the spread of invasive Japanese stilt grass, which has been invading woodlands in the mid-Atlantic region. “Bottlebrush grass is also well-behaved,” says Lorenz. “It won’t take over an area, but simply intermingles with other plants. Plus, it works in full sun and deep shade.”
Anna Tsai in Bayside, Wisconsin, is welcoming us into her garden today.
The backyard was only some overgrown bushes and hostas when we moved in 24 years ago. I opened up flower beds, worked on the soil, and then started planting different plants that grow well in wet and shady areas. l also replaced the old and sick trees with my favorite evergreen trees. It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy seeing my garden completely changed.
High summer in the garden, with dahlias (Dahlia × variabilis, Zones 8–10 or as a tender bulb)
This garden is overflowing with beauty now, so it’s hard to believe it was just overgrown bushes before.
Huge leaves of elephant’s ear (Colocasiaesculenta, Zones 7–11) make a dramatic textural contrast to the rest of the garden.
Bearded irises (Iris hybrids, Zones 3–8) steal the show in early summer.
Clematis (Clematis hybrids, Zones 4–8) drape an arbor in flowers.
A sea of brilliant pink astilbe (Astilbe hybrid, Zones 4–9)
Yellow Heliopsishelianthoides (Zones 3–9) takes center stage, backed up by beautiful astilbe.
Beautiful foliage in contrasting colors and textures makes the perfect setting for a brilliant tower of lily (Lilium hybrid, Zones 4–8) blooms.
Glowing orange daylilies (Hemerocallis hybrid, Zones 4–10)
A final view of this magical garden
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Many flowers are bright, upbeat, and in your face with their cheerful color… but an angsty gardener looking for a dark, brooding, and hooded bloom will find plenty of satisfaction in a jack-in-the-pulpit.
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As a shade-loving flower, Arisaema triphyllum was born in and molded by the darkness, much like D. C. Comics supervillain Bane.
But while Bane snapped Batman’s spine over his knee in an attempt to destroy Gotham City, Jack-in-the-pulpit cultivation is anything but back-breaking.
Despite its love of the wet conditions that many pathogens favor, in the battle of plant versus pathogen, the playing field is pretty even in this case.
And jack-in-the pulpit is also resilient when faced with the threat of infestation. Laced from shoot to root with a gnarly toxicity, this bad boy will teach anything that dares to consume it an unforgettable lesson in pain and suffering.
To top it all off, jack-in-the-pulpit has a very distinctive appearance.
Protruding from between a pair of trifoliate leaves, the central flower is concealed with a vegetative cover that gives the plant a sinister, yet attractive look.
Read this guide, and its beauty can be yours for the growing. Here’s what we’ll go over:
What Is Jack-in-the-Pulpit?
Hardy to USDA Zones 4 to 9, jack-in-the-pulpit is native to central and eastern regions of Canada and the United States. It tends to grow in highly fertile, moist to wet soils located in shady woodland sites.
Along with the alternate nickname “bog onion,” jack-in-the-pulpit is known botanically as Arisaematriphyllum. The genus name means “red arum” – since some species of Arisaema have red-blotched leaves – and the specific epithet means “three-leaved.”
Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers may throw you for a loop when they bloom in the spring, especially if you’re used to seeing plants with large and showy multi-petaled blossoms.
Like most of its relatives in the Arum family, A. triphyllum has an erect, cylinder-shaped floral spike known as a spadix, colloquially referred to in the case of this plant as “jack,” or sometimes, “parson.”
Bearing tiny green-to-purple flowers, “jack” sits in a floral sheath known as a spathe, which someone way back when visually associated with a pulpit, and which forms a pointed hood-like covering over the spadix.
Color variations do exist, but the spathe’s exterior is typically green or purple while the inside is greenish-white with purple stripes.
The flowers are initially male, but the plant produces female flowers on the lower part of the spadix in time. Five to six months after pollination by flies or gnats, the flowers give way to clusters of red berries, which birds find quite tasty.
The flower stems form between two other stems, each bearing a three-lobed leaf. Each lobe is wavy-margined, colored a glossy green, and shaped like an American football.
Shoots emerge from corms, which form underground offsets that allow the plant to spread.
Also, here’s a heads up: every part of jack-in-the-pulpit is poisonous and should not be consumed.
Containing calcium oxalate crystals, ingesting this plant causes severe pain and swelling in the mouth and throat, along with vomiting and excessive drooling. Eat enough of it, and the throat will swell to the point of asphyxiation.
Cultivation and History
Experiencing the above symptoms would be a very challenging ordeal, which is why some Native American tribes had their boys eat jack-in-the-pulpit raw as a rite of passage when entering manhood.
After being chopped up, the plant was also hidden inside meat for enemies to find, consume, and subsequently suffer the effects of, which I personally think is really metal.
Indigenous people also figured out a way of removing the plant’s toxicity, which led to many medicinal applications.
In powdered form, the root was used to treat a variety of afflictions such as sore eyes, musculoskeletal pain, skin sores, inflammation, sore throats, croup, whooping cough, and asthma.
After roasting and drying, the root starch was used to make bread, marinate venison, and stiffen clothes – the latter of which was also adopted by 16th-century European settlers.
In 1930, American artist Georgia O’Keeffe – considered by many to be the “the mother of American Modernism” – created a series of six A. triphyllum-focused paintings, five of which were bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Today, the jack-in-the-pulpit is a beloved plant in home gardens, and a welcome sight in shaded, rich, and moist woodlands.
During my internship with the Green Bay Botanical Garden, I myself used to hike in Wisconsin forests after a long day’s work, and spotting a jack-in-the-pulpit in the underbrush never once got old.
Propagation
I bet you’re jonesing for some jack-in-the-pulpits right about now. Ways to get your fix include growing from seed, propagating via division, or simply transplanting.
It’s important to wear gloves when handling A. triphyllum, as every part of its vegetative structure can cause skin irritation.
From Seed
Growing jack-in-the-pulpits from seed definitely requires playing the long game, since it takes four to five years for a seed-grown plant to flower.
But for a patient gardener, the experience can be quite rewarding.
In order to propagate seeds, unless you’ve purchased a packet, you’ll need to harvest some first.
Sticking with seed collection? As the leaves wither in the fall, collect ripe red berries from a jack-in-the-pulpit in your local area, if permitted. Each berry holds one to five individual seeds.
Smash the berries with a large spoon, then rinse them off in a strainer. If any of the flesh is too large to fit through the sieve, remove the seeds by hand.
Once you have your clean seeds, they’ll need to be stratified.
Fill a plastic baggie with damp sphagnum peat moss, mix the seeds in, seal the bag, and stick it in the refrigerator. Chill for 60 to 90 days, making sure to keep the moss damp all the while.
After stratification, fill containers – one for each seed you intend to plant – with a 50:50 mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite. Make sure each container is at least two inches wide and four inches deep.
Plant the seeds a quarter-inch deep, moisten the media, keep the seeds at 65°F, and provide indirect light for two to six hours per day.
Germination should occur within about two weeks, but you’ll want to continue caring for your seedlings indoors for two years before moving them outside.
Repot the seedlings as needed to avoid root bindage, and give their containers a quarter turn each day to keep growth upright and balanced. Harden the seedlings off before transplanting outdoors.
On a spring day, once the risk of frost has passed, bring the seedlings outside into partial shade for 30 to 60 minutes before bringing them back inside.
Add half an hour to a full hour of outdoor time each day until the seedlings are able to withstand a full day outside. At this point, they’ll be ready for transplanting.
Via Rootstock Division
Just like crocuses, jack-in-the-pulpits grow from corms, which produce offsets that can be separated and planted on their own.
After the fruits ripen in fall, a jack-in-the-pulpit will enter its dormancy period: the prime time for division.
After the first frost in autumn, lift the plant out of the ground with a garden fork.
Over a tarp, tease any soil away from the corms so you can see what you’re working with. Break off the corm offsets by hand or remove them with a sterilized blade.
With the corms separated, now they’re ready to transplant!
Via Transplanting
Whether you have seedlings, divisions, or ready-to-transplant corms that you’ve purchased, they should all go into the ground in the fall.
Transplant seedlings deep enough so that their crowns are level with the soil line. Corms should be planted six inches deep, with their pointy ends up.
Both seedlings and corms should be spaced six to 12 inches away from each other. After planting, water them in, and make sure to keep the soil moist.
“But where should I plant them? And what conditions should I give them?” Great questions… let’s take a look!
How to Grow
In order to grow jack-in-the-pulpits in your garden, it’s important to try and provide what this species would receive in its natural environment.
As mentioned earlier, a growing site within USDA Hardiness Zones 4 to 9 is absolutely essential. Partial shade exposure is ideal, though A. triphyllum will also tolerate full shade.
