The poinsettia is the star of the holidays, whether it’s the centerpiece of your dinner table or the welcome mat for your guests at the front porch. These beautiful plants are a must-have for any winter home. They bloom in mid-winter, and their stunning colors are created by bracts (persistent colored leaves) instead of flowers,…
From Holiday Tree to vibrant indoor houseplant, here’s how to make your Norfolk Island Pine last for years! Remember that charming Norfolk Island Pine that decked the halls last December? Don’t toss it in the compost bin just yet! These tropical beauties can easily transition from festive centerpiece to year-round houseplant with a little TLC…
Did you know you don’t need a green thumb to grow beautiful houseplants? If you have any kind of thumb you can grow healthy houseplants in Smart Pot indoor containers. The reason houseplants grow so well in Smart Pots is that plant roots really like fabric containers. Unlike hard plastic pots, fabric pots are porous…
Jodi Torpey, a garden writer, certified master gardener, and author of “The Colorado Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Gardening in the Centennial State,” offers valuable insights on keeping houseplants in Smart Pots. Read her tips in the article “Houseplant How-To With Smart Pots – by Jodi Torpey”
What do you do with kitchen scraps? Toss them? Banish them to the compost pile? Here’s a better idea — turn them back into vegetables! A surprising variety of veggies will regrow with very little effort. All they need is water, soil, light and some TLC. Here are the top five veggies to regrow from…
When you think high performance, what comes to mind? A championship race car? An elite athlete? A world-class opera? When every part works in perfect harmony, the results can be jaw-dropping. Now ponder this: Can you expect world-class performance from your garden? The answer is a resounding “YES!” A Performance Garden starts with the right…
In an era of pesticides and genetically modified foods, the idea of homegrown produce is going mainstream. Hobbyists and professionals are warming to the idea of hydroponic food. Hydroponic farms provide several distinct benefits, including: Water efficiency Hydroponic food consumes only about 10% of the water required by soil-grown food. Organic growing Hydroponic farms grow…
As a gardener, nothing is more frustrating than watching your plants succumb to disease. Just when your garden is starting to flourish…. BOOM! A nasty case of mildew sends you back to square one. If you’re not careful, common plant diseases can become a persistent problem, turning your green thumb an ugly shade of brown….
4 Tips for Cultivating Soil Bacteria and Garden Microbes Plants and microbes have evolved together for hundreds of millions of years. Their connection is a basic building block for earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. Today, scientists recognize microorganisms as key contributors to plant growth and health. In the garden, all those invisible microbes can make or break…
If you’re like most people, you know that plants consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere. Plants are widely known as the planet’s primary oxygen producers. The Amazon rainforest produces about 20% of the world’s oxygen, earning it the nickname “The Lungs of the Earth.” What many people don’t know is that plants…