Not long ago we had a lively discussions here (145 comments!) in answer to the question: What do we think of Master Gardeners?“ Much of the criticism of the MG program was focused on the name, and several commenters opined that “Extension Volunteer” would be more accurate and cause less resentment from others in the [...]
Read more in: Ministry of Controversy, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Susan Harris on April 19, 2013 at 8:27 am This post has 44 responses.
On a recent afternoon, after a day and a half of strenuous garden work, Professor Roush quit working and took a number of photos to convince himself, and all of you, that spring was beginning in Kansas. I was sidetracked, however, by the quick appearance of a small storm...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
James Roush on April 12, 2013 at 9:03 am This post has 6 responses.
In the early days of the iPhone, we were ravening for gardening apps. After a while though, the craving just seemed to go away. I have several theories on that. It could be that our devices have become so essential to the tasks of multi-level communication, social media, mapping,...
Read more in: Armitage Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on April 2, 2013 at 10:06 am This post has 5 responses.
We here at GardenRant World Headquarters have not had much luck with gardening apps so far. They seemed so bright and shiny and new and full of promise at first, but then–meh. The thrill faded quickly, and I didn’t have a single garden app on my iPhone when...
Read more in: Designs, Tricks, and Schemes, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Amy Stewart on March 15, 2013 at 5:02 am This post has 8 responses.
For the last couple years, I have been reading ominous reports of downy mildew decimating impatiens plants. As most of you know, it’s more than just reports now. It’s real—to the extent that entire plantings of traditional impatiens (impatiens walleriana) have been completely wiped out throughout the United Kingdom,...
Read more in: It's the Plants, Darling, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on February 25, 2013 at 8:00 am This post has 25 responses.
The desire to create a miniature world makes perfect sense to me. This is why we have dollhouses, train sets, collections of tiny objects, and boutique dictatorships. Daily life spins out of control on a regular basis—most of us are just trying to keep up, or at least make...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on February 19, 2013 at 7:43 am This post has 23 responses.
Guest Rant by Shenandoah Kepler I’m a Baby Boomer and am told that just as we changed the work environment as we entered it, we’re now changing the nature of retirement and aging. So, have you noticed that you can now go into most big-box hardware stores and find...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Garden Rant on February 17, 2013 at 10:24 am This post has 26 responses.
Every January I spend a day at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in downtown Baltimore, lured by the people I’ll run into as much as by the actual products and companies on display. I’ll let others judge whether MANTS lives up to the distinction it claims for itself...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar, Unusually Clever People
Posted by
Susan Harris on February 9, 2013 at 8:00 am This post has 9 responses.
by Debra Prinzing Read on to WIN ONE DOZEN AMERICAN ROSES Post a comment here about why American-grown flowers are important to you! You might just win one dozen gorgeous roses from Oregon or California! We have rose donations from Eufloria Flowers and Peterkort Roses. Two winners will be...
Read more in: Books, Guest Rants, It's the Plants, Darling, Taking Your Gardening Dollar, What's Happening
Posted by
debra on February 7, 2013 at 5:34 am This post has 90 responses.
THE TEN WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. THANKS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS, AND THANKS, MIRIAM FOR ANSWERING THEM! Last weekend, the proprietors of Wildflower Farm paid me a visit while on one of their regular Buffalo business trips. Miriam Goldberger and Paul Jenkins’s seed business is located in Coldwater, Ontario, an...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on January 14, 2013 at 8:00 am This post has 100 responses.
A big “thank you” to Margaret Roach for recommending a garden hose that’s unlike the many hoses I’ve used and hated over my lifetime of using them. Even (especially!) the so-called “never kink” variety, which have kinked for me as soon as a month after purchase. Hated them. Hated...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Susan Harris on January 11, 2013 at 9:43 am This post has 34 responses.
If you’re sitting around in a post-holiday daze, wondering what to load onto the new ereader/tablet/laptop/smartphone you just got over the holidays, I have an answer! To my delight, my publisher Algonquin has put a ton of ebooks on sale today. Here’s a list of all the garden/nature titles...
Read more in: Books, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Amy Stewart on December 29, 2012 at 3:29 pm This post has 3 responses.
HT to my husband who saw this commercial and brought it to my attention. We’re getting carpeted with snow by the first real winter storm I’ve seen in a while (last winter barely deserved the name), and I’ve been thinking about the garden. On my list of projects are:...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on December 27, 2012 at 8:00 am This post has 17 responses.
So last year I planted this cocktail garden. It was a huge undertaking that I wrote not a word about, in part because I was too busy doing it. The space was one of those typically difficult side yards found around a lot of old houses: as little...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail Hour, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Amy Stewart on December 26, 2012 at 4:28 am This post has 7 responses.
Despite the fact that I have no intention of growing any plants from seeds—not in this garden, anyway—I love a good seed catalog. Baker Creek is one of the classics. Over 200 pages long, the bulk of the book is devoted to vegetables, with much smaller sections on flowers...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Elizabeth Licata on December 17, 2012 at 8:00 am This post has 8 responses.
As near as I can tell, the gardening industry has overlooked a vast area of marketing that has the potential to start a gardening revolution among young folk and thus grow a new generation of gardeners in this country. Following in the footsteps of a current wildly successful television series, The Walking Dead, and...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
James Roush on December 13, 2012 at 1:36 pm This post has 8 responses.
Thanks to all of you who submitted ideas for our annual handmade holiday gift roundup, in which we celebrate the botanical-themed, garden-ish, homemade and handmade items that you, too, could buy for the gardeners on your list. It’s always a good idea to celebrate the work of artisans, craftspersons,...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar, Uncategorized
Posted by
Amy Stewart on December 12, 2012 at 4:59 am This post has 6 responses.
Christmas present image via Shutterstock. As we do most years around this time, we’re putting out a call for your holiday garden gift ideas–with the stipulation that they must be handmade. Arts and crafts, one-of-a-kind, made by an actual person because they like making stuff–those sorts of gifts. If...
Read more in: Shut Up and Dig, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Amy Stewart on November 28, 2012 at 4:33 am This post has 22 responses.
image via Shutterstock Another giveaway, another winner, chosen at random–and the planter box goes to Caitlin, who plans to pass it on to her mother who gardens in heavy clay. Thanks, people!
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
gr_admin on November 7, 2012 at 4:31 am This post has 2 responses.
Ebooks rarely go on sale, but this month two of mine are available through special promotions if you want them: For the month of November only, pick up Flower Confidential for $1.99 as an ebook at Apple, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Kobo, Google, and Amazon. Wicked Bugs...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Posted by
Amy Stewart on November 3, 2012 at 12:30 pm This post has 3 responses.