Soil at the planting site should be very fertile with a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
Beyond that, supplemental fertilizer isn’t really necessary, unless you need to amend the soil pH. If you’re not sure what you’re working with, check with a soil test.
Jack-in-the-pulpits need moist soil, so select a naturally moist but well-draining location if possible. Irrigate as needed to maintain consistent moisture.
Since this species can tolerate wet soils, you shouldn’t need to worry about overwatering.
You have the freedom to learn from your over-irrigation mistakes pretty much consequence-free here, if it comes to that!
Growing Tips
Provide partial shade if possible.
Plant in fertile soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
Maintain consistent soil moisture.
Maintenance
Side dressing with a couple inches of fresh compost every spring will help maintain the fertility you established prior to planting.
Foliage that has died back and spent floral/fruit stems can be cut away if desired, to clean up plants.
During dormancy in winter, feel free to cover your jack-in-the-pulpits with fallen leaves for added protection from the elements.
But as if the standard jack-in-the-pulpit wasn’t attractive enough, there are a couple A. triphyllum varieties that bring their own uniquely aesthetic assets to the table.
Black Jack
Discovered in central Florida by native plant expert Bob McCartney, ‘Black Jack’ flaunts a shiny, purple-striped and green-veined spathe, along with purple leaves so dark that they appear black.
Photo credit: JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University.
This variety emerges in mid-May – which is later than other varieties – and is hardy in USDA Zones 6 to 9.
Mrs. French
Even though it’s the color of royalty, some folks just ain’t about purple in any form. If you’re a member of that demographic, give ‘Mrs. French’ a try.
Named after the owner of the garden in which this variety was discovered, ‘Mrs. French’ lacks the dark purple coloration of its peers.
Its foliage is dark green, while the spadix and spathe have a lighter green, guacamole-shaded hue. Light green to white leaf veins are icing on the cake. ‘Mrs. French’ truly owns her unique look.
Starburst
This one comes from renowned Virginia plantsman Paul James. ‘Starburst’ grows vigorously, self-propagates quickly, and has leaves with thin, prominent, silvery veins.
Photo credit: JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University.
In the standard species, the foliage plays a supporting role. But with ‘Starburst,’ both the flowers and the leaves are star players.
Managing Pests and Disease
Thankfully, jack-in-the-pulpit doesn’t typically face many pests since the toxic calcium oxalate that it’s laced with deters herbivores.
It also doesn’t suffer from frequent infection either, despite its preference for shaded moisture.
However, there are a couple potential problems to keep on your radar.
Slugs and Snails
Leaving slime trails in their wake, these mollusks love shady and wet conditions.
They use their rasping, file-like tongues to consume leaves, creating rounded, irregularly-shaped holes in the foliage. And this damage can interfere with photosynthesis, which’ll leave a plant worse off in both health and appearance.
To prevent slug and snail problems, it’s important to eliminate nearby hiding spots such as plant debris, weeds, or stones. Probably tough to pull off in a woodland garden, of course.
For a more hands-on and grosser means of control if these pests become a problem, go out into your garden at night with a flashlight, grab any slugs or snails that you find, and dispose of them in sealed plastic bags.
Beer traps also work. After filling the traps with some good ol’ hops juice, place them close to hiding spots that can’t be moved, such as structures or other plantings.
These plastic slug and snail traps, sold in packs of three at Gardener’s Supply, will do the job nicely.
As for the beer that you use, I’m personally a sucker for a Goose Island IPA. But to each their own…
Rust
In general, A. triphyllum is as tough as nails – but even nails can suffer from rust.
In springtime on occasion, jack-in-the-pulpits will sometimes suffer infection caused by the fungus known as Uromyces caladii.
Symptoms begin with light spotting on upper leaf surfaces and orange-colored, bulging patches of rust will appear on leaf undersides, both of which will sap the plant’s health and vigor.
Removing spent blooms and leaves that have died back is mandatory if you want to prevent rust.
Other solid forms of prevention include using only disease-free soil and plants for your gardening projects, sterilizing your tools, and cleaning up nearby plant debris that may harbor overwintering fungi.
If you suspect your plants have rust, remove any infected leaves and destroy them. If a specimen is too far gone or it doesn’t recover, remove and destroy it.
Best Uses
If you have a woodland garden in a region that jack-in-the-pulpit is native to, then you couldn’t ask for a better growing site.
But any spot that’s moist, shaded, and fertile with the appropriate climate will do.
By design, a cottage garden is overflowing with an assortment of beautiful plants, and jack-in-the-pulpit would probably feel right at home if its needs are met otherwise.
Whether it stands alone or grows en masse, this plant looks distinctively cool. Want to complement it with other plantings? Try ferns, hostas, or any other foliage plant that thrives in shade and moisture.
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial wildflower
Flower/Foliage Color:
Brown to copper, green, purple to lavender, white/green
Native to:
Central and eastern Canada, central and eastern United States
Foliage plants (ferns, hostas), spring ephemerals (bleeding hearts, bloodroot)
Height:
1-2 feet
Uses:
Cottage gardens, mass planting, native gardens, woodland gardens
Spread:
1-1.5 feet
Family:
Araceae
Water Needs:
Moderate to high
Genus:
Arisaema
Common Pests and Diseases:
Slugs, snails; rust
Species:
Triphyllum
All Good in the Hood
Hoods tend to have an association with evil and nefariousness, as evidenced by hooded characters like The Grim Reaper, Emperor Palpatine, and the Death Eaters.
But in the case of jack-in-the-pulpit? Totally righteous… in both the moral and slangy senses of the word.
Now that you’re capable of growing jack-in-the-pulpit with the necessary knowledge in hand, enjoy adding these unusual blooms to your shade garden! They’re sure to amaze and astound.
Any questions, concerns, or remarks can go into the comments section below. We love hearing from our readers!
We are going to plant those roses. Back in Tennessee, long, long ago, I planted a rose garden for Rachel. It’s wonderful to have fresh-cut flowers around the house.
I look forward to seeing how these grow. I’m not really a rose gardener, but they are truly the “Queen of the Flowers.”
Is it time yet?! Seed starting season is in the air! Knowing when to start planting seeds depends greatly on the type of plant and where you live. But there are some general guidelines you can follow to figure out when to plant herbs.
In this post, you will learn:
When to Plant Herbs from Seed Indoors
People might think gardeners are snoozing during the winter, but the reality is seed starting happens much earlier than you might expect.
To get a jump start on the gardening season, most gardeners who grow from seed will do some seed starting. You start the seeds indoors and transplant them outside when ready.
This extends the season and allows your herbs to be ready for harvesting earlier than if you were to direct sow them outside.
Generally, you start herb seeds indoors from February to March. February is best for warmer and mild climates, while March is better for colder climates.
You don’t want to start too early. Herbs can get leggy when grown indoors searching for sun, but it can sometimes still be too cold to plant them outside.
When to Plant Herbs Outside With Direct Sowing
You can also direct sow. This works if you either forgot to do seed starting earlier or don’t have the space for seed starting. Some plants also direct sow very easily, and you may not need to go through all the effort of starting seeds indoors.
It’s best to direct sow after frost, so you would start much later than you would inside. Typically, late April to mid-May is a good time to plant herb seeds directly outside.
I suggest these start times for milder winters, such as mine in coastal British Columbia. I also noted suggestions for colder regions, such as zones 3 and 4.
Basil: Start indoors in April or direct sow mid-may for all climates.
Cilantro: Direct sow as early as March. In colder climates, direct sow mid-April.
Dill: Direct sow outside in May. In colder climates, direct sow mid-April.
Lavender: Start indoors in January or direct sow in March. Do not direct sow in colder climates.
Lemon Balm: Start indoors in February or direct sow in April. In colder climates, start one month later.
Mint: Start indoors in February or direct sow in April. In colder climates, direct sow mid-April.
Oregano: Start indoors in mid-February or direct sow mid-May. In colder climates, start indoors in April or direct sow in mid-May.
Parsley: Direct sow in mid-April. In colder climates, direct sow May.
Rosemary: Start indoors in February or direct sow mid-May. Do not direct sow in colder climates.
Sage: Start indoors in February or direct sow in mid-May for all climates.
Thyme: Start indoors in February or direct sow in mid-May for all climates.
If you don’t see the herb you’re looking for or are unsure about your climate, search for a herb planting chart followed by your zone.
When to Plant Herb Plants
If you start herb seeds indoors, they’re ready to be transplanted outside when they have two sets of true leaves. It should also be after the last frost date. Most herbs are annuals and won’t handle the cold well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Planting Herb Seeds
Can I plant herbs in August?
