The Fun and Easy Way to Make a Terrarium
It is an easy and fun project and the results can be whimsical or elegant – you decide, and I can help.
Instant Screening without Busting the Budget.
When I started my new townhouse garden in Old Greenbelt I knew enough to do three kinda permanent things in the yard as soon as possible – patios, paths, and some evergreen screening plants. And I did all that and…
Is your Garden Book Ready for 2013?
Yes, it’s still 2012 and you’re already being nagged – by yours truly – about getting your notes on this year’s garden in order, somehow. I sure hope you’ve been keeping at least the tags that came with your new…
Wintering Over my Favorite Coleus
This was my coleus collection just a few weeks ago. Three plants had become a massive, eye-catching display on my patio, a display I didn’t want to say goodbye to just because of, you know, freezing temperatures that would kill…
Why I Clean my Beds NOW
Something that gardeners sometimes disagree about is whether to clean up their beds in the fall or wait until spring, and I was interested to learn that horticulturist Carol Allen is in the clean-up-in-fall school. In fact, her garden is…
How to Put your Garden Away for the Winter
Tips from horticulturist Carol Allen: Vegetable Garden Remove and deeply compost debris all spent vegetable matter, except for anything that’s badly diseased, which should be removed but not composted. Before putting old plants in the compost Carol chops it all…
Bulbs! It’s time to plant ’em, and lots more tips
Horticulturist Carol Allen shared her love of bulbs with customers at one of our free seminars, starting with this declaration: “Bulbs deliver, big-time!” Then she went on to give us tips, lots of tips, and these are just some of…
How to Grow Mums that Come Back Every Year
Ever heard of Dendranthemas? Me, neither. They used to be one of the types of Chrysanthemums but that genus was split in 1961 and now we have this new term for them. Other terms include “perennial chrysanthemums” and “hardy mums”…
Tips for Photographing your Garden
Before the season’s over don’t forget to record the way your garden looks now, so that you can remember what worked well and what didn’t, what empty spots need filling in, and so on. Plus, you’ll be able to relive…
Jim Dronenberg on Pushing your Luck with Plants
Good Friend-of-Behnkes Jim Dronenberg did double duty at our recent Garden Party – representing Four Seasons Garden Club and giving a talk to customers, this time about how to grow plants that you’re not supposed to be able to. Yes,…
Conservation Landscaping, with Wendy Bell
Wendy Bell, long-time gardener, garden-club activist, horticulturist and Master Gardener, is also a Watershed Steward. (Recently retired from her long career at the EPA, she’s obviously busier than ever.) Wendy brought her knowledge of watershed protection to Behnkes and shared…
How to Create Natural Edging
This one chore has a huge impact in the garden: creating edges to your borders that are nice to look at – either straight lines or gently curving ones, depending on your taste – and a barrier to turfgrass and…