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Small start, big results
Want to bring gardening indoors?
These “scarborough” spices will help you make the move and get you humming a familiar tune along the way. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (you’re already humming it, aren’t you?) each come in a separate can. They’re ready to go – just add water. You can purchase the spices from Uncommon Goods for $35 at uncommongoods.com.
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Basics and more of hardy plants
You can always find space for one more plant, can’t you? The Encyclopedia of Hardy Plants will help you figure out what it should be. This reference book, which is also handy for identifying existing plants, provides the basics on plant size and climate needs. The colorful photos of flowers, herbs, shrubs and trees let you know what your plant will look like at its most beautiful.
READER’S TIP
A rush of caffeine helps plants
This week’s tip comes from Sarah Clayton, of Denver
For years I drooled over my neighbors’ flowers, as their impatiens resembled small bushes while mine hardly grew larger than when they first came home from the garden shop. Finally I asked my friends what their secret was. I expected to hear a certain brand of fertilizer.
Imagine my surprise when they told me, “leftover coffee grounds.”
The plants aren’t too picky as to brand (generic will work as well as Starbucks!), but I now recycle my grounds year-round. In wintertime, I just dump them into houseplants, stirring them occasionally into the topsoil. I also save them in empty coffee cans and when I go outside I dump them in my gardens or outdoor pots.
Voila! Impatiens, pansies, geraniums – they all are bush-size and I haven’t spent a penny extra!
Got a garden tip? Share it with Grow.
E-mail your good ideas to Grow@denverpost.com. We’ll print the best ones and give the tipster a pair of Sloggys garden clogs, courtesy of Sloggers Garden Outfitters.
