English cottage gardens have a very romantic feel to them. The look may seem haphazard but is actually planned. To choose cottage garden plants, think of tall flowering perennials, self seeding annuals and hardy biennials to give your garden just the right look. A cottage garden has a very distinct style that throws formality out…
bulThere a many Spring Blooming Plants that arrive very early in the year. Some even peek through the last of the winter snow. This collection will give you some idea of what to be on the lookout for this year for your spring garden. What flowers bloom in spring? The answer is a simple one. …
This article shows you how to use onions as indoor plants. Growing onions indoors is a fun project and one that the kids will love to help with.Onions are easy to grow both outdoors and inside. They are one of those vegetables that we use often and the demand for this means that they are a…
Spring is right around the corner and flowers on a breakfast table are always a lovely sight. Forcing paperwhites indoors will give you a delightful splash of spring color in just a few weeks. The project can be done in soil or in water and the kids will love to help. My bulbs have been blooming…
Do you like Bluegrass music with a side of daylilies? If you do, you’ll enjoy this virtual tour of the daylilies at Wildwood Farms in Floyd, Virginia. Located just 42 miles from Roanoke, VA and very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, you will find Wildwood Farms. This general store features live Bluegrass music from…
Oxalis is a shamrock-like plant that is also commonly referred to as love plant and wood sorrel. This plant is easy to grow, can sometimes be considered a weed and is a popular perennial plant that shows up around St. Patrick’s Day. Growing Oxalis is actually pretty easy. Keeping it under control can often be…
If you enjoy the beauty of spring blooming bulbs, it takes a bit of early planning to get that look in your garden. This list of 15 bulbs to plant in fall will make sure that next year gets started with a burst of color with very little effort on your part. I’ve also included lots…
Flowering bulbs are some of the easiest plants to grow. Some of the spring flowering bulbs, such as tulips, crocuses and daffodils will give you weeks for flowering long before other perennials have started to show up. How well do you know your flower bulb types? Do the words bulbs corms rhizomes tubers and bulbets…
Nothing quite brightens a mood like cheerful yellow flowers. There are loads of annuals and perennials that bring this bright splash of color to your garden. The contrast of the cheerful color against the green leaves makes a fabulous play in a garden bed. Did you know that May 30 is Water a Flower Day? …
The red hot poker is a showy and dramatic plant. If you love growing perennials that give color all summer long, this is the plant for you. Other names for this showy plant are torch lily and poker plant. The botanical name for this plant is kniphofia uvaria and there are more than 70 known species…
Biltmore Estate Gardens are a highlight of a visit to this iconic estate in Western North Carolina. The gardens, while not classified as a Botanical Gardens per se, is a fabulous place to see plants of all types. My husband and I recently spent several days in the mountains of North Carolina with our daughter.…
This post brought to you by Gilmour. The content and opinions expressed below are that of The Gardening Cook. Get A Successful Garden Make Over With 14 Easy Tips. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my…
Iris is one my favorite flowers when it comes to growing perennials. I remember that my mother used to have them in all her garden beds, and when I see them now, I get very nostalgic. Iris – Easy to Grow Perennial Rhizome is one of my Favorites. What I love most about irises is…
My husband used to buy me lilies all the time because he loved the look of them so much. I love them too, but not as cut flowers indoors (they have a stinky smell inside that I don’t like.) I never had the inclination to tell him that they were not my favorite cut flower…
Anyone who gets interested in growing perennials while find themselves also interested in daylilies. These showing perennial bulbs are dramatic, come back year after year and are easy to grow. Red Vols Daylily is a spectacular daylily that was a Better Homes and Gardens winner of the year in 2000 and it’s easy to see…
Trying to get color and interest in a shade garden can be a challenge. But there are some that don’t mind it at all . In fact, these 20+ perennial and annual plants love the shade. There is a lushness about them that I really enjoy, too. My shade garden is thriving. I planted this…
I love vegetable gardening. There is nothing quite like harvesting and cooking vegetables that you have grown. If you like to grow vegetables, be sure to ready my post about how to troubleshoot vegetable garden problems as well as some solutions. One of the problems that can happen when you start a vegetable garden is…
This year has been a series of set backs in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February which resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long…
Each morning, all during the spring and summer, I start my day with a walk around my flower beds. I just love to see what has happened from the previous day. I’ve been waiting for my bearded irises to bloom so it was a lovely surprise today. This particular variety is one of my great early…
Spring is such a special time of the y ear. There is nothing quite like walking around a garden bed that shows a hint of what is to come with perennial bulbs starting to flower. These 3 easy bulbs will bring you color year after year. Plant these bulbs in fall for a blast of…
Growing perennials means lots of color when you plant gladioli. There is something about a bare piece of ground that suddenly breaks with foliage at an amazing rate and then bursts in a splendid show of flowers a few weeks later. Gladiolus are not actually bulbs but are considered perennial corms. Gladiolus is often called…
This has been the longest winter ever. I used to live in Maine and am used to long, cold winters. But here in North Carolina, normally, I have a lot of things growing, especially vegetables, by this time in March. Not this year though. It teases me into thinking it is spring and then we…
One of my favorite things to do when I have some spare time is to visit Raleigh Botanical Gardens. I love the new perennial and annual plants that I learn about and it just de-stresses me like nothing else seems to do. Raleigh has a great Botanical Garden called JC Raulston Arboretum. The beauty of…
Have you ever priced single Calla lilies at a florist? If you have, you will have discovered that they sell for $5-$9 a STEM. Why pay those kind of prices, when you can become your own florist – well sort of, anyway. Calla Lilies make wonderful indoor plants and comes in many colors, as well.…
My test garden has been included in a garden hop. A gardening group that I belong to on Facebook has put together a group of garden tours to be featured on Facebook, Pinterest and Home Talk. The tour will take place this weekend and is being heavily promoted on all three sites. Let’s go To…
How my Test Garden has Grown! Readers of my blog will know that my project for this year (and the next two) is my test garden. I have a model that I am emulating from Garden Gate and will grow shade, semi shade and full sun plants in it to write articles about for my…
