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

I picked this one yesterday fully closed, and it burst open hours later...must like my warm apartment!  This is a double daffodil...there are lots of other interesting varieties out there.

With all the spring flowers coming a bit early this year, summer is now on the mind....which can only mean a lobster dinner with some friends.  The dinner table was brightened up by some freshly cut daffodils and jonquils...they looked perfect next to the red lobsters!

Phase two of seeding has commenced.  As you can see, I was a bit too liberal with my seeds...plenty sprung up and are a bit cramped.  My plan is to transplant the smaller plugs to slightly larger compostable mini-pots.

I was shopping for some gardening supplies the other day and was charmed by an orange and white-tipped dahlia.  Now the only trick is to keep them from sprouting too much before I can put them in the ground.  My father suggested that I either put them in the fridge or pot them while they are indoors....or I can drop them with... ...see more

The city is getting colorful...the forsythia is out in full force - and the daffodils too...and now the dogwoods...what's going on???

The neighborhood was looking great...the dogwoods and magnolias were out in full force, but now they have turned brown with the return of the cold weather.  Luckily the other flowering trees and daffodils are still going strong.