January 18, 2020 - Issue #444

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There's a new annual on the spring planting scene that's giving petunias and calibrachoas a run for their money. Meet the petchoa. The name looks and sounds strange, but it's merely the combination of the first part of "petunia" and the last part of "calibrachoa." The plant itself is a cross of the two.

But, like all plants, they have certain needs that have to be met so they can perform their best. I will now discuss orchids' most fundamental requirements and the simplest, most effective ways to provide them, based on my over 40 years of experience growing them in my windowsills, under lights, and in a greenhouse.

This is the fifth of a 10 part series of articles about orchids. These articles are written by Steven Frowine, who collaborated with National Gardening Association and Wiley & Sons to produce the highly popular book Orchids for Dummies. We hope you enjoy this series of articles! 

Sprouting seeds for eating is easy, interesting, and extremely nutritious.

When summer's last blossom is only a memory, it may seem impossible to bring interest and color to your garden. But there is a way: make your garden attractive to birds. Provide for their four basic needs -- food, water, shelter, and a nesting place -- then think about how else to make your garden more bird friendly. Whether you're a novice bird-watcher or an old hand, here are tips to bring them up close and keep them coming back.

Using holly for winter decoration is a tradition that goes back at least 2,000 years to those ancient Britons called Druids. For them holly was a sacred plant in which woodland spirits took winter refuge. The Anglo-Saxon word "holly" is itself thought by some to be a corruption of "holy."

Even top-of-the-line tools need to be cleaned and sharpened regularly to perform their best. Midwinter, when the growing season has slowed and outdoor activities move inside, is the perfect time to devote to prepping your tools for the spring season ahead.

To all the reasons you might choose one vegetable variety over another--appearance, flavor, yield, pest resistance, or regional adaptation--now you can add enhanced nutrition. The vegetables you'll read about here aren't just good for you. They've been bred to be better for you.