Gardening and Gardens

Every year, Hicks Nurseries in Westbury, NY transforms their showroom to a gorgeous display of landscape plants and flowers right as old man winter is starting to release his grip. The annual Spring Flower and Garden show is the largest and most popular flower show on Long Island. For many local gardeners, this flower show is the official beginning of spring.  Each year has a different theme and to be honest, I think some have been better than others. This year's theme is "Garden for Life: Discover Health and Wellness through the Joy of Gardening"  - how gardening can enhance your life, your neighborhood and the planet. I thought it was fantastic.  There were four different garden displays: the Relaxation Garden, the Easy Garden, the Earth Friendly Garden and the Learning Garden. The Relaxation Garden was like a tropical oasis in your own backyard: Filled with Palms, Bromeliads, Croton, Gardenias, Orchids and other tropical plants, it was sooth...

It's been hot and humid for the past few weeks here on Long Island. Between the heat and the mosquitos, tending the garden has been a challenge. Thankfully there are lots of carefree heat-lovers in bloom making everything look lovely. Here's what's blooming in my garden this month: This is such a beautifully colored daylily . I love the yellow center and it's magenta petals. The purple coneflower (Echinachea) is a nice compliment to the yellow Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia). Behind them is the wispy, purple Russian Sage.  I planted this Knockout Rose only two months ago. It is coming along nicely and I just love the color of the blooms. On the left is Rudbeckia "Cherry Brandy" and on the right are more Black-eyed Susans.  This Hosta is just coming into bloom. The stems are nice and erect with a lovely purple blossom. To the right, is Yarrow and more Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy'.  The Crape Myrtle is starting to bloom! ...

This is my first year as a volunteer on the Garden Committee at my son's elementary school. The garden was created about eight years ago and continues to be a source of fascination and learning for the children. We just started cleaning up the beds, pruning and preparing the soil for planting. The garden consists of four raised beds with another bed going around the perimeter by the fence. It gets mostly full sun except for the southwest corner which gets shade from the tree outside the fence. The far bed above is typically planted with strawberries on one end and garlic on the other. The other bed is planted with various vegetables, some sown by seed, others planted by seedling. There are also three compost piles that are maintained and used in the garden. . There are two more beds on the other side of the path that will be planted with vegetables. The children have already planted seeds for radishes and carrots at one end. At the far end of the photo, along the ...