I wouldn’t recommend it. The seedlings will be a lot of maintenance to keep alive in the heat, and it will take a while to reach maturity. By then, the cold may already be coming, and the plant will die for the winter.
It’s best to buy herbs from the garden centre when starting in the summer rather than begin from seed.
Can you plant herbs all year round?
To enjoy herbs year-round, you’ll need to grow an indoor garden. Depending on climate and sunlight, you may need a grow light to ensure they grow large enough for you to harvest from them.
It is little surprise that in the United Kingdom census last year, more people identified as pagans and wiccans than ever before, with a 1,200% increase in “shamanism” in the box marked “religion.” Ritual, pageantry, and a connection to something separate from formal worship or corporate appropriation is more appealing than ever, as demonstrated in a new exhibition: Making Mischief: Folk Costume in Britain, at Compton Verney (near Stratford-upon-Avon). Spring is the best time to see paganism in action; unlike summer, spring’s progress is long and guaranteed, with its improved light, striking birdsong, and quite a few flowers starting from now.
Making Mischief was named by curator Mellany Robinson in reference to the unquantifiable attraction of misrule, and a natural defiance of authority, in which health and safety have no place. Her co-curator and director of the Museum of British Folklore is the fashion set designer Simon Costin, who was closely involved with Alexander McQueen’s (literally) explosive shows, and the third curator is Amy de la Haye, professor of Dress History and Curatorship at the London College of Fashion.
Above: Jane Wildgoose at the May Day Jack-In-The-Green festival, Hastings.
The portraits shown here (which form part of the show), were collected in Henry Bourne’s book, Arcadia Britannica. They have been confused sometimes for fashion pictures but Bourne, a renowned portrait and design photographer doesn’t “do” fashion pictures; the portable studio that he took to folk gatherings was a way of simply documenting his subjects: “The focus is on the people.”
Above: “Diana” at Jack-In-The-Green, Hastings.
Walking trees and folk covered from head to toe in textile leaves—with real foliage in between, evoke the age-old, pre-Christian image of the Green Man, a mythical figure that pops up on anything from pub signs to church pillars. May Day celebrations take place when leaves are in their glowing prime, everything sprouting, fecundity all around. At the Jack-In-The-Green festival on England’s south coast, the pageant is full of green people, with Jack at its center. He bursts into the throng, an oversized shrub on two legs, wearing a crown.
Above: Craig Sheppard, garlanded in clematis and bay leaves, with an oak motif.
“The Green Man and the Jack-in-the-Green have nothing to do with each other but are often confused,” explains Simon Costin. “It was out-of-work chimney sweeps and milk maids who first started the Jack-in-the-Green May Day event.” When their seasonal work was over, chimney sweeps made ever-larger garlands for parading through the streets with milk maids and their decorated pails (with the hope of getting some money). The green adornments eventually engulfed the whole body: “Beneath the leaves is a wicker-work frame to support everything.” This ritual began in the 17th century but died out in the early 20th century. It was revived in the early 1980s by Morris Men (Mad Jack’s Morris) and it has become more popular every year.
Above, Keith Leech, photographed in Henry Bourne’s portable studio at Jack-In-The-Green, Hastings.
“The Jack represents the spirit of summer and at the climax of the day he is stripped of leaves,” observes Simon, who is a regular participant at Jack-In-The-Green. “The leaves are thrown to the surrounding crowd to be kept for good luck during the year—and then burnt on the eve of May Day, before the next Jack is born.”
Above: John Beaching, a Jack-In-The-Green participant.
“The people who participate in the UK’s seasonal customs and events tend to put a lot of time and energy into them,” says Simon, noting that there are over 700 events throughout the year, every one different.
Above: One faction of the Jack-In-The-Green procession is the “Bogeys” who splatter unsuspecting onlookers with green paint. Spencer Horne, above, who also worked with Alexander McQueen, has been part of the Gay Bogeys, with Simon Costin.Above: Jane Wildgoose at Jack-In-The-Green.
May Day is roughly halfway between the spring equinox (March 21) and the summer solstice (June 21). After the feast and famine of Mardi Gras, and the gluttony of Easter, not to mention their religious connotations, May Day is a primal observance of the seasons, an open highway toward early, mid, high, late and the dog days of summer.
I set out to try and find some winter interest in my New Hampshire garden. There isn’t any vibrant color here in January, but we had snow a few days ago and I thought some close-ups might inspire gardeners to look for the winter beauty in their gardens.
An azalea (Rhododendron hybrid, Zones 5–10) is dusted with snow, and the leaves have flushed red in response to the cold.
A hemlock (Tsugacanadensis, Zones 3–7) twig is beautifully decorated with ice.
A frog statue is all wrapped up in snow.
The large bud at the end of the stem of a hydrangea (Hydrangeamacrophylla, Zones 5–9) contains the flowers for early next summer. To avoid cutting off the flowers, you shouldn’t prune hydrangeas this time of year.
Taking time to look close reveals the beauty even in a simply faded leaf.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Brilliant wildflower displays are legendary in much of the Southwest, but they don’t occur every year. In fact, a widespread display only happens about once every ten years or so. Growing to maturity from tiny seeds in the harsh conditions of the desert is a challenge for wildflowers, so the displays are typically more localized, indicating that just the right combination of temperature and precipitation has occurred in one particular spot over another. It’s no surprise, then, that trying to create a wildflower garden in a home landscape requires some deliberate intervention in most years. Fortunately, there are a number of colorful native species that respond well from seed and can return for many years if good garden conditions are maintained. Here are some of my favorite native wildflower species and how best to grow them from seed.
The Best Native Wildflowers to Grow from Seed
Mexican poppies are versatile perennials that reseed easily.
Mexican poppy
Eschscholzia californica subsp. mexicana, Zones 9–11
Mexican poppy is tougher than its cousin the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, Zones 8–10), thriving in the desert rather than in seasonal grasslands. Despite that, this classic orange-and-gold poppy will also grow well beyond the confines of the desert. Mexican poppy is a short-lived perennial that will bloom in spring and reseed easily from year to year.
Superb penstemon has bright coral-colored flowers.
There are many native species of penstemon that are easy to establish from seed, including Parry’s penstemon (Penstemon parryi, Zones 8–10), superb penstemon (Penstemon superbus, Zones 5–10), and firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii, Zones 4–8). The red, pink, and coral spires of desert penstemons can grow from 2 to 4 feet tall and are always a magnet for hummingbirds. They will survive as perennials for several years, as well as multiply from seed each season.
Desert globemallow is a shrub that can grow in even the rockiest soil.
There are several native globemallow species, and all are undemanding plants that give your garden a welcome pop of coral-orange—sometimes pink—flowers. Desert globemallow is an easy-to-come-by species that will bloom in spring. It will reward you with a new flush of blooms after a summer trim and some supplemental water.
The large yellow blossoms of desert marigold bloom at the end of silver-green stems.
Desert marigold
Baileya multiradiata, Zones 7–11
The clear yellow daisies and silver leaves of desert marigold are a cheerful addition to any desert garden. This plant may only come back for a few years, but its ability to self-sow ensures repeated displays. As stems age out, a trim will produce new growth and flowers nearly any time of year.
Brittlebush is absolutely covered in yellow flowers when it blooms.
Brittlebush
Encelia farinosa, Zones 7–11
Brittlebush is a ubiquitous sight in the desert. Also capable of flowering nearly any time of year, it peaks in spring, turning entire mountainsides to gold. Water new plants for about a month, and then withhold water to ensure a more compact habit.
Native phacelia species can create large swaths of flowers in the desert.
Phacelia
Phacelia spp. and cvs., Zones 5–10
While there are perennial and biennial species of phacelia, desertbells (Phacelia campanularia) notch-leaves phacelia (Phacelia crenulata), and distant phacelia (Phacelia distans) are a few of the spectacular annual species native to the Southwest. Also known as fiddleneck or scorpionweed, phacelia is easy to grow from seed, and all will add a welcome splash of blue or purple to your garden. Note that some people (myself included) react to phacelias with a rash, much like they do to poison ivy. If that’s the case, plant desert species of lupines (Lupinus spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) instead.
Prepare the soil by running a cultivator over it lightly.
How to Grow Wildflowers from Seed
Follow these steps to ensure that your seeds germinate and your plants thrive.
Start at the right time of year
Most spring wildflowers germinate best in the cool winter months when winter rains create perfect conditions. Sowing any time from November through January is ideal. You can also sow seed in February if more consistent supplemental water is provided. March also works for cooler areas of the Southwest.
Pick the right spot
The site should have at least half a day of sunlight. Choose a reasonable-size area that you can commit to, and start with a clean slate. No one wants a field of weeds, so do your best to eliminate undesirable plants before planting anything new.
