Dear Santa, The holiday season is approaching fast, so shopping has begun with a vengeance. I know that when I give gifts, I want the gift to be the perfect gift for each person; but I want the gift to be a great surprise. I am hoping those who give gifts will also surprise this […]

Family Dinner by anoldent Once again, this GardenLady has been asked how to protect plants from all the wildlife that visit gardens and think they are their personal supermarkets. Sometimes it seems to me that we, the humans, are in the cage while the animals roam around enjoying the bounty that we plant. Mostly, we […]

Thanksgiving Decoration by alasam Thanksgiving is coming soon and if you are like TheGardenLady, you are planning your festive meal. In contemplating what to serve, it struck me that there is one vegetable that is so tied up with the holiday, a vegetable that one could use as a basis for almost every course in […]

Another person I met at the conference was one of the owner’s of Bob’s Market and Greenhouses. Later he invited a group of us to visit their greenhouses and meet the rest of the family who run this wonderful company. We not only got a chance to learn about this company and ask questions, but […]

Anna Ball (Photo from CobraHead Blog) I wrote how this GardenLady enjoys attending horticulture lectures. I recently attended a horticulture conference where the keynote speaker was Anna Ball, the President and CEO of the Ball Horticultural Company whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. Blue and Lilac Wave Petunias by Mr.Mac2009 The Ball company is a […]

Plant Sale by jaimekop This is a great time of the year to get bargain prices on plants. Though the ground in many areas is still able to be dug to enable one to plant, few people seem to realize that one can still plant perennials, bulbs, shrubs and trees. In fact, this is a […]

morning glory seeds by oceandesetoiles TheGardenLady received this question from someone called the Chicago Urban Gardener:  I recently read and enjoyed your article on morning glories, in which you describe how you start the plant from seed. I was curious to know, however, whether you buy your seeds or harvest them from the previous year’s […]

  Recently a reader of TheGardenLady asked if I could identify some shrubs that grow in her area. TheGardenLady believes she knows the genus of plants they are but is not quite sure of the species.  Bridalwreath Spiraea by louisa_catlover The white flowered shrub is in the spirea family. And I believe the species is […]

Aconitum columbianum by Eric in SF By now readers know how excited this GardenLady gets when a flower finally bursts into bloom. To this end I want to let everyone know that my monkshood flowers (aconitum) have finally opened. Books generally say this flower opens in mid to late summer. Mine opens in late September […]

October Snow by Elizabeth Thomsen I don’t know about my readers who live on the east coast, but I am still reeling over the snowstorm we just had this October. In October!!!!  There was never a snowstorm in this part of the country in October that I can recall- and I won’t tell you how […]