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Raving Beauties: Color Solutions For Shade Gardens
The bright treasures of the shade garden often come from our nation’s most beautiful forests. Beneath the canopies are perennials that evolved to grow and bloom on the forest floor, which botanists...
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Soil Preparation and Protection
In previous articles, I have mentioned the importance of soil preparation before setting out transplants or sowing directly from seed. Prior to planting is the one opportunity to thoroughly prepare the...
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Get That Swanky Rogers Gardens Style At Your House
Nestled into opulent coastal southern California is a nursery where I go to find out what’s hot in the world of container gardening. Decades ago Rogers Gardens was founded on flower-filled hanging...
View ArticleApril 15, 2012: Blair Busenbark Guest On the Paul Parent Garden Club Radio Show
Black Gold’s own Blair Busenbark sat down with Paul Parent, host of the Paul Parent Radio Club, for an interview on Sunday, April 15th, 2012. Click here for a list of stations that carry the Paul...
View ArticleBlack Gold Partners with Gardening in the NW Radio Show
We love partnering with local experts in order to bring you more helpful information about gardening and how to get even more out of our great Black Gold soils and fertilizers! Scott Conner has been...
View ArticleApril 21: Blair Busenbark On CL Fornari’s GardenLine
Saturday, April 21st, Black Gold’s Blair Busenbark interviewed with CL Fornari, The Garden Lady on the Boston/Cape Cod area’s 95.1 FM WXTK. Listen to Blair Busenbark’s interview on GardenLine from...
View ArticleApril 22: Celebrate Earth Day with the Paul Parent Garden Club and Helpful...
Thanks for celebrating Earth Day with Paul Parent on Sunday, April 22nd, 2012, when Dan Jacques, a Technical Specialist for Sun Gro Horticulture, was interviewed on the value and benefits of composting...
View ArticleApr 28, 2012: Blair Busenbark On Plant Talk with John Fech
Saturday, April 28th, 2012, Black Gold’s Blair Busenbark discussed Black Gold OMRI-listed soils & fertilizers and the upcoming Black Gold event at the Omaha Westlake Ace Hardware store on Saturday,...
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Rediscovering Old Roses
The captivating ‘New Dawn’ climbing rose was discovered in 1930, and quickly became a favorite focal point in Southern gardens. Heirloom roses are again gaining in popularity in our 21st century...
View ArticleMay 12, 2012: Blair Busenbark On In The Garden with Andre Viette
Saturday, May 12th, 2012, Black Gold’s own Blair Busenbark discussed Black Gold soils & fertilizers with Andre Viette, on his East Coast radio show In The Garden with Andre Viette! Hope you were...
View ArticleMay 19, 2012: Blair Busenbark on Gardening In The Northwest with Scott Connor
Saturday, May 19th, 2012 – gardening expert and host of AM1090 KPTK’s Gardening In The Northwest, Scott Connor interviewed Black Gold’s own Blair Busenbark on his radio show. We were looking forward to...
View ArticleMay 20, 2012: Blair Busenbark On The Paul Parent Garden Club Radio Show
Paul Parent, host of The Paul Parent Garden Club, struck up another conversation with Black Gold’s own Blair Busenbark on Sunday, May 20th, 2012 at 8:30am EST. The focus of the conversation was on...
View ArticleJune 2, 2012: Mike Darcy and KXL at Bi-Mart in Lincoln City, Oregon
Thank you for joining northwest gardening expert Mike Darcy and KXL at Bi-Mart in Lincoln City, Oregon on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012! There were Black Gold samples, $3 rebates, and other great goodies....
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Cut Bedding Plant Costs with Cuttings
Plant cuttings can turn one plant into five in just two weeks. And some bedding favorites are so easy to root, they are big money savers for those in the know. For instance, I never buy more than a...
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Hazelnut Shells as Garden Pathways
This past week, I have been spreading hazelnut shells on the pathways in my garden. In many parts of the country, there are agricultural crops that produce an agriculture bi-product after processing....
