Got to Category

Jessica Walliser Columns category

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Tall, spiky flowers add a vertical interest to garden
Early spring is a great time to start planning your plantings for the coming season. Look over photos of your garden from last year to see where blank spaces occur or where the design of your flower plantings could be elevated. One of the most wonderful opportunities we have to...
Early spring chores to tackle amid covid-19 pandemic
Question: Like everyone else, I’m stuck at home and itching to do some work in the garden. What can I do this time of year that isn’t jumping the gun? I can’t spread mulch because there’s none available yet and I think the ground is still too wet. Is it...
How to grow parsnips
If you enjoy eating carrots and growing them in your garden, I encourage you to try your hand at cultivating parsnips, too. They’re one of my family’s favorite root crops. Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are in the same plant family as carrots, celery, parsley, and dill (Apiaceae). They are all biennial...
Best plants for bees (but not for deer)
Question: I’m looking to add some more bee-friendly perennial plants to my flower garden this summer. Can you make some recommendations? It would be a bonus if the deer don’t eat them, but I know that’s a tough request! Answer: Kudos to you for wanting to provide more nectar-foraging plants...
Start sowing now for arugula crop
Arugula is a salad green that adds a punch of peppery spice to salads. It’s also surprisingly delicious cooked. While you may think it’s difficult to grow simply for the fact that the word “gourmet” is often associated with it, arugula is quite easy to grow in home gardens, raised...
Asexual plant propagation explained
Question: What is it about plants that makes it possible for you to grow them from a cutting rather than having to always start them from seed? I’m planning to expand my garden this season and want to grow a ton of new plants from cuttings and divide the plants...
6 seed-starting tips
Over the next few weeks, gardeners everywhere will take on the challenge of starting their own seeds. Whether it’s sowing seeds of your favorite heirloom tomato variety, planting herb seeds, or starting a collection of annuals like sunflowers, cosmos, or marigolds, it’s one of our most favorite times of the...
Try these nasturtium varieties this season
Question: Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers to grow. This year, I’d like to try growing a few of the climbing types. Are they easy to grow from seed or will I need to buy transplants somewhere? Answer: Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are a favorite of many gardeners. Their glossy...
Tips for growing cauliflower
For many gardeners, cauliflower is a challenging vegetable to grow. Not only do cabbage worms find it irresistible, but it can be persnickety to grow, requiring just the right weather and soil conditions to thrive. Today, I’d like to offer you some cauliflower- growing tips to help increase your chances of...
Elderberries are beautiful landscape plants and medicinal, too
Question: Everyone in my family takes elderberry syrup in the winter because there’s evidence that it is antiviral and helps fight against the flu. We’d like to start growing our own elderberries and making our own syrup. Are there particular varieties we should grow? Answer: Elderberry (Sambucus spp.) plants have...
3 ways to grow purple coneflowers from seed
Purple coneflowers are a favorite among many gardeners. Known botanically as Echinacea purpurea, this North American native perennial produces colorful magenta blooms in late summer and is a butterfly and bee magnet. While the straight species of this plant is my personal favorite, there are many cultivars and varieties that...
Controlling two-spotted spider mites by introducing predatory mites
Question: We always have spider mites on our flowering garden phlox and a few other perennials in the summer. The leaves look speckled with tiny pin-pricks of white, and we can see their webs on the undersides of the leaves. We’ve read that spraying can lead to other problems (and...
Lichens are a welcome sight
Question: Please help! I just noticed that my wild plum tree in my backyard has some sort of fungus growing on it. Is there anything I can do, or is it diseased beyond repair? It was healthy this summer with many blooms. It has been in my yard for at...
How to grow the super-fruit goji berry
Gogi berries (Lycium barbarum) are the latest super fruits. They’re high in antioxidants and nutrients, and several cultures dry the berries and use them for medicinal purposes as well. They are said to support immune function and regulate blood pressure. Nightshade- family cousins of the tomato, pepper and eggplant, goji berries...
What’s plaguing that jade plant?
Question: Several of my jade plants have developed black spots as well as places on the edge or middle of the leaf that totally dry up. I’ve never encountered anything like this and feel it must be some kind of weird virus. I’ve been spraying with a biofungicide and also...
Learn how to grow alpine strawberries
If you’d like to try something new in your fruit and vegetable garden this year, how about growing alpine strawberries? These little jewels are so much sweeter and more flavorful than large-fruited strawberry species. Plus, they’re easy to grow and require less space. Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are small in...
Grow heat-loving greens for summer salads
Question: Our spring vegetable garden is filled with lettuce, arugula, spinach and many other salad greens, but by the time summer rolls around, they always go to seed and leave us without salads for the rest of the season. Can you recommend some edible salad greens we can grow in...
Grafting useful for making unique plant forms
Grafting is a centuries-old craft in which a person takes pieces from two or more different plants and grafts them together so they grow as one plant. The grafting process is performed because it brings multiple positive traits from separate plants into a single plant. It’s a technique that can...
Learn to grow the adorable fairy washboard
Among the most popular houseplants today is the fairy washboard (Haworthia limifolia). This compact succulent plant stays small, making it a great choice for a windowsill, desk or bedside table. The plant reaches about 4 inches in height and width. Its ease of care is another endearing factor, along with...
Scale a common pest of fiddle leaf figs, other houseplants
Question: Help! I have a fiddle leaf fig in my front window that I adore. It has tiny bumps all over the stems and the floor beneath the plant is sticky. I did an internet search, and I believe I have an issue with scale insects. What can be done...
Learn how to ID, harvest edible fiddleheads this spring
Have you ever eaten a fiddlehead fern before? They’re really a gourmet delight. Among the earliest edible items you can forage from a forest (or better still, from your backyard), fiddleheads have become a popular seasonal ingredient among chefs and those who enjoy eating unique foods. In fact, they’ve become...
How to manage mosquitoes next gardening season
Question: We had so many mosquitoes in our yard last summer. I’d like to know if there’s anything we can do in advance of the coming season to keep them away. I see there are companies that spray, but I don’t know what they spray and I’m sure that whatever...
Great greens for starting early in the season
I know spring seems so far away, but now is a great time to start planning your veggie garden for the coming season. Before you know it, March will be here and it will be time to plant cool-season crops such as peas, lettuce, radish and greens. Today, I’d like...
Grow fresh herbs on your windowsill all winter long
Question: I’d like to grow some herbs on my windowsill in my kitchen this winter. Can I use any herbs, or do they have to be a special type for growing indoors? Any tips for success? Answer: Herbs are some of the easiest plants to grow in containers and many...
Learn how to sow seeds of shrubs, trees in the winter
If you’re looking to increase the number of trees and shrubs on your property and you’re up for a challenge, now is a great time to start new trees and shrubs from seeds. Yes, it’s an exercise in patience, but it brings big rewards for generations to come. Winter sowing...


Editor's Picks

Front Porch Theatricals’ musical ‘Baby’ is a labor of love

Washington townhouse on the market for $1,225,000
Folk legend Bruce Cockburn gives uplifting performance at City Winery
‘Champagne & Chapeaux’: Westmoreland Symphony’s annual soiree for a good cause
Jimmy Stewart’s P-51 Mustang stops in hometown for museum anniversary
More Editor's Picks >