Once again TheGardenLady is recommending having plants in your house, especially now during the cold and flu season. It is important that our houses and offices have good air quality all the time so you don’t suffer breathing problems, but it seems doubly important when you are gasping for breath with a stuffed nose: you [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Daniel:
I would like to grow a food plant of some sort in my dorm room. I was wondering what kind of plant you would suggest. I don’t have a lot of time or gardening skill, so an easy to care for plant would be ideal. Also, our [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Kevin.
I have a very small front area, very small, 2′x25′ with very little sun. I was thinking about some kind of ornamental grass for height and some other colorful flowers.  Any ideas?
In order to give you a more precise answer, TheGardenLady would need to know your temperature zone and the [...]

One Sunday in May TheGardenLady was invited to lunch at Lacroix
Restaurant in the Rittenhouse Hotel on Rittenhouse Square. The restaurant advertises itself as having one of the 10 best hotel brunches in the US. TheGardenLady will not talk about the wonderful ambiance of the restaurant or the fantastic service we had that day nor [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Tiffany.
I recently purchased two three foot tall peace lillies and my cat keeps chewing the leaves. How can I stop the cat from eating the leaves without damaging the plants?
From your question it doesn’t seem like the cat is using the plant soil as its kitty litter but is [...]

TheGardenLady received this question.
I’d like to plant variegated hostas beneath a pink dogwood this spring. Is it a good idea?
TheGardenLady thinks that planting variegated hostas under a pink dogwood sounds gorgeous. But because dogwoods are being stressed these days, plant the hostas with caution (see here).
Be careful not to plant the hostas too [...]

TheGardenLady received this question.
I have a huge Bleeding heart plant the I would like to divide. I see buds coming out about the size of a pinky nail. Is it too late to divide? I am afraid of killing it.
The correct time to divide Bleeding Heart, Dicentra spectabilis is in September. At that time the [...]

TheGardenLady received this question from Donna:
I have a  that is turning yellow. I have had it for over ten years and it’s been in the same pot since. It has always done well, but here recently it is becoming sick. There hasn’t been any change to it to cause it. Any [...]

The strongest flavored tea made from the Camellia sinenses leaves is called black tea or red tea.  Black tea is the tea which was most commonly sold over the years in the US by brand names like Tetley, Lipton or “Good Morning” organic. Black teas are made from “fermented” tea leaves.
What is called fermentation is [...]

It is cold outside, especially if you live in an area where it is frigid or snowing or raining. This is the time of year for drinking lots of hot tea, the world’s second most popular beverage after water. And now that there are so many articles about the health benefits of drinking tea, such [...]