Author Archives: carolee

About carolee

A former professional herb and lavender grower, now just growing for joy in my new potager. When I'm not in the garden, I'm in the kitchen, writing, or traveling to great gardens.

Top Ten Performers: #9 Daffodils

In evaluating the Top Ten Performers of the 2022’s bouquet project, we’ve focused on those flowers that have a very long bloom period, provide a lot of bulk & visual interest in bouquets, play well with others, and are versatile. … Continue reading

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And February just flew by!

I intended to do a February monthly review in a timely fashion, but here it is March 9th already! It’s always perplexed me how a month that’s only two days shorter than most of the others SEEMS so very much … Continue reading

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Top Ten Performers: #8 Sweet Peas

I wish I could grow luscious sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) with 10″ or more stems and huge flowers like they do in the Pacific Northwest or in high tunnels in cooler climates. I can’t (or at least I haven’t yet!) … Continue reading

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Six on Saturday: Feb 25

Today I am counting my blessings. Many others in Zone 5 are under a heavy blanket of snow, dealing with ice and power outages, and other weather-related problems. We have a lovely, although chilly but sunny day. With tea and … Continue reading

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Top Ten Performer #7: Annual Phlox

I might not have chosen Annual Phlox as #7 even though I love its wide range of color and romantic clusters of small flowers, but numbers don’t lie. When I checked the records and found that the bouquets delivered for … Continue reading

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Belated Valentine’s Greetings!

Hope that on Valentine’s Day you had some sweetness of one kind or another, or of many kinds! I have enjoyed my many amaryllis bulbs coming into flower over the past weeks, but these bright orange “Nanjara” really outdid themselves … Continue reading

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Top Ten Performers: #6 China Asters

Admittedly, I knew very little about asters when I began researching flowers for cutting. I was very familiar with perennial asters, those often bushy plants with tiny 1″ or less flowers with narrow ray-like petals often sold in pots in … Continue reading

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Minding the Gap

In many growing areas, including my Zone 5 gardens, there is a “gap” in cut flower production in May. Depending upon the area, the weather, and when seeds were sown that gap can be one to three weeks. That’s not … Continue reading

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Top 10 Performer #5: Rudbeckia

It was a close call between #5 and #6 because both are essential, but rudbeckia finally won the debate because it is SO much easier to grow. Here in my Zone 5 gardens, rudbeckia is usually a perennial, sometimes a … Continue reading

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Fighting the Winter Blues

It’s late January and we’ve had over a week without sunshine. The past two days we’ve had snow. Yesterday everything was shut down for a “Big Winter Storm” with 6-10″ predicted. Schools, businesses and roads were closed….. We got 1 … Continue reading

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