Features

Spring bulbs are seasonal superstars

Spring bulbs are seasonal superstars

There are many signs of spring, but none more exciting to gardeners than the appearance of green shoots from spring bulbs. Crocus often poke out first, then followed by a flush of daffodils, allium, tulips and lilies. For Rachel Rhodes, University of Maryland...

Turn the page and find your book club

In every stage of my life, I’ve always been a reader. In the past few years with little kids who spend their evenings watching silly cartoons on TV on what seems to be a loop, I’m usually reading with a little lamp behind me while they sit in my lap, knocking my book...

When it’s time to part with a tree

Trees are not only treasured parts of our landscape. These silent sentries become deeply embedded in our world, providing shade, shelter, wildlife habitat, and beauty. Even more, trees serve as living calendars and, in a way, keepsakes, connecting us through each...

Oh, deer! Protect plants, property from wily wildlife

There is something instinctual about gardening in the spring. It can be so satisfying to work up the soil in raised beds to prepare for a vegetable garden, watch the bulbs you so carefully planted burst into bloom, or place a beautiful hanging basket on your front...

A beautifully busy season for orchid lovers

A beautifully busy season for orchid lovers

For its legion of dedicated admirers, the show-stopping beauty of orchids offers a bountiful visual feast anytime and anywhere. But for Mid-Atlantic orchid afficionados, late winter and early spring are especially bountiful, thanks to local clubs scheduling shows...

Phippins crafting opportunities for kids

With their relocation to the Eastern Shore from Tennessee, C.J. and Christopher Phippin quickly noticed that there weren’t nearly as many regular opportunities for outings geared towards kids with autism and special needs in the more rural areas of the Eastern Shore....

‘Catching Shadows’ on display through April

If you’ve ever turned up arrowheads or other Native American artifacts in a freshly-tilled field or along the waterways on your farm or property, you know the exhilaration in finding treasure in the area’s history. With the traveling exhibit, “Catching Shadows,” the...

Birdie, its cold outside!

With a minimal investment and a little planning, you can experience the joy and wonder of backyard birding. And what better time of year than winter. A carefully placed feeder can provide hours of enjoyment for the whole family, all from the comfort of your home. What...

Tiny treehouses come from big imaginations

Anyone who had a treehouse as part of their childhood knows how it could allow the imagination to wander. It could be a castle one day, defending a monarch’s treasure, a pirate ship the next, and always a place to escape any unwanted realities of life. So impactful is...

Bringing native bees a home

Have you ever seen a native bee hotel? Hint: It isn’t shaped anything like a hive, and there’s not a drop of honey. But if you spot a structure resembling an open-faced bird house filled with circular nooks and crannies, you may have arrived at one without knowing it....

New Plants and Products Preview

New Plants and Products Preview

Snowdrops and Winter Aconite are starting to pop up in gardens across the region – spring will be here soon! Your local garden centers, nurseries, and landscape designers are preparing for the busy growing season ahead by gathering new product ideas, inspiration, and...

Bokashi is enjoying a revival

Composting has become a household word, thanks to patient but proactive home gardeners who are seeking a natural soil supplement and hoping to keep food waste from landfills. Composting is characterized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a process using...

Beat cabin fever right here on Shore

Winter can be a tough time to stay active and maintain morale. The days are short, the winds are sharp, and outdoor activities are few and far between. Nonetheless, these next few months are a terrific time to take advantage of some local activities that will help you...

Hawkins has longtime touch of glass

Lori Hawkins still has the first piece of stained-glass art she made some 35 years ago. While most of her other works decorates other people’s homes, that first piece, a pair of tulips survived a devastating hurricane and then made the trip from Florida to her home in...

Iris grower finds joy in breeding new varieties

For decades, Pat McNeal had the same dozen or so irises in her flowerbeds. She maintained the beds and plants just as she did the rest of her landscape. But while tooling around the internet in 2007, she came across iris varieties she had never seen before and got...

Keep those poinsettias alive for next year

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are popular winter houseplants because they flower in mid-winter, and their beauty comes from colored leaves or bracts, instead of flowers, making their attractiveness long-lasting: Some gardeners are not satisfied with this long...