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Let Your Kids Play in the Dirt (It’s Healthy!)
Soil, potting medium or compost, as long as it’s dirty, kids love to play in it. And that’s a good thing. Researchers from Bristol University and University College London discovered that natural...
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More Floriferous Roses
Climbing roses need nitrogen to stimulate formation of strong new canes to train over arches and arbors. When I was a young horticulture student in Northern California, in between classes my aged...
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A History of Growing Roses
June is the month when, in most areas of the Pacific Northwest, roses will be at their peak bloom. Portland, Oregon calls itself “The City of Roses” and the Portland Rose Society is celebrating its...
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Paul Parent Garden Club To Feature Black Gold!
“Good Morning, Gardeners!” is the cheery Sunday morning greeting familiar to over half a million radio listeners in New England and more from the rest of the United States, from “Mr. Nice Guy”, Paul...
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Double Digging for Flawless Fall Root Crops
Root crops such as ‘Lunar White’ carrots will be long, straight and easy to pull when grown in your newly double dug beds. Root crops grow best in soil that is as fertile and deep as possible. Higher...
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Begin Saving On A Rainy Day By Installing Rain Barrels
A well-placed rain barrel offers a practical solution for water catchment. Photo courtesy of Schultz Communications. It is a small project, but installing rain barrels onto your downspouts will capture...
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Banana Plants in Oregon!
Banana Plants in Portland – Photo Courtesy of Kathy and Harvey Anderson In the late 1990’s, I was surprised to learn there was a banana plant that was hardy enough to thrive in Portland, Oregon. Yes, I...
View ArticleJuly 8, 2012: Blair Busenbark On The Paul Parent Garden Club Radio Show
Blair Busenbark visited with The Paul Parent Garden Club again on Sunday, July 8th, 2012 at 9:00 AM EST. This time he discussed Black Gold soil amendments and organic fertilizers with gardening expert...
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Identifying and Beating Tomato Late Blight
LEFT: ‘Striped Roman’ tomato with tomato late blight on fruit and foliage. RIGHT: Tomato late blight lesion on ‘Striped Roman’ tomato. Photos by Jessie Keith Tomatoes with oily patches and plants with...
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Black Gold At the Summer Green Road Show in Hickory, NC
Teamwork at the Summer Green Road Show provided by: (left to right) Wayne Bagwell, Sun Gro Professional Products Rep. for North Carolina; Pam Beck, Black Gold Community Expert Garden Writer; Scott...
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Growing Okra in Oregon?
Okra in Oregon – Photo by Susanne PopeOn my weekly radio show, I not only get questions from gardeners, but I often get comments and information that others want to share. It is especially interesting...
View ArticleAug 8-9: 2012 Summer Green Road Show in North Carolina
CLICK HERE to read Pam Beck’s full summary of this event. Sun Gro Horticulture’s District Manager of Southeastern Retail Products Scott Pace and Black Gold Community Expert Garden Writer Pam Beck were...
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Late Summer Gardening Tips
Now that the spring season is over and we are already into August, I wonder “where did the summer go”? With so many things going on in the spring and early summer garden, now is certainly the time to...
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Pistachio Hydrangea is the Winner
At the recent Farwest Show (national nursery trade show held in Portland, Oregon), there was a section call “New Varieties Showcase”. New and recently introduced plants were exhibited and participants...
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Hardy Hibiscus
We often think of Hibiscus as tropical plants from Hawaii and other warm weather states. While this Hibiscus can be grown there, it will not survive our winters and gardeners often plant this and...
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Late Summer Foliage Color
Here it is, mid-September and in the Pacific Northwest, and the weather has been warm with little or no rain. This is the time to visit gardens and observe what is performing well at this time of...