Prep the soil
This is as simple as roughing up the surface to the depth of an inch or two. Deeper than 2 inches is OK too, but creating a porous surface is what really matters. I use a three-pronged cultivator to work the soil, enough that the surface has a bit of texture for seeds to drop into.
Prep the seeds
Most desert wildflower seeds are pretty small and may resemble dust or sand. To help spread them evenly, I mix the seed thoroughly into at least a couple quarts of actual sand. Then as I spread the seed/sand mixture, I can see where, and how evenly, I have dispersed it.
Plant in rows
Planting in diagonal rows or some other pattern will help you identify if it’s your seed germinating or something perhaps less desirable. After spreading the seed, you should lightly brush the surface with a broom or wire rake just to settle things a bit. As the flowers fill in, the pattern will not be noticeable.
Water gently and consistently
This is really critical! Desert rains are unpredictable, so a light watering by hand every day for at least ten days or so should result in lots of little seedlings emerging everywhere.
Taper off your watering schedule
Once seedlings appear you can reduce watering to every other day for another week or two, and if you are fortunate enough to get an actual rain shower, skip that day and monitor conditions before you resume watering. From there, supplement with occasional water as needed.
All of the wildflowers discussed here are perfect complements to more-structural plants like yuccas (Yucca spp. and cvs., Zones 4–11), agaves (Agave spp. and cvs., Zones 5–11), desert willows (Chilopsis linearis, Zones 6–11), and prickly pear cacti (Opuntia spp. and cvs., Zones 4–11). These native flowers feel like the Southwest in a way that most imported annuals just don’t. There are always other species you can add, but these provide a solid start, and the results are always gratifying.
No matter where in the world you garden, harvesting healthy, home-grown, deliciously ripe fruit from your own backyard orchard is immensely satisfying. Every region has its own advantages and challenges that will dictate the types of fruit trees (and varietals) that can be grown in that particular area. For successful fruit production for gardeners anywhere along the mild, beautiful, foggy Pacific Northwest coast, it’s important to be aware of the pitfalls and benefits and to adapt accordingly.
Can you grow fruit trees along the Pacific Northwest coast?
Advantages to growing fruit trees here
Clement, generally frost-free winters, foggy spring and summer seasons, and the absence of wildly fluctuating temperatures greatly reduce many of the stresses associated with fruit growing. No summer heatwaves mean no need to protect ripening fruit from sunburn or scorching. Minimal frost concerns in Northern California mean that citrus lovers can rest easy knowing it’s a rare night indeed that their precious orange, lemon, or lime trees might need protection from a sudden freeze. Foggy spring and summer days mean extra moisture in the air and on the ground, lessening irrigation concerns. For all of these reasons, growing fruit trees in our region is easier than in other locales.
Challenges to growing fruit on the Pacific Northwest coast
Wind and salt spray can be a worry for fruit trees grown by the coast. Knowing your landscape’s microclimates and planting your fruit trees in a protected spot goes a long way toward reducing those worries. Foggy summer days with limited sunshine make growing a peach or nectarine tree a challenge, but there are plenty of apples, pears, plums, and even fig trees that will flourish under such conditions.
How do I determine which fruit trees will grow best in my area?
Winter chill hours will determine which varieties you can grow
A winter chilling requirement is the number of hours each year between 32° and 45°F that a plant (in this case a fruit tree) needs to thrive. The three basic ranges are:
High: Plants requiring 1,000 chilling hours or more
Medium: Plants requiring 700 to 1,000 chilling hours
Low: Plants requiring less than 700 chilling hours
Be sure to research what the chilling requirement of your desired fruit is before you purchase treees. Here in Northern California we don’t get cold enough for medium or high-chill trees. There are a few deciduous fruit trees—such as citrus trees—that require no winter chilling hours at all. But sadly, we get too cold for most of those trees (low temperatures inhibit the development of the sugars needed for the sweet flavors of many oranges or mandarins). Most Pacific Northwest coastal fruit-lovers should look for low-chill fruit tree varieties for the best success.
Even though you might not be able to grow your all-time favorite apple or pear cultivars, there are plenty that will flourish in your frost-free orchard. The following are a few of my favorite low-chill varieties.
Best apple varieties to grow along the Pacific Northwest coast
‘Anna’, ‘Gala’, ‘Winter Banana’
Best plum varieties to grow along the Pacific Northwest coast
‘Beauty’, ‘Burgundy’, ‘Santa Rosa’
Best pear varieties to grow along the Pacific Northwest coast
‘Southern Bartlett’, ‘Comice’
Best fig varieties to grow along the Pacific Northwest coast
‘Desert King’, ‘Osborne Prolific’
Citrus varieties to grow along the Pacific Northwest coast
For low-chill citrus, try ‘Meyer’ lemon (pictured), ‘Nagami’ kumquat, or ‘Bearss’ seedless lime
How do I get a good harvest from my fruit trees?
Administer basic care and maintenance for the best harvest
Fruit trees are most productive and healthiest when sited in a location that receives at least six hours of light per day during the growing season. Find the spot likely to receive the most sun in your coastal garden and your trees will thrive.
Even though watering worries are reduced in coastal areas, fruit trees still require regular, even moisture. The general rule of thumb is to water when the top inch of soil is dry and the soil 6 inches below the surface is barely moist. Water deeply enough to ensure penetration down to at least 3 to 4 feet deep. Mature trees with deeper-reaching roots are more self-sufficient but should still be watered deeply during drier periods.
Feed your fruit trees three to four times during the growing season with an organic, well-balanced fertilizer. Avoid fertilizers too high in nitrogen, as they stimulate leafy growth at the expense of fruit production. There is no need to fertilize during the dormant season, but a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost as a side-dressing is appreciated.
The success of your fruit trees depend upon the initial training and pruning during the first three years. For healthy, productive fruit trees, get tips from your local garden center, or do your own research online.
—Fionuala Campion is the owner and manager of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma, California.
Over the last decade or so, the swelling interest in ecological gardening, particularly in the use of native rather than introduced plant species, has proven itself one of the most significant forces changing Rocky Mountains gardeners’ ornamental plant palette. It’s been a welcome change for people, flora, and fauna alike, and one that those of us working in horticulture don’t see being knocked out anytime soon. If anything, interest in this arena is only growing, thanks at least in part to the good show that these species put on, not to mention their ecological benefits. Yet while native perennials and woody plants have all made their way into the ring, native annuals and biennials remain largely sidelined. I routinely use these plants to add vibrance and fullness to young plantings, to brighten rough spots in the yard that I haven’t had the time to plant, or to bridge a visually slow period in the garden. Here are a few of the most spectacular native annuals and biennials to spice up your garden this year.
Fourpoint evening primrose has a robust, shrubby appearance with profuse bright yellow blooms.
Fourpoint evening primrose
Oenothera rhombipetala, Zones 4–9
Growing as an unassuming rosette of pointed leaves during its first year, this biennial shocks garden-goers with tall, tentacle-like stems in its second year. Rising quickly to 3 or more feet, these candelabra-like plants coat themselves in luminescent, four-petaled flowers for six weeks or more in mid to late summer. I enjoy using this plant en masse, where its spectacular floral display acts as a beacon for hummingbird moths and humans alike. Hardy to at least Zone 4, it grows best in mesic gardens.
Snow-on-the-mountain’s variegated bracts look like a swath of lacey white flowers when this annual is planted en masse.
Snow-on-the-mountain can be found in nature across the dry high plains and foothills of our region. As much of a delight in gardens as its invasive Eurasian cousin leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula, Zones 3–9) is a menace, this plant is one of the most-asked-about species in my garden beds. Starting slowly, umbrella-like corymbs rise from a single stalk on these plants, fanning out to 18 inches across with maturity. Flowers are minute and, thankfully, aren’t the point; the numerous green-and-white bracts that surround them make an eye-catching mosaic from all the way across the yard. These annual plants are highly attractive to small insects, and while they seed around a bit, they pull easily and do not compete that much with other garden plants.
Scarlet gilia has charming star-shaped red flowers that contrast brilliantly with its silver foliage. Photo: Dcrjsr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Scarlet gilia
Ipomopsis aggregata, Zones 3–9
Those in mountain communities should consider adding scarlet gilia to their gardens. Given that ipomopsis is Greek for “striking appearance,” this biennial is a no-brainer addition for high-elevation gardens seeking an intense filler. In their first year, plants grow as 2-inch rosettes of dark green, feathery leaves. In their second, a single flower stalk appears in early summer, presenting numerous soft pink to bright red, five-petaled flowers. The dainty look of this plant belies its tough nature; it excels in frigid Zone 3 and 4 winters and in gravelly, thin soils. For richer soils (like clay), try standing cypress (Ipomopsis rubra, Zones 6–9), a Southern Plains perennial cousin of scarlet gilia that is a bit more substantial, reaching almost 3 feet tall in a good year.
