Over the past week or so I have been noticing some small growth of fruit on my two grape vines.  I was originally told that they would fruit during the third year.  As it is only the second year that the vines have been in my garden, I was excited to start seeing the tiny fruit emerge between the leaves.  As the vines slowly... ...see more

On Saturday, the Mayor of Boston (Tom Menino) was out in the gardens giving away 2012 free organic tomato plants (courtesy of Mahoney's Garden Centers).  Plenty of Fenway Garden Society and Parks Department representatives were on hand, as well as local politicians.  There was a fantastic band (hopefully we'll get them to play... ...see more

Part of gardening (and especially community gardening) is about sharing.  I was reminded of this the other week when my garden neighbor Arthur gave me some onions that he had planted last year - just now ready to be plucked from the ground.  As he is more of a veggie gardener, I gave him some jonquils and tulips - he pointed... ...see more

Each year my parents are the winter caretakers of my dahlias (3 full bushel baskets) - they store them in their cool and dry suburban basement from October until May.  When it is time to put them in the ground again, my father also supplies me with some annuals (snapdragons, impatiens, state fair zinnias, dusty miller), veggies... ...see more

I planted my potatoes in a burlap coffee sack (purchased for 50 cents at Polcari's in the North End - if you live in Boston and don't know it, you should make a plan to drop in).  Two days prior I cut a couple of the seed potatoes in half so that the skin would have time to harden off before I placed them in the soil.  The... ...see more

After being proud of my pea seedlings last year and then seeing them munched on by bunnies soon after, I am going to be a bit smarter in 2012.  My father gave me two wooden frames last year, so I'll put those to good use by adding some wire fencing to them.  Hopefully that'll do the job...unless the bunnies are even more clever... ...see more

With all the potato talk on Ask Ian this past Sunday, I had to try it myself.  I called around town and the closest garden center that had some seed potatoes in stock is a 10-mile roundtrip bike ride.  As Monday was a perfect biking day, I decided to take a lunchtime ride to Pemberton Farms in Cambridge.  They had 4 seed potato... ...see more

It took a bit to figure out where I could place the greenhouse.  The structure is small, but I have lots of daffodil/tulips and perennials to work around.  I ended up moving 1 grouping of daffodils to get the greenhouse snug against my fenceline (I figured that it would make sense to install it along the perimeter for efficient... ...see more

The Red Sox owners opened up Fenway last week to the public...9am to 7pm.  It was a nice gesture given that the next day was the pending 100th Anniversary celebration (I am sure that those working at Fenway weren't so happy...but thousands of fans young and old were delighted!).  As I live right next to the park, I headed over... ...see more

WARNING:  This post includes a ton of photos - enjoy!

Last Wednesday my brother and sister-in-law were in town for an evening Sox game, so I proposed a lunchtime walk down Comm. Ave. to observe and critique the planters and window boxes.  They were easily convinced of the walk as they are interested gardeners and were up for... ...see more

The Public Garden was teeming with people enjoying the tulips...plenty of photo ops!  Most of the beds were in their full glory...though some were beginning to come to their end and others hadn't shown a bloom as of yet.  Enjoy the swaths of color as they won't last long!

When I was a grad student at Northeastern University (Boston, MA), the campus was shaping up (definitely an immense change from when it was more of a commuter school back in the 80s and earlier).  Fitness centers and high tech dorms have been added...and now heavily packed beds of tulips.  A nice surprise as I cut across the... ...see more

No rest for the weary - gotta get the garden ship shape!  During the Easter holiday my father and I decided that we'd take out the dreaded Lilac on Tuesday...just days after my sore start to the outdoor gardening season.  The bush was pushed right up to my back fence, which would make this an additionally tough task.  Luckily... ...see more

Saturday was a productive garden cleanup outing.  I cleared the beds of leaves and other small compostable leftovers from the 2011 gardening season.  I freshened up the Irises and Black-Eyed-Susans that are now just emerging from the soil.  I thinned out one Lilac and pruned back a few Roses of Sharon.  I pulled up the spreading... ...see more

After receiving some advice from my fellow YGSers, I researched pop up greenhouses a little bit.  For the price point and functionality, I settled on a FlowerHouse Pop-Up Greenhouse (3.5'x3'x3').  I am hoping that it won't get stolen out in my urban community garden...in fact, I specifically chose a small size that wouldn't... ...see more