Jessica Walliser Columns category

Tall, spiky flowers add a vertical interest to garden

Early spring is a great time to start planning your plantings for the coming season. Look over photos of your garden from last year to see where blank spaces occur or where the design of your flower plantings could be elevated. One of the most wonderful opportunities we have to...
Early spring chores to tackle amid covid-19 pandemic

Question: Like everyone else, I’m stuck at home and itching to do some work in the garden. What can I do this time of year that isn’t jumping the gun? I can’t spread mulch because there’s none available yet and I think the ground is still too wet. Is it...
How to grow parsnips

If you enjoy eating carrots and growing them in your garden, I encourage you to try your hand at cultivating parsnips, too. They’re one of my family’s favorite root crops. Parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) are in the same plant family as carrots, celery, parsley, and dill (Apiaceae). They are all biennial...
Best plants for bees (but not for deer)

Question: I’m looking to add some more bee-friendly perennial plants to my flower garden this summer. Can you make some recommendations? It would be a bonus if the deer don’t eat them, but I know that’s a tough request! Answer: Kudos to you for wanting to provide more nectar-foraging plants...
Start sowing now for arugula crop

Arugula is a salad green that adds a punch of peppery spice to salads. It’s also surprisingly delicious cooked. While you may think it’s difficult to grow simply for the fact that the word “gourmet” is often associated with it, arugula is quite easy to grow in home gardens, raised...
Asexual plant propagation explained

Question: What is it about plants that makes it possible for you to grow them from a cutting rather than having to always start them from seed? I’m planning to expand my garden this season and want to grow a ton of new plants from cuttings and divide the plants...
6 seed-starting tips

Over the next few weeks, gardeners everywhere will take on the challenge of starting their own seeds. Whether it’s sowing seeds of your favorite heirloom tomato variety, planting herb seeds, or starting a collection of annuals like sunflowers, cosmos, or marigolds, it’s one of our most favorite times of the...
Try these nasturtium varieties this season

