I am in this picture. Somewhere. When you’re snowbound for a week or better, as in ’77, you remember it. But a lot of snowstorms—even ones that seem spectacular at the time—can fade into the mist. It melts. And all the storms melt together as the years go by. Recent winters have not been remarkable [...]
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Thoughts about our garden. “We desire,” the Emporer dictated, “that in the garden there should be all kinds of plants.” Charlemagne the Gre. […]
Body: posted by Holly Scoggins Of course we want to buy locally-grown plants! There are a gazillion sound reasons to do so. In a paper that may be f. […]
While reading the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I stumbled upon a new (to me) trend in outdoor living: Outdoor Televisions! Phew! It’s. […]
I'm all ready to be skeptical about some company that promises to offer garden centers a canned, pre-made, searchable website database thingy that promises to solve all their Internet and social media woes. I mean,the whole point of independent garden centers is that they're independent, right? And any kind...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarI’m not much of a consumer, in part because what I really want–Prada boots, thanks, an actual glass greenhouse, and a grey gunite swimming pool–I can’t afford. I have a European mother. I learned from her to be stubborn about the nice stuff and just to wait for it....
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarI was persuaded to buy a moisture meter when I bought some potted citrus trees recently. Citrus trees are very finicky about moisture when they are grown in a pot, and the proper way to judge their water needs is to check the moisture about 4 inches below the...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarDear Companies Whose Products We Discuss on GardenRant, If you're going to post a comment in which you pretend to be an ordinary gardener who likes the product your company manufactures, thereby defending the product against the scorn or derision that has been heaped upon it by GardenRant and...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic, Taking Your Gardening DollarFor those of you just tuning in, you can read Part One here. Let me begin by saying that I consider Black & Decker to be a perfectly fine company that makes loads of useful and cool-looking tools. Nothing makes me feel more like a badass than firing up...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarSome of you may recall that I had a few things to say about the Black & Decker EasyBloom a while back. Do we really need little egadgets in the garden to tell us when to water or what to plant, that sort of thing. Well, the people...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarWhen we did that survey asking you what you'd like to see more of from independent garden centers, a surprising number of you wrote some variation of "No more cheap crap from China!" Over and over you said that you wanted independent, locally-owned businesses to sell independent, locally-made products....
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollarby Guest Susan Tomlinson of The Bike Garden This is Clint. As you can see, he works in the paint department of Home Depot. What you can't see is that he’s also the bass man in a beloved local band, The Thriftstore Cowboys. I met Clint a few years...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening DollarAttention all gardenbloggers – you could be landing a great writing gig, and it's as close as your favorite garden center. Here's a couple of reports from behind the scenes at garden center blogs. First, my guest post on the blog of a corporate blogging guru (she wrote the...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarLast week I had an assignment that required me to contact a variety of organic pest control companies. Let me say right off the bat that a surprising number of them don't have any contact information for their media or PR person. This seems very strange to me. A...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarA guest rant from Sandra Knauf. I was a real jerk last February 13th. Maybe it was inevitable—after weeks doing financial aid paperwork for our daughter’s college applications and our taxes, I’d had no time to even think about doing anything fun, like gardening. But I was not...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening DollarAnd here's a guest rant by Susan Hampshire/Ink and Penstemons When whimsy goes horribly wrong If you visit an average suburban American garden you're likely to find lots of stuff: gazing balls, pinwheels, critters made of cast-concrete—maybe even some plants. If the gardeners are well-heeled, you may also spot...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening DollarHere's a rant from Barbara Pintozzii/Mr. McGregor's Daughter. UPDATE: I have moved this post up because the discussion is great and I hope more will join in. Also, please see Trey/Blogging Nurseryman's recent posts for more great talk about IGCs. Dear Independent Garden Center (IGC) Owner: I want to...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Taking Your Gardening DollarAnd there was plenty. Though a lot of what I saw in Chicago was similar to what might be on the exhibit floors at a big public garden show or, even more likely, the Garden Writers’ annual conference, there were a good number of new or newish things that...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarA fall scene at one of my local igcs Little did I imagine as an art critic, then museum curator, then magazine editor that I’d ever be attending anything called the Independent Garden Center Show, much less speaking at it. Yet, I am getting on a plane to do...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarThanks to Amy for surveying you all about what you want from your local garden center, including: "Social Networking: IGCs should be blogging, doing Facebook, Twitter, email newsletters, YouTube videos, etc." But let's dig deeper coz that's my particular interest. (Full disclosure: it's how I'm paying the bills these...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarAnd put guys like this out of business? From Paul Tukey at SafeLawns.org we hear about some unintended consequences that somebody needs to look into. First, New York banned pesticides around school playing fields and playgrounds. So far, so good. Then, in mid-July the legislators also banned phosphorus from...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening DollarPotting media is one of those things I buy with very little pleasure. It often seems too expensive, the bags are heavy, and it gets used up all too quickly, no matter what tricks I employ (other empty pots in there taking up space, and so on). And then...
Read more in: Ministry of Controversy, Taking Your Gardening DollarSocial networking. IGCs should be blogging, doing Facebook, Twitter, email newsletters, YouTube videos, etc. Going organic. IGCs should offer organically-grown plants, and fertilizers/pesticides approved for organic use, exclusively or as much as possible. Going local. IGCs should offer locally-made and locally-grown plants and products, support local community...
Read more in: Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Commented on The Animals and Garden Amenities of Plantsman David Culp { There has to be a green house for all those potted plants. I have 8 and that is too many for this climate without a... } – May 25, 8:00 PM
Commented on Roses redux { I heartily agree that 'Darcy Bussell' and 'Lady Emma Hamilton' are well worth their space in the garden. I have also had excellent luck with... } – May 25, 7:24 PM
Commented on The Animals and Garden Amenities of Plantsman David Culp { Well, for me it depends on what kind of stuff. I love David's taste, though - in everything, as far as I noticed in his... } – May 25, 12:27 PM
Commented on The Animals and Garden Amenities of Plantsman David Culp { Exquisite. Love the book. Love your post. } – May 25, 11:39 AM
Commented on The Animals and Garden Amenities of Plantsman David Culp { What a perfect garden and I love that you loved the STUFF. Stuff can be a no no to some of the more snobish garden... } – May 25, 10:14 AMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