Here, swaths of winged pigweed grow wild in Iowa.
Winged pigweed
Cycloloma atriplicifolium, annual
If the botanically bizarre is to your taste, hunting down winged pigweed is worth the effort. This plant is every bit as odd as its common name would suggest. Winged pigweed forms bright-green, fine-textured spheres of foliage in barren areas across the central Intermountain West and Southwest. I’ve been impressed by this plant’s tolerance for my yard’s heavy clay, given that it usually grows in sandy soils in nature. I have enjoyed the otherworldly quality its Marimo moss ball-like appearance gives my home meadow. While most forms of this plant have white flowers, some forms have flowers that become a rich merlot. I’m tempted to select the red form just to slap the name ‘When Pigs Fly’ on the cultivar, which feels especially appropriate considering these plants turn into tumbleweeds and take off across the landscape with some wind. There’s truly nothing like winged pigweed.
Sources and sowing guidelines
I typically buy seed for these plants online, doing so in bulk from Western Native Seed and Pawnee Buttes Seed. I buy smaller quantities of more unusual material from Alplains Seed Catalog, among others. Direct sown in winter, these plants are a cinch to grow. I scatter their seeds with abandon on patches of bare soil before or after a snow in my gardens with reliable results.
When we contend with all the challenges our region has to offer, including a few durable, reliable fast hitters in our gardens should be part of our strategy. Far better adapted than the tender perennials people so often grow as annuals in our region, these plants provide exquisite color and form, and they do so with far fewer resources (fertilizer, water, potting up, etc.) than conventionally grown annuals and biennials.
Do you like the idea of growing your own vegetables? As well as being a popular hobby, it can improve your health and also cut your daily food expenses.
Gardening enhances quality of life
When we buy fresh vegetables in the supermarket, it’s easy to avoid thinking about the production process and environmental impact. And because manufacturing costs are inevitably built into the price, you can end up paying more for lower quality.
By growing your own fruit and vegetables, you can reduce your food expenditure while helping to lower your carbon footprint. If you’re not very knowledgeable about plants and gardening, a plant identifier app can be really useful.
These days, plant, flower and tree identification is easy to reach within one click. You can use your smartphone and install a plant identifier app in the App store to get started. LiLy plant identification has a rich informational database and will help you get to grips with your garden.
Why it’s worth taking the time to grow your own vegetables
Modern life is busy, and it’s easy to see why the idea of growing your own vegetables can feel daunting. It’s not hard to buy fresh fruit and veg, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option.
Here are a few advantages of homegrown produce when compared to shop-bought alternatives.
1. Grow your own reduces the chemical impact on the environment and our health
Commercial farming includes numerous mechanical processes with heavy equipment that uses fuel for production and transportation. That causes significant carbon emissions. In addition, products may contain pesticides and other additives to extend shelf life.
In contrast, growing your own vegetables at home allows you to avoid chemical additives and associated carbon emissions. You can enjoy organic food without the price tag and environmental impact.
2. Gardening establishes a connection with nature
Taking care of your garden makes you feel more connected with nature, and gives you a sense of achievement as you enjoy the results of your work. You will never get this sense of wellbeing from bringing food home from the supermarket!
In addition, there are so many interesting edible plants that you can grow. It definitely broadens the range of fruit and vegetable varieties you can try.
3. Vegetable gardening can increase health, wellbeing and overall quality of life
Creating new things is always a rewarding process. Treating your household with delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs picked straight from the garden is a genuine source of satisfaction, and can also encourage you to eat more healthy foods.
And of course, the physical nature of gardening makes it an ideal way to stay active and fit. It’s even proven to lower stress levels and support good mental health.
4. Growing your own vegetables helps you cut your food budget
We all know that balanced nutrition can be expensive. Growing your own produce costs much less and can help you cut your food budget.
Yes, there will be some initial setup costs for things like plants, compost and tools. However, you can make savings here by doing things like making your own compost and growing plants from seed.
If you grow more produce than you need, you can also consider selling it. Whether that’s from a stall outside your home or at a local market, there is potential to make additional savings.
Thinking about growing your own vegetables?
Hopefully this article has given you lots of good reasons to have a go at growing your own fruit and vegetables. A gardening or plant-dedicated mobile application is a useful resource for this hobby, and can provide tips and advice to help you grow a bumper harvest. You might also like to take a look at this list of easy to grow vegetables for more inspiration.
There are lots of home design apps available on your smartphone to help you quickly and easily tackle almost any project. Whether you’re looking for the perfect vintage chair to complete your living room decor, or just need help envisioning what a paint colour would look like, there’s an app for that. You can even create a floor plan for your dream home, or design one for the space you have right now.
Is there an app that can help me decorate my house?
Yes, there are definitely a number of practical apps for decorating that will help you improve your home. Here are some interesting types of applications that are useful for decorating rooms.
3D visualisation of the interior. You can use your phone camera to see how something will look in your room. You can also repaint the walls, install a new light fitting, etc.
Create a plan. Right in the app, you can build a plan or design a layout. The results can even be sent to your builder.
Selection of interior elements. Some applications provide access to unique or interesting decor elements. This also includes auctions.
Smart recommendations. Artificial intelligence provides recommendations on which colours and interior elements will best suit your home.
There are a lot of decor applications, and you can easily get carried away trying them all. It’s a good idea to install a VPN first as you never know what might be in an app before you install it. You can get more information on how to protect your device from intruders with a VPN. So far, this is the most reliable way to protect against the theft of user data.
Which app is best for house design?
Here’s a selection of home decor apps designed for consumers. Although sometimes there are more complex options, they are usually aimed at professional designers. The apps on this list are both easy to use and effective, which makes them ideal for users with any skill level.
Houzz
Houzz is the place to go for ideas about how to make your living or work space as unique and stylish as possible. From architectural designs to gorgeous interiors, Houzz has all kinds of inspiring images from professionals in the industry.
Whether your style is modern, minimalist, or a combination of various design aesthetics, it doesn’t matter. You can use the site to bookmark whatever catches your eye and turn it into reality. With both iOS and Android versions available, Houzz is an excellent resource for those who are passionate about creating beautiful interiors.
Color911
If you’re looking for inspiration on your next interior design or decorating project, Color911 can help give you a jump-start with its expansive library of hues.
The app allows you to explore more than 80 different colour themes, and provides an easy tool to custom-create a palette based on an image taken from your device. You can also save favourite colours into separate folders and share them by email.
Chairish
Shopping for pre-owned decor can be a hassle because you never know the quality or condition of the item you are buying. Chairish takes the guesswork out of the process by offering an online marketplace full of high-quality pre-owned furniture from top brands like Knoll, Herman Miller, and Ligne Roset.
Sellers can upload photos of their items, and curators will determine which items to include in their catalogue. It is free to list items for sale and sellers keep 80% of the sales price. Once a sale is completed, Chairish handles payment, shipping, and returns for buyers. Chairish is a great one-stop shop for finding and selling premium pre-loved interior items.
Hutch
Looking for apps to design a house? Hutch’s inventive app merges rendering with shopping, allowing users to upload photos of their room, virtually outfitting them with products from the app.
What’s even more impressive is that the technology behind the app recognises the structure of each room, ensuring all renders fit perfectly within the digital space. As Ben Broca, cofounder and head of product and technology comments, “It’s similar to what Snapchat filters do to your face, but for furniture shopping.” With this cutting-edge app on the rise, redecorating has never been so easy.
Rooomy
Shopping for new furniture apps to design rooms does not have to be an overwhelming experience. With Rooomy, the hassle of imagining different configurations of art or furnishings in a specific space is taken care of.
This app provides homeowners and designers with 2-D photos that are converted into 3-D realistic renderings. Here they can visualise how each piece will look in their space. Not only does it save time and energy on the design, this app also has direct access to retailers to make shopping easier too.
MagicPlan
MagicPlan apps are revolutionising the way we design our rooms. With MagicPlan, you can quickly and accurately measure and plan your space by taking photos. The resulting floor plans can then be exported in PDF, JPG, and DXF formats with an additional fee, allowing you to share the design with professionals such as contractors, designers, or real estate agents.
This innovative software is perfect for anyone looking to plan out their space without spending hours manually measuring and drafting a floor plan.
The apps listed here are useful for improving the design of your home and are top of their niche, but they still have a lot of competition. In some aspects, analogs may even be better. Many of the competitors distribute their apps through their personal websites, which is potentially dangerous. There is a solution – VeePN. It offers flexible pricing plans, even a free trial version, high-speed servers, secure access to websites, and adheres to the no-logs system. This useful reference is proof that the service can be trusted. Having taken care of security, you can confidently go about your daily activities on your smartphone, PC, TV, and game console, and have fun bringing your interior design projects to life.
