Would you like to grow your best garden ever? Well, great gardens don’t just happen. They certainly do not magically appear in your yard. So, the sooner you plan and start your best garden ever, the sooner it will begin to manifest in your yard. A great garden is typically the result of careful planning. Most extraordinary gardens are created over a period of years using the garden plan. Add a few happy accidents that happen along the way, and you have the recipe for a special horticultural wonder that will be the envy of the neighborhood. Don’t Be Afraid of Small Failures Talk to experienced gardeners and garden experts, and most will freely admit to buying plants that did not survive in their gardens. Karen Park Jennings, the former president of Park Seed, once told me, “I’ve learned a lot by killing plants.” That’s part of being a gardener. Some gardeners will even admit that some of their favorite plants arrived as volunteers in their garden. One of the healthiest … [Read more...] about Grow Your Best Garden Ever
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Best Roses for Backyard Gardens
The best roses are truly the superstars of garden flowers. They are revered all over the world for their beauty. As a lifelong gardener, it was difficult for me to select the 10 best roses to grow in a backyard garden. Many great roses didn’t make the cut. (Such is the downside of creating a Top 10 list!) All of the roses on my best roses list have edible petals. In fact, these roses have delicious edible petals. That’s one of the reasons they made this list of Top 10 Roses. (Just cut off the white part at the base of the petals, which can be bitter.) If you would like more information—including six recipes that use edible rose petals—read Garden Roses: Queen of Edible Flowers. A word about growing roses All roses need full sun, preferably at least 6 hours of sun per day. Roses prefer to grow in moist, rich, sandy, well-drained soil. Rose bushes also like to be mulched with a 3-inch-deep layer of organic mulch. Roses like to be watered deeply but infrequently—perhaps … [Read more...] about Best Roses for Backyard Gardens
Container Gardening for Beginners
Gardening is trending again, and container gardening for beginners is leading the way. People who have never grown plants before are suddenly interested in planting a garden. Call it a “green lining” in this strange, pandemic-dominated year. “Whether you live in a densely packed city or in suburbia, you can successfully grow edible plants and vegetables,” said Randy Schultz, content editor for Home, Garden and Homestead. “You can grow tomatoes, beans, spinach, squash and so much more. Container gardening for beginners is the way to go, and the time to start is right now.” What is container gardening? Quite simply, container gardening is growing plants in pots, planters, tubs, half barrels, an old cowboy boot or any other thing that can hold some potting soil and a plant. Basically, it is growing a plant in anything that’s not a traditional in-the-ground garden plot. That’s why container gardening for beginners is so perfect. No garden plot is required, and you can … [Read more...] about Container Gardening for Beginners
Garden Roses: Queen of Edible Flowers
When it comes to edible flowers, edible roses recipes are among my favorites. Roses are among the most ancient of flowers and are one of the most revered. Fossil records indicate roses have been on Earth for more than 40 million years—predating humans. Native only to the northern hemisphere, roses will also grow south of the Equator. The Greek poet Sappho summed it all up more than 2,500 years ago when she called roses the “Queen of Flowers.” That's why I consider edible roses recipes to be the queens of edible flowers foods. After all, roses have been cultivated for thousands of years. But the ancient Romans get the credit for introducing the flowers to the world as edible. (Peasants already used the rose hips). Selecting Edible Roses for Flavor There are more than 200 species of roses and 20,000 man-made hybrids. The flavors of rose petals run the gamut from totally flavorless to bitter, sour to sweet, slightly spicy to herbal and apple to minty. With all the roses to choose … [Read more...] about Garden Roses: Queen of Edible Flowers
Edible Spring Flowers: Dandelions, Tulips and Violets
After a long winter is finally over and flowers are bursting forth everywhere, it’s time to start thinking about edible spring flowers. Edible spring flowers (and some edible summer flowers) grow throughout the garden—and even in the lawn. These flowers do double duty, because they are as attractive outdoors in the yard and the meadow as they are on the plate. And they taste really good. Let’s look at three spring-blooming edible flowers —dandelions, sweet violets and tulips. While some folks bemoan dandelions and violets in their lawns, I rejoice at the ever-increasing number of lawns that are not pristine green, because the presence of these lively yellow and purple flowers mean that the lawn has not been treated with chemicals. (See The 10 Commandments of Edible Flowers posted here on HG&H.com.) Meanwhile, tulips rarely have any pests or diseases, so there’s no need for any chemical intervention. Edible Flowers: Dandelion Native Americans and the American … [Read more...] about Edible Spring Flowers: Dandelions, Tulips and Violets
