The Garden Pixie

Need this one

Wildflower folklore is deeply tied to human history. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), with its fire-engine red blossoms blazing in August, gets its name from the hue of robes and stockings worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. Native American lore holds this plant to be a potent love charm. But among pollinators, only hummingbirds and hawk moths, with tongues long enough to invade its tubular flowers, can reap its sweet reward—bumblebees and other winged insects get rejected. It grows around the Lily Pond, Bog Loop and meadow gardens at Garden in the Woods. If you visit, prepare for love.—Director of Horticulture Uli Lorimer

Photo: Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) inflorescences © Uli Lorimer

Is your garlic ready to harvest? Check out our video for our harvesting tips 💚🌱: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8gQBqaBUjw

This free guide to garden insects covers one of the first questions new gardeners ask about how to keep bugs out of the garden. Well, you don't. Keeping them out is not realistic, however you can discover which insects are good, which are bad, and what to use for organic pesticides if you have to.

https://www.grit.com/free-guides/free-guide-garden-insects-special-collection/

Got 10 minutes? Here are some things you can do to your tomatoes RIGHT NOW to massively improve your harvests: (in comments)

Lavender Wand Season ~ History hands down valuable garden crafts like weaving lavender wands. Stems encase the fragrant flowers like green woven basket, to create artful wands that can ornament closets and drawers, while perfuming clothes, lingerie and bedding. Science reinforces what our ancestors already understood - that lavender's calming perfume, also keeps moths and bedbugs at bay.
As your skills grow, wand making becomes a fragrant meditation, and aromatherapy for the weaver. It's a great craft to share with kids...and of course there is a little magic in every wand.😉 Full step by step instructions at the top of the comments...

The Importance of Deadheading Hydrangeas: What Most Gardeners Don’t Know. (In comments)💬

Pruning can boost the yield of your tomato plants - who knew?

One of my absolute favorite roses the fragrance is amazing

Experience the allure of our top-selling rose, Angel Face! Adorned with clusters of deep-lavender, semi-double blooms, each delicately ruffled and kissed with a ruby blush edge, these 3½” flowers are blessed with the most wonderful and intense perfume for a Floribunda. Against a canvas of lush, dark-green foliage, Angel Face unfurls its continual blossoms, gracing your garden with enduring beauty. Thriving in warmer climates, where ample sunlight coaxes forth its vibrant blue-lavender hues to their fullest expression, Angel Face is a must-have addition to your garden.

Learn more about this rose: https://heirloomroses.com/products/angel-face

Pictures from the pixie field trip to Towerhill botanical orchid show such a fantastic day with some of my favorite pixie girls

Every gardener needs a bag of bone meal! Here are 7 reasons why: https://www.ruralsprout.com/bone-meal-fertilizer/

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Say goodbye to pests and hello to healthy plants!

Enjoy the ease and beauty of a pest-free garden without the use of chemicals that harm the environment and can be hazardous to your health. Protect your garden the natural way, with nature’s own tiny guardians delivered to your door each month of the growing season, right when you need them most!

Guardians of the Garden subscription service is a game-changer for home gardeners, providing a curated selection of 4 different types of beneficial insects tailored to address common garden pests each month during the growing season. These beneficial insects will work in harmony with your plants and other pollinators to decrease pests such as thrips, aphids, and spider mites while also reducing the need for chemicals.

Learn More Here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/guardians-of-the-garden #/

Love these shade containers ❤️

Are you a non-profit or community-based organization? Apply for a Boston Tree Alliance Tree Planting Grant! The grants will help fund impactful tree-planting projects in partnership with landowners to help grow and care for the urban tree canopy

Environment Boston

https://www.boston.gov/environment-and-energy/boston-tree-alliance-program

Love this beach

Cleaning up the invasives on this project

If you've got a blueberry bush, February is the perfect time to prune it. Proper pruning is the key to harvesting buckets full of blueberries later this summer. Here's our step-by-step guide to correctly pruning blueberries.

https://www.ruralsprout.com/prune-blueberry-bushes/

You won’t regret having a container of this rose at your home! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “So far Earth Angel is my absolute favorite rose. I absolutely love the white/blush color, the perfect peony-shaped bloom, and the strong, fruity fragrance (it smells like fruity pebbles cereal to me.) The blooms don't last long in a vase, but do if you leave them on the bush. I have six of these plants and they have grown quite large already. She does kind of sprawl, but I don't mind because she is so beautiful and I have the space. Her blooms will ball in the rain but because I am in Southern California Zone 10a that isn't a concern for me. It is January here and she is still blooming!” - Natasha

📸 : Sakina

Shop this rose: https://heirloomroses.com/products/parfuma-earth-angel

Much like onions and shallots, leeks will add tremendous about of flavor in all of your dishes. This is one vegetable that is an absolutely must-have in every culinary genius' kitchen.

First thing is first, let’s learn how to grow – You will want to sow in early to late spring for a fall crop. If you are located in the deep South, Gulf and Pacific Coast areas, sow from fall to early spring. The best location to grow leeks will have loose, well-drained soil in full sun where you did not plant members of the onion family the previous year. Start by working organic matter into your soil at least 6-8 inches deep. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in rows 18 inches apart, firm lightly and keep evenly moist. Seeds emerge in 14-21 days.

The growing season for leeks is lengthy. After 90-100 days, leeks are ready for harvest. When harvesting, be sure to cut the roots under the stalks, twisting back and forth to get them loose. They will then ease out of the ground. One of the best tips about leeks is that you can harvest as many as you will use and leave the rest to harvest later in winter.

Other tips about Leeks:

🧑‍🍳 Leeks need to be blanched. Blanching is the act of covering the lower stem to keep it as white and tender as possible.
🪴 Leeks grow great in containers.
🧑‍🌾 Leeks are biennial, but we grow them as annuals. Once they produce a flower the second year they are not good for eating.
🌿 Plant leeks with carrots, radishes, onions, celery and beets. Do NOT plant near legumes such as beans and peas.

Ooh need this one

“I purchased The Impressionist less than a year ago from Heirloom Roses. Her bloom took my breath away. I am so in love with her.” - May

Shop this rose: https://heirloomroses.com/products/the-impressionist

This month on the refuge. Our February program roster includes opportunities to experience the refuge for an after hours full moon hike with a biologist, learn photography skills from the comfort of your own home, or just enjoy a cup of cocoa and the sunset with someone you love!

Programs are always FREE but registration is often required at bit.ly/parkerriversignup. Afraid of commitment? Eagle Fest crafts and owl pellet dissections are drop in any time at the visitor center between 10am - 2pm on Saturday February 17th.

Limited spaces are still available for our youth drop off program during Massachusetts school vacation week. E-mail [email protected] to enroll.