I read an interesting passage in The Voyage of the Beagle last night which sent me down a plant-researching rabbit hole:
“During the four succeeding days we continues sailing southward. The general features of the country remained the same, but it was much less thickly inhabited. On the large island of Tanqui there was scarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their branches over the sea-beach. I one day noticed, growing on the sandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (Gunnera scabra) which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. The inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather with the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. The leaf is nearly circular, but deeply indented on its margin. I measured one which was nearly eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than twenty-four in circumference! The stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, presenting together a very noble appearance.”
-Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle
When I looked up “Gunnera scabra,” I found it is now commonly known by the Latin name Gunnera tinctoria – and it looks like it could be a good addition to the food forest.
“Gunnera tinctoria is a herbaceous, perennial plant forming a cluster of large leaves on long prickly petioles and looking rather like a giant rhubarb plant. Growing from a large, woody rootstock, the petioles can be 200cm or more tall in good conditions surmounted by a large, somewhat thorny leaf that can be 150cm or more wide. The plant spreads (usually quite slowly) by short rhizomes to form a large clump. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. A popular food in Chile, where it is known as ‘nalcas’, the plant is commonly harvested from the wild and often sold in local markets.”
And, in regards to cultivation:
“Gunnera tinctoria is fairly cold tolerant, especially if a thick mulch is applied to the rootstock whilst the plant is dormant. Unprotected, the roots will generally survive occasional temperatures falling as low as -10°c, somewhat lower with protection. The young growth in spring, however, can be damaged by late frosts. Requires a damp humus rich soil in a sunny position or semi-shade, sheltered from strong winds. Plants can be grown in quite coarse grass, which can be cut annually in the autumn. The top part of the inflorescence is male, the bottom is female and the middle is hermaphrodite. A very ornamental plant with huge leaves, it forms a slowly spreading dense clump. The genus Gunnera is unique in the plant kingdom by acquiring nitrogen through symbiosis with the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Nostoc punctiforme. The structurally unique stem glands of Gunnera function as the conduit through which cyanobacteria infect the host. As the genus Nostoc is cosmopolitan and common, it is likely to be present in the wet habitats in which Gunnera grows. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.”
Huge leaves, nitrogen-fixing, plus it has edible parts. Sounds like a great permaculture plant.
Now I just have to find one.
Featured image: Gunnera Manicata large leafed plant by Debu55y/stock.adobe.com
Choosing the best houseplant supplies and tools is difficult because there are so many options. Below I will make it super easy for you, and give you a list of everything you need to get started.
If you’re wondering what you need for indoor gardening, then you’re in the right place.
This comprehensive list of houseplant supplies and tools contains all of my favorites that I use every day. These are must-haves that every indoor plant owner needs.
From houseplant lighting to humidity and temperature control supplies, soils, fertilizers and repotting equipment, to essential pruning, pest control, and propagation tools, you’ll find the best of everything you need here.
My Top Picks For The Best Houseplant Supplies & Tools
There are so many gimmicky and gadgety products on the market these days that it’s very difficult and overwhelming to figure out what actually you need, let alone finding good-quality brands.
That’s why I created this list of houseplant supplies and tools – to help newbies figure out what they need, and make it simple for you to choose the best ones.
Don’t worry, you certainly don’t have to go out and buy everything on this list. But I wanted to share all of my favorite products so you can quickly find exactly what you’re looking for.
Houseplant Lighting & Watering Supplies
Since these are two of the most common indoor gardening topics, I’m starting out my tools and supplies list with items you’ll need to provide the perfect amount of light and water to your houseplants.
If you find that your home doesn’t have enough natural light or is too dark for your houseplants, then one of the first tools you’ll probably want to get is artificial lighting.
If you need additional space to fit more plants, this is the same as the one above but about 6″ wider.
With this sleek 2′ reflector fixture with lamp you’ll have a little extra room for more houseplants. It also includes the bulb, a built in timer and hardware for hanging.
Giving your houseplants the perfect amount of light each day is easy with this handy tool.
With this dual grounded automated outlet timer, you can just set it and forget it. It’s by far the best way to stick to the same lighting schedule every single day.
Proper watering is by far the most difficult thing for indoor gardeners, making this inexpensive tool essential in my book.
This moisture sensor meter probe shows you exactly when it’s time to water, and it’s a quick and simple way to ensure you will get it right every time, without any batteries.
If you’re going away on vacation, or simply forget to water regularly, then you should definitely add a set of these to your houseplant supplies toolkit.
These clear self-watering globe devices come in different sizes to meet the needs of every plant, and are lightweight and reusable. Plus it’s easy to see when they need to be refilled.
The humidity and temperature levels in our homes aren’t always ideal for houseplants, but these supplies and tools will help you easily control both to create the perfect indoor environment for your plants.
Indoor air is much dryer, especially when we heat our homes in the winter. Since most common houseplants are from tropical regions, it’s important to keep the air around them humid.
Running this cool mist room humidifier will help to create the perfect environment to keep your tropical plants thriving.
This is definitely a nice-to-have item that you don’t necessarily need. But having one can certainly make it much easier to maintain adequate humidity for your most finicky houseplants.
The plastic cover zips fully open in front for quick ventilation, or you can remove it if you just want to use the shelves. Plus the whole thing is simple to break down and store when not in use.
Another decorative way to protect and display your plants, while also controlling the humidity level, is a terrarium greenhouse.
The classic vintage design on this glass accent terrarium planter is both lovely and functional, plus it can hold a few smaller plants or an arrangement.
If you find the only indoor area you have for your houseplants is too cold, the simple fix is adding a space heater.
This small ceramic electric space heater is perfect for controlling the temperature in a cold room or basement, and can quickly heat up the whole space.
Misting is another great way to supply houseplants with the extra moisture they crave.
Forget those ugly plastic spray bottles and get yourself one of these cute glass bottle misters. It’s both stylish and functional.
Houseplant Soils & Supplies
Using the right type of potting soil is crucial for success. Below I’ve listed a few basic types that are the best quality, along with supplies you’ll need if you want to make the perfect mix for any of your houseplants.
One of the most common ingredients in houseplant soil because it’s lightweight and all-natural, perlite is something I always have on hand in my tool shed.
It’s a good idea to test the pH of any houseplant soil before you use it, and a probe tool makes it quick and easy.
This 3-in-1 pH meter gauge can also test light and moisture, so you can quickly determine if anything is amiss. No batteries required.
When it comes time for repotting your houseplants, you’ll definitely need some tools and supplies to help make the job a snap. Below are my favorite things that I always use.
Potting indoor plants is a messy job, and that’s why I find a tray is an essential tool to help keep everything contained.
This table-top potting tray is lightweight and easy to move around. It’s deep enough to keep the mess contained, and and it’s also great for mixing your own soils.
Of course you’ll also need a tool to dislodge pot-bound houseplants, scoop the soil in and out of the container, and handling all of the other dirty jobs.
Another handy tool that every houseplant owner needs is a soil scoop. I love the sturdy metal construction of this one over the flimsy plastic options on the market.
These are similar to the ones above, only one size larger. I included both sizes here because they’re the two that I find myself reaching for most often.
When it comes time to clean your houseplant pots for reuse, a bristle brush is a good tool to have on hand.
This fiber brush has thick bristles to remove caked on dirt, and is shaped to fit perfectly into your planters. It doesn’t hurt that it’s cute too!
For optimal health and growth, you’ll need to get the right supplies to not only feed, but nourish your houseplants, and keep them looking their best. Below are my go-to organic and all-natural fertilizers, as well as my favorite pruning tools.
If you’re looking for an easy solution that makes feeding your houseplants brainless, then compost tea is a great option.
This organic based compost tea solution is a liquid concentrate that you can mix right into your watering can, for a no-fuss boost of natural nutrients.
If you have any indoor flowering plants, then you’ll definitely want to get something that encourages bigger and more fragrant blooms.
This liquid Big Bloom formula incorporates earthworm castings, bat guano, and other organic ingredients that offer a full range of nutrients, and is safe enough to use every time you water.
You can also use granular pellets to feed your flowering indoor plants, which makes it super easy.
This one is specifically designed to supply phosphorus to enhance flower development, as well as nitrogen to support growth through the season. It has an NPK of 4-9-3.
Many indoor plants are delicate and have thin stems and branches, and that’s wear having a nice pair of precision pruners will come in handy.
This is my go-to favorite one that I find myself reaching for all the time, and it’s ideal for snipping stems or deadheading.