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Japanese Maples for Southeastern Gardens
You’ve seen them exquisitely depicted in the finest gardening books, admired them in arboretum collections, and envied them in private landscapes. However, because of their delicate appearance and high...
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Plants for Great Fall Color
From mid-September through October, here in the Pacific Northwest, we have an abundance of plants for great fall color. Whether it is foliage, stems, bark or flowers, the color array is almost...
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Growing Figs in the Garden
Growing figs has yet to become commonplace in American gardens, although figs (Ficus carica) are surprisingly easy to grow and even easier to eat. This is largely because many consider figs...
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Ideas for Native Plants in Home Gardens
Whenever I hear someone speak of ideas for native plants in home gardens, it always makes me wonder what is considered “native”. I live in Oregon, so when a gardener tells me about native plants in...
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Add Viburnums to Any Landscape
What exactly is a Viburnum? Viburnums are trees or shrubs, evergreen or deciduous, that may be diminutive, three-foot globes or grow 60 feet tall. Their leaf texture varies from smoothly shiny to...
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Easy To Grow Indoor Succulents
If you love Anthropologie stores and the endless displays of ordinary things made extraordinary by grouping them with fresh ideas, then consider ditching your demanding houseplants for easy to grow...
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Tips For Winterizing Plants
It can be a bit difficult to shift gears and start thinking about winterizing plants, especially after we had such a dry and warm late summer and fall here in the Pacific Northwest. Recently we have...
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Producing Perfect Homegrown Plants from Seed
The seed-starting season is upon us. Soon loads of colorful and alluring seed catalogs will be populating websites and mailboxes nationwide. For the ardent gardener, raising plants from seed has huge...
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Celebrating with Spiral Topiaries
Nothing gives an entry more pizzaz than a pair of spiral topiaries flanking the front door. Plant them in a beautiful large pot and you’ve got the start of a truly elegant winter display. Spirals are...
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Evergreens In the Garden
Quite often when we think of evergreen plants or use the word ‘conifer’, we think of something large like a Douglas Fir, Colorado Spruce or similar tall tree. It is true, these are evergreen plants and...
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The Duality of Artichokes
What happens when a vegetable wants to be a highbrow perennial flower? There’s no question that the artichoke chose to be both. Grow them this coming year and you’ll discover how these curious plants...
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Growing Orchids Indoors for Winter Color
In spite of the internet and so much information coming over it, one of the last holdouts for actual paper catalogs must be the garden seed companies. When they start to arrive in my mailbox (a real,...
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Fragrant Winter Flowering Shrubs
Because of our unseasonably mild January in the Southeast, the bees and I are swooning over an astonishing number of fragrant winter flowering shrubs in the garden. But, why would Mother Nature spend...
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Hot Summer Vegetables That Beat the Heat
Most Americans experienced one of the hottest summers on record last year, and die-hard summer vegetable gardeners were more intimately tuned into the heat — spending untold hours watering and...
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Create a Natural Prairie Garden By Repurposing Old Lawn Soils
The first settlers of the American prairie could not farm the land. First they had to strip away thick sod layer to expose this extraordinarily fertile soil. Sod was so dense, the slabs were stacked...
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Container Gardening Tips For Growing Tomatoes and Berries
It is always fun visiting garden shows to see what plants for container gardening are new and which are being promoted by nurseries for the retail customer. Some plants are not really ‘new’ but are...
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Container Gardening For Versatility And Variety
Of all the many gardens I have visited with plants in containers, the most unique one that stands out in my mind is a garden in NE Portland. In this garden, the front of the house overlooks the roof of...
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All About Growing Edible Sweet Potatoes
Since North Carolina leads the nation in sweet potato production, and I have lived in the Old North State for 33 years, you would think that I would know a thing or two about growing edible sweet...
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Mexican Truffles
Fresh huitlacoche on display at summer market. These ears sell 50 times more than standard ears. In polite company it’s called the Mexican truffle, but in the American corn belt it’s nothing but common...
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