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Report From PIA – March 4
One of my favorite tender container plants is Euphorbia ‘Sticks of Fire’. I’ve had it in a pot for about six years, putting it out in the summertime and inside for the winter. As I drive around my hometown today, and read emails about last night’s blog, I thought of [...]
Report From PIA – February 7
I was reading the catalog from Digging Dog Nursery this morning, turning down page corners and circling plant names. I want seven of this, five of that, and…. before I got to page seven, a huge case of plant-lust has kicked in.
Aside from the varieties that I really must have, [...]
Report From PIA – February 5
I got an email today from a woman who was perplexed about her hydrangeas. “They’ve been blue for several years,” she wrote, “but the last two years they got taller and turned pink.” She wondered if the height and color change were related.
Full disclosure here: the photos below are not [...]
Report From PIA – December 2
When my mother-in-law came for an extended stay last year, she brought her two houseplants. One was a scraggly Dracaena that she’s had in her living room every since I first met her in 1971. The other was an African violet.
I repotted the African violet because the container it was [...]
Report From PIA – November 25
It was a day when the outdoors, if not the impending holiday, invited quietness. It misty and soft, with fog tucked in the tops of trees and hanging over the lake. I walked around the garden this afternoon, and although there are many plants still in bloom, it was the [...]
I volunteer for Allexperts.com, a free service where people can ask questions about a wide range of topics. I’m listed as an expert on annuals, but people write to me with all kinds of plant questions, and I’m happy to help them out.
Sometimes the person whose question was answered responds with a little note, and [...]
Report From PIA – October 28
I was standing in a consultation client’s yard the other day, and we stood looking at a section next to the south side of her house. The client was a busy woman, who didn’t have much time for gardening, so throughout the entire conversation I suggested ways that she and [...]
Report From PIA – October 23
This summer, fur balls came to my garden, and I’m not talking about the stuff coughed up by cats.
Two nights ago I spoke to a group of Master Gardeners in Rhode Island. As we finished the evening up, they asked what plants I was excited about this year. I told [...]
Report From PIA – October 5
Those who come to this blog for thoughtful musings will please forgive me today because I’m about to gush about a plant. Yes, it’s an all-out OMG-isn’t-this-flower-outrageously-gorgeous plant rave.
I’m nuts about dahlias, the queens of October in my late-to-frost-seaside region. All of these annuals are fantastic right now, and thank [...]
Report From PIA – September 27 – on assignment in Raleigh, NC
As I began this year of conscious cultivation, one of the things I vowed to grow was the plants that I’m familiar with. Today I added a new plant to my knowledge bank: Salvia mexicana.
I saw this plant in two gardens here in North [...]
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