As a bonus, the shap edges on the outside of the blades are great for slicing open burlap bags, sawing rope, cutting wire, and a variety of other garden tasks.
Once you get into indoor gardening, you’ll find that you’ll need quality supplies for fighting bugs, as well as propagating your plants. Skip the toxic chemicals and use natural, organic products instead. Below are the ones that I use.
If you prefer, you can make your own organic insecticidal spray using 1 tsp of mild liquid soap with 1 liter of water, and this is the soap that I always use.
Dr. Bronner’s baby mild pure castile soap kills bugs quickly, and I’ve never had any issues with it damaging my plants (though you should always test it on a few leaves before treating the whole plant).
There’s nothing worse than having tiny bugs flying around your houseplants, they are so annoying!
Yellow sticky traps are non-toxic and work to capture the flying adult insects, so you will be able to gain the upper hand as you work to get rid of them.
While this is definitely not required, you’ll want to get some hormone powder if you ever decide to try your hand at propagating houseplant cuttings.
This rooting hormone powder works great to speed up the process, and ensure your cuttings will form strong, healthy roots.
I hope that you’ve found my list of houseplant supplies and tools helpful. These are all products that I use on my indoor plants, so I know you will love them.
If you want to learn all there is to know about maintaining healthy houseplants year round, then you need my Houseplant Care eBook. It’ll show you how to keep any indoor plant thriving. Download your copy now.
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Tulips, Tulipa spp., are bulb flowers suited to in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7 that grow best in full sun and rich, well-draining soil.
They are native to mountainous regions in and around Turkey, where the stark surroundings are cold, dry, and windy.
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Many gardeners grow tulips as annuals, but botanically they are perennials with the potential to rebloom in consecutive years under ideal growing conditions.
This article offers nine tips for getting tulip bulbs to bloom more than once.
Here’s the lineup:
9 Tips to Get Tulips to Rebloom
Let’s get started!
The following tips suggest actions you can take to coax repeat blooms from your favorite springtime flowers.
1. Choose Wisely
The odds of a rebloom are in your favor when you choose botanical species, cultivated varieties of species, or hybrids bred for naturalization.
When a bulb naturalizes, it produces “daughters” beside it that bloom when they are fully mature.
Red and yellow Darwin hybrids.
As original bulbs multiply by producing daughters, their footprint in the garden enlarges. Large clumps divide easily by lifting and separating them to plant elsewhere.
In addition, letting a few flowers produce and disperse seeds after flowering may contribute to their proliferation.
However, it takes years for the seeds to grow into mature plants with bulbs, and hungry garden herbivores may find them first.
To naturalize to ensure repeat blooming, choose botanical species like water lily, Tulipa kaufmanniana, Greigii, Tulipa greigii, and hybrids like Darwin, Empire (aka Fosteriana), and Triumph.
Naturalizing plants should yield similar results from year to year, while non-naturalizing varieties coaxed to rebloom are likely to produce a less-showy display in successive years.
Note that if you receive flowers growing hydroponically (in water) or potted in soil as a gift, depending upon the stress undergone during commercial processing, the bulbs may or may not possess the vigor to rebloom.
However, you’ve got nothing to lose when you try the tips outlined below.
2. Deadhead Spent Blooms
Unless you are letting a few seeds fall from a naturalizing type, as mentioned above, you’ll want to deadhead all spent flowers.
Deadheadingis cutting off flowers after they bloom and before they fade. The purpose is to prevent seeds from forming and to promote energy storage.
When a flower is fading, use clean pruners or garden scissors to slice through its stem as low to the ground as possible without damaging the surrounding foliage.
Cut at a 45° angle to facilitate rain runoff.
Deadheading spent flowers and stems makes the garden more attractive and directs energy back to the bulb, increasing the likelihood of reblooming.
3. Ensure Ample Drainage
A common reason for a failure to re-flower is poor drainage, which leads to over- saturation and rotting.
Tulips prefer loose, organically-rich soil. The addition of compost not only adds nutrients, it aids in building well-aerated soil structure that allows water to penetrate and excess to run off.
Another way to improve drainage is to work the soil to a depth of eight to 10 inches before sowing new bulbs or resowing those that were lifted.
Loosening the soil helps to alleviate compacting and promotes moisture infiltration and drainage.
And finally, you can mound the soil above ground level before sowing to further improve excess water runoff.
4. Fertilize Appropriately
New bulbs from the nursery are self-contained vessels containing all the food they need to grow. There’s no reason to fertilize at planting time, but it usually doesn’t hurt to give them a little boost.
Similarly, if you are growing flowers as annuals, buying new each year, and discarding the old, you do not need to feed them. But a nutrient boost is beneficial if you expect reblooming.
In the fall in successive years, they suggest working bone meal and a well-balanced fertilizer, such as one with a 10-10-10 N-P-K ratio, into the soil to nourish the bulbs for a repeat performance the following spring.
And in the spring, they advise supporting foliar development with another application of balanced fertilizer, no bone meal required.
Nutritional supplementation goes a long way toward promoting vigor for repeat flowering.
5. Foil the Herbivores
In addition to eating seeds, herbivore pests like squirrels and groundhogs may feast upon bulbs.
One way to foil their efforts is to install cages made of chicken wire or old screening. A commercially produced wire or plastic basket may also prove useful.
The basket adds a valuable layer of protection from burrowing herbivores. And it’s helpful in locating and lifting clumps for storage, as we’ll discuss shortly.
Some users add loose-weave wire over the top for even greater deterrence.
Bosmere Garden Care Round Bulb Baskets are available from Bosmere via Amazon in packages of two. They measure 30 centimeters across or approximately 11.8 inches.
When sowing bulbs for the first time or in successive years, it’s worth taking this extra step to protect them. Any fully consumed are lost altogether, and chewed ones may never grow again.
6. Leave the Leaves Alone
Post-bloom, it’s essential to allow the foliage to remain in place. The leaves are still alive, absorbing sunlight for that magical conversion to energy stored for next year’s flowers.
Six to eight weeks of daily sunshine are needed for this crucial phase of the tulip’s life cycle. Without leaves to absorb sunlight, bulbs weaken.
Plants that grow in full sun, whether in the garden or in containers, are positioned perfectly for adequate sunlight absorption.
However, if you have an indoor Easter-time soil-filled pot or water-filled hydroponic vessel, you are likely to find yours doesn’t rebloom even after you follow the tips. Here are three reasons why:
Plants forced early for holiday sales are generally stressed.
These varieties are not likely to be botanical species or naturalizing hybrids.
Houseplants do not receive as much sun exposure as outdoor plants.
To give soil-potted or hydroponic bulbs the best chance of coming back:
When the last average spring frost date for your region passes, remove them from their container.
Deadhead the spent blooms per the above instructions.
Sow the bulbs in the garden for six to eight weeks of sun exposure per the planting directions we’ll discuss below.
Once the sunlight period is complete, either winter over in the ground or follow the suggestion below for lifting.
7. Lift the Bulbs
Tulips are hardy perennials that can winter over in the ground.
However, there may be dangers lurking beneath the soil and adverse climate conditions that may prevent them from making a healthy comeback.
First are those hungry herbivores, and second is standing water.
Poor drainage, excessive rainfall, and watering the bulbs after they finish for the season can all cause rotting and a failure to reflower.
In addition, repetitive freezing and thawing may cause them to heave from the ground and freeze, especially if planted shallowly, as we will discuss shortly.
To avoid these pitfalls, lift the bulbs from the ground after the leaves have naturally withered to yellow or brown.
Don’t wait until all the foliage falls off, or you might not be able to find the bulbs – unless you mark the planting sites in advance.
Here’s how to lift:
Dig under the bulbs and lift them up and out of the ground.
Brush the soil off.
Let loose foliage fall off by itself. Do not pull it.
Lift before the first fall frost or risk rotting.
Once lifted, store per the directions below.
8. Provide Cold Storage
Choose a dark, dry location for storage, like an unheated cellar, garage, or shed.
Spread the bulbs out on newspaper in a single layer and let them dry out for a week or more. Any remaining foliage should turn brown and fall off during the drying period.
Once dry, store the bulbs inside an old stocking or mesh vegetable bag. As you load them into the bag, separate them with pieces of newspaper to keep them from touching.
Suspend the bag from a hook or nail to allow air to circulate around and through it. Keeping the bulbs separate and promoting airflow inhibits rotting.
9. Replant Deeply
Plant tulips at a depth three times the diameter of each bulb, or about four to six inches deep.
Shallower planting may result in winter heaving, as mentioned.
When bulbs rise to the soil surface, they become vulnerable to intense summer heat, rotting in the rain, wildlife consumption, and winter freezing.
Appropriately deep planting is a reblooming essential.
