A Stake With That?
If there’s one thing I hate doing in the garden, it’s staking plants. I love planting and sowing, don’t mindContinue Reading
Category: Hybridizing
A Great Hybridizer… in My Dreams Only
I’m not, I must confess, a great hybridizer. And I’m nothing like Tony Huber, the famous hybridizer from Quebec, toContinue Reading
The Story of the Lemon Cucumber
Do you know the lemon cucumber? It’s an actual cucumber cultivar—Cucumis sativa “Lemon”—with round fruits about the size of smallContinue Reading
Hybridizing Perennials
Hybridizer Hans Hansen in a field of ‘Pink Profusion’ perennial salvia (Salvia nemorosa). An Interview with Plant Breeder Hans Hansen Here’sContinue Reading
Saving Squash Seed: No Hanky Panky Allowed!
Par Larry Hodgson Squashes are masters at crossing with their neighbors. Even varieties that are very different in appearance, suchContinue Reading
Why Are My Pansy Flowers Shrinking?
By Larry Hodgson Question: I’ve been saving and resowing the seeds of my pansies. Three years ago, they had big flowers,Continue Reading
Why Choose Open-Pollinated Seeds?
When it comes to choosing vegetable seeds, any good organic gardener should ask themself the following question: Are these open-pollinatedContinue Reading
When Two Different Pears Cross, Does It Change their Taste?
If a Ussurian pear (left) is pollinated by a ‘Flemish Beauty’ European pear (right), will it take on its taste?Continue Reading
Hostas: Pretty in Pink?
Photo accompanying an online advertisement for hosta seeds. Photo: amazon.ca Question: I have read in magazines that there are pink hostas,Continue Reading
Garden Myth: Don’t Plant Tomatoes and Potatoes Together
Ill.: Kissclipart & uihere, montage: laidbackgardener.blog Question: My grandmother always warned me not to plant potatoes and tomatoes together or they would cross,Continue Reading