This past Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day. Did you get a “shamrock” as a gift? I already have a couple. They’re easy and fun to grow. To get the best out of yours, while it’s blooming, keep it in bright light—several hours of direct morning sun or afternoon sun (before 11 a.m. or after 2 … Read more
What vegetable is low in calories, high in fiber, a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, was grown by George Washington at Mt. Vernon and by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello—and tastes delicious? Asparagus, of course! The Roman emperor Augustus actually had an Asparagus Fleet—a fleet of ships whose job was to locate and bring … Read more
Yes, it is Strawberry season—the plants are now available for you to start your own strawberry patch. So how do we do that? Strawberries are perennials so choose a permanent sunny place where they can stay. Strawberry plants come in little bundles of “crowns”. A crown is the growing point of the plant with … Read more
Did you know that February 27th is National Strawberry Day? So my favorite fruit has its own day. To celebrate, I think I’ll have a strawberry milkshake. For starters…. So here are a few interesting facts about strawberries: Strawberries are related to roses. That means they’re also related to apples, plums, peaches, apricots, raspberries, blackberries, and … Read more
Because February is Houseplant Month here at the Great Big Greenhouse and we offer free repotting for the month, we’ve been spending a lot of time with our hands buried up to the wrist in potting soil. So let us share with you a few observations. When you buy a new houseplant, it doesn’t usually … Read more
Valentine’s Day: A day of gentle sighs, pink ribbons, red roses—or a pagan festival rich with drunken revelry and young men and women being matched up by lottery—at last for the duration of the festival? The ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia was celebrated every year on February 15th. It was a festival of fertility in … Read more
One of my New Year’s resolutions for my garden was to get back in the habit of trying something new instead of sticking with the tried and true. So in keeping with that resolution, I dug through our full selection of 2018 seeds here and found some new seed varieties I’m going to try this … Read more
This coming Friday is Groundhog’s Day. So here are a few interesting facts about Groundhogs… Groundhogs are not related to hogs at all but are marmots closely related to squirrels. They are basically a giant ground squirrel. They’re widely distributed across North America from northern Alabama all the way up to Alaska. They truly hibernate … Read more
Sunday, January 21, was Squirrel Appreciation Day. What? I’m supposed to appreciate these fuzzy little things that destroy my garden? Well…Yes. The word ‘squirrel’ comes from the Anglo-Norman word esquirel with roots in the Greek word skiouros meaning ‘shadow-tailed.’ A group of squirrels is called a “scurry” (a Scurry of Squirrels—appropriate). They are native to every … Read more
I did it again. In all of this excessively cold weather, I was so obsessed with protecting the pipes that I forgot to protect my rosemary and lavender. They are, I hate to admit, dead. Again. I just went through this last winter. I know they’re more vulnerable because they are container grown and wish … Read more