Tune-Up Your Tulips
With these tips, bulbs have an excellent chance of regrowing with vigor in successive years.
Let’s recap:
Be sure to purchase varieties that are likely to come back, like botanical species, species cultivars, or hybrids bred for naturalizing.
Support bulb rejuvenation by deadheading spent blossoms stem and all, and let the foliage remain in place post-bloom.
Lift and store to ensure the bulbs remain dry and have an appropriate chilling period to induce dormancy.
And when it’s time to resow, choose a sunny, well-draining location, fertilize as directed, and plant deeply for best results.
Think of these tips as tulip tune-ups. With regular maintenance, tulip species, species cultivars, naturalizing hybrids, and even some modern cultivars forced for the holidays may yield three to five years of cheerful springtime flowers – or sometimes more!
Do you grow tulips at your house? Which tips worked for you to ensure a repeat show of colorful flowers? Please share your comments below.
Every year I am jumping up and down by February, eager to begin ordering plants, seeds, and start little veggies. I am often too early; I am so excited. I also give very little thought to where things should go. After a couple of years here, I think I have this figured out.
Spring Planting
I am a row planter in the vegetable garden, with the exception of beans and corn which cavort together in a rather disorganized fashion. So too, the melons and squash, which tend to take over their area. Yet in spite of my regimented approach to planting vegetables, in most cases, I put things where they will shade another plant. Not a good way to get a bountiful harvest.
This year I have a new plan. I literally charted out where each variety of food will grow. I am hoping this will give me better yields and my watering schedule will be more productive. I have also vowed not to let hybrid squash, which we rarely eat, and sunflowers, run unchecked in the garden. The whole effect is one of verdant abundance but really doesn’t help my maintenance of the wanted foods.
Another thing I am doing this year in the dirt farm is starting a honeybee operation. We rarely see honeybees out here. We have plenty of wasps of various varieties, and I see a ton of bumblebees, but not many honeybees. I am not sure if the local population is decimated due to crop pesticide use or if they are victims of hive collapse or murder bees (which have been seen the last two years out here), but I want to help the poor little things reestablish. I already have some of my gear but am waiting until spring to order my bees. I hope to have some fresh honey and better yields out of my fruit trees and vegetable garden.
Spring Planning
Before I start planting vegetables, I also want to establish a little chicken colony. They will be incorporated into my garden planning, so they have a free range area, but don’t disturb new plants coming up. There is plenty of room to have the hens, bees, and veggies if I adhere to my garden planning. I will have to fence off areas where I am planting vegetables, so they don’t scratch up new seedlings. This won’t be too much trouble, as I have fencing left over from a new fence erected last spring.
The blank space left from our first freeze was a shock at first. It hit so quick and so hard that what was one day a living, green mass of veggies, was in one day, a mushy, dead mess. Once cleaned up, I see it as an opportunity to right some wrongs, plan for the future, and anticipate our spring crops. Adding some more life to the dirt farm will enhance its productivity and give me an opportunity to try something new.
Since you’ve worked so hard in the garden this summer we want to show off the fruits (and veggies) of your labor!
Over the next 10 days, we invite you to join the Gardening Know How Virtual Harvest Show by submitting photos of your harvest. You can upload your photos here or on your favorite social media channel by using #GKHHarvestShow when you post.
Submissions from across the GKH Community will be displayed here. After submitting your bounty, scroll through the gallery and vote on your favorite pics. You can also check out the entries on social media, by searching #GKHHarvestShow.
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Ronnie “Trey” Williams used to be a baseball coach and president of his local baseball league. Trey began Hood Honey to help bring attention to his friend Sam Booze’s organization “Leaders of Our Future America.” Trey asked another friend Alex, a former player in the baseball league, to help him after seeing Alex’s posts on Instagram. Trey and Sam had a discussion about the things they excelled at. Trey is very good at gardening and coaching, and Sam had the financial muscle to support the project. In the neighborhood where they grew up, Trey and Sam started an organization to create and support future American leaders, starting with an urban farm.
A primary educational focus at Hood Honey is, of course, the honeybees. Bees, their life cycles and honey production bring interest, attention and practical learning to young people in this community. Trey feels the knowledge that’s gained here with the bees builds with the additional experiences involved in gardening. The honey business gives rise to financial literacy, and the layers of learning and wisdom continue to develop from there. The farm exemplifies their mission of black economic development in the Mt Pleasant region.
“Lots” of Opportunities
The Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Trey’s childhood sits right in the middle of Cleveland and has quite a history. In the late 1800s, in lieu of cash, many African American workers were paid with lots on these streets where they built homes for their families. Now, decades later, the neighborhood needs work. Many houses have been demolished leaving bare, empty lots.
In 2021 Trey and Sam privately funded the initial beehive project. They received grant funding from St. Luke’s Foundation, in Cleveland, and put their focus on a few different neighborhoods. That grant was just a start.
The land where Hood Honey resides was once Trey’s grandmother’s property. Trey wants to expand this “campus” to a square mile of these vacant lots, adding chickens, goats and whatever is compatible in this deeply urban neighborhood, with a goal toward food sufficiency and education. There are convenience stores in the area, but no full-service grocery store, so food sufficiency is an issue.
Learning in the Hood
Field trips to Hood Honey prove to be an eye-opening learning experience. Groups of students come in from different schools and organizations to explore and learn. The kids are treated to classes where they learn all about bees and their life cycles and how they produce honey. They also get a tour of the garden.
One of the goals of Hood Honey is to make the garden a true “day care connection” where students can come and be safe and comfortable after school. Here they’ll learn all about gardening and growing their own food, working with the bees and honey production, but perhaps most importantly, they will be learning leadership skills.
Hood Honey’s excess garden produce goes primarily to neighbors. While being resourceful with what’s available in this area, such as donations of wood chips, cut grass from city parks and donations of chairs, garden tools and time, Trey is encouraging folks in the neighborhood to become familiar with the city’s farmers’ markets.
Community Outreach
Trey is hoping the garden will become a CSA site. In the meantime, younger kids plant lettuce and sunflowers, while older kids get involved in beekeeping. They also get the experience of doing a bit of weeding, mulching and watering. Trey and Alex do much of the work along with volunteers, and are hoping for more support as time goes on. The STEM Kids daycare supports the effort with volunteers and students, while Hood honey provides two garden leaders. Trey mentions that there are fifty other areas in the city where similar community garden projects are in some stage of operation.
The important multi-layered work that Trey, Sam, Alex and others are doing here will contribute to the knowledge and motivation of the community, in particular, the kids who whose leadership skills are being honed by this generous, hardworking team of gardener/beekeepers. Gardening Know How’s sponsorship program is happy to support Hood Honey and its goals. Donations to this incredible project are always welcome.
Every year, Gardening Know How awards $1,000 to 20 different, hand-picked garden projects across the United States and Canada. If your community or school garden has a growing, unmet need for more soil, seeds, fertilizers, building materials, or even just help getting the word out about your program, we’re ready and willing to help you meet those needs. As community gardens and school gardening programs spring up all over, we’re happy to do our part to help. Click here to learn more about our sponsorship program.
Winter can be a tough time for gardeners, and anyone who prefers green and growth to gray and cold. But as an enthusiastic gardener, I still find ways to cultivate and grow plants even in the depths of winter. When the winter months seem to go on forever, try creating a terrarium, a little tropical garden indoors.
What is a Terrarium?
A true terrarium is completely closed, usually made of glass, and encloses a mini-ecosystem of moisture-loving plants. Because it’s sealed, a terrarium has its own water cycle. If done correctly, a terrarium does not need to be watered.
This kind of balance is difficult to achieve, so an easier way to enjoy a terrarium is with one that has some opening for air flow and watering. Also, with a closed terrarium, you can always open it up for maintenance, to dry it out or add more water.
How to Create a Winter Terrarium
Because a terrarium is naturally wet and warm, it’s a perfect environment for cheery tropical plants. And that makes it the perfect antidote to winter gloom. Choose small tropical houseplants that enjoy moisture, warmth, and indirect light:
Succulents, cacti, and other desert plants do not do particularly well in a terrarium. However, you can create something like a terrarium by planting these dry weather plants in an open container, like a fish bowl, and limiting watering.
The actual terrarium can take many forms, from large costly glass houses to simple jars. Any glass container you can get plants into will do.
Because there is no drainage in a terrarium, a bottom layer of activated charcoal and pea gravel is essential. Next comes a good potting soil that is moist enough to clump in your hands but not soaking wet.
Add your plants to the soil, and your terrarium is done. It’s a simple concept but not always easy in practice. Don’t be surprised if your plants die within a few weeks. It takes practice and care to find the right balance. Experimenting with a terraria is a great winter activity, giving you something to grow and providing some green relief from the cold, gray days.
