Long Island Gardening Community Resource

Who wouldn’t want this beauty in the garden?  Zinnia is easy to start from seed and once they get a’bloomin, they can brighten up anyone’s day.
If you are a gardener that is looking for a beautiful flowering plant and is easy to start from seed, Zinnia is your choice.
I grew it from seed a few [...]

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Using Native Plants in your landscape is a win-win for you and the environment.  Here are the top ten reasons to use native plants in your landscape:

Once Established, Native Plants Require Little Care and Maintenance
Native Plants Save Money on Landscaping Cost
Native Plants Are Pest and Disease Resistant
Once Established, Native Plants Require No Watering
Once Established, Native [...]

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My fiancncé brought home some flower seeds a few years back and Lupine was one of them.  I was happy with the germination percentage and gave it a shot in the ground to see what happens.  We were very into settling on perrenials and giving them space in the flower garden.  The lupine did not [...]

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The first time I read the Mother Earth News article about Ruth Stout’s No-Dig Gardening, I said
“yesss!  I love this woman. This is one of those lessons of a lifetime.”
Her technique has faced skepticism from all sides but to me, has always seemed to be a fantastic approach:
“mulch everything…and mulch some more.”

Her attitude of “this [...]

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Anybody else tired of paying high dollar for Impatiens?
If you have the space under the grow lights or in the greenhouse, you can benefit from starting them from seed.  I started a tray of them three to five days ago now (early to mid March) and they are starting to sprout up nicely.  Considering they [...]

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Companion Plantings with Reason:

Cabbage and Dill – As dill flowers it draws beneficial insects to eat cabbageworms and aphids.  If you don’t already know about cabbageworms, I had an issue with them.
Flowers like Calendula and Cucumbers and Squash – The pollen from the flowers attracts pollenators and thereby increases yields.

Please send in your companion plantings.   [...]

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This flower did fantastic this year. This plant grew straight up and got to over six feet tall. However, it did not branch out the top too much. The humongous flower(s) look like brains, and are the most amazing deep magenta color. When this flower is dried out, it looks like velvet [...]

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