Gardening

JEFF LOWENFELS

Sweet pea starts can help take your mind off winter

It's been a tough winter, and I am getting lots of demands for something, anything, that can be started indoors now and will be usable in the garden this summer. I fall back on sweet peas. You can start them now and get fabulous flowers very early in the outdoor season.

USDA's new planting zones reflect global warming, even in Alaska

Global warming is hitting not just home, but garden. The color-coded map of planting zones often seen on the back of seed packets is being updated by the government, illustrating a hotter 21st century -- even in Fairbanks.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Catalogs with attitude improve winter

Some gardening catalogs are just plain clever. This is always a reflection of their owners' sense of humor or dedication to the subject matter at hand. It means not only great information but a good read is as well.

USDA's new planting zones reflect global warming, even in Alaska

JEFF LOWENFELS

Explore 'eCatalogs' during deep freeze

A good place to start is with chickens. The whole urban chicken thing is being classified under gardening, at least in a lot of major bookstores. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to know that you can mail order anything you need poultry-wise.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Online seed catalogs are sprouting up

In case you haven't been noticing the trend over the past five years, printed seed catalogs are going the way of the dodo. The first wave of seed catalogs in late January used to be a harbinger of spring. No longer. Most catalogs are online and more and more are only online.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Tour world with gardening web-o-logs

For some reason this weekend, I dreamed about a type of dahlia I once saw in Australia and that got me to thinking about writing a column on them. Then I remembered that one of my garden traditions, beginning the study of the new garden catalogs right after the New Year, has morphed into writing about them.

JEFF LOWENFELS

The facts on animal waste in the garden

Well, we made it through the winter solstice. This means soon enough we will tire of snow and start to long for the outdoor garden season (though this year that point may have come earlier than usual). It is also the last column of the year, providing me one more chance to answer the few emails that just didn't fit into any other columns this year.

JEFF LOWENFELS

You don't have to let voles do a number on your yard

When Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) penned the words, "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," he wasn't thinking about what was going on outside that quiet house.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Live Christmas trees need pampering

I can really tell when it gets darkest around here. Something happens to gardeners. We get a little batty.

JEFF LOWENFELS

What not to give a gardener

All right, let's get this over with: Holiday gift suggestions for the gardeners in your life.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Survival tips for home-alone plants

We must be nearing the school holiday season. Readers start asking for advice regarding the care of houseplants while they are on vacation whenever it gets close.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Health of poinsettias reflects on you

My father was color blind. He could not tell the difference between red and green. This is a pretty serious affliction for a guy who is into orchids and other flowers, but I guess he never knew the difference so it wasn't that bad.

JEFF LOWENFELS

For when the light is down low...

Wowie, winter may have arrived late this year, but it has not lost any time since. It never seems to matter to gardeners however. The questions keep coming.

JEFF LOWENFELS

In 35 years of columns, world of gardening has changed

As I travel around giving talks on "Teaming With Microbes," audiences always ask three questions. The first is, "Do you know Sarah Palin?" The second is, "How did you get into garden writing?" The third is, "How did you train to become a garden writer?"

JEFF LOWENFELS

'Brass band' of plants to brighten winter

Back in the early days of this column, I would hop around from subject to subject, a luxury I am allowed when writing columns during the busiest seasons. This time of year, however, it is much harder to get away with. Columns need to have a theme and cover one subject.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Snow hits, but garden questions keep coming

It doesn't matter what the weather is outside, folks always have gardening questions. This time of year, however, they really pile up.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Pick up new houseplants for winter

I used to preach that if your houseplants don't look good going into the indoor season, they are not going to do you much good in the winter -- so toss them. This was before it became evident that many Alaskans keep houseplants that elsewhere would be dumped onto the compost pile.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Season's end brings usual questions

It's one of those transition times between seasons, and these times always generate lots of questions. First: Is there anything else besides this year's producing raspberry canes that should be pruned?

JEFF LOWENFELS

It's time to hang bird feeders, but don't fill them yet

It's a bit early to fill bird feeders; bears are surely still up and looking for freebies, and bird seed fits their bill. Moreover, right now there is all manner of seed and berries, not to mention moths and other insects, which should be plenty for our avian friends.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Clearing dead stuff: perennial question for gardeners

There are lots of reasons people cut back their perennial plants in the fall. Some simply want a clean garden during the winter months. But there are several advantages to not clearing out the perennial beds.

JEFF LOWENFELS

Flowers continue, even though fall approaches

Yellow leaves, more than I want to see, are greeting me when I enter the driveway. It is always a bittersweet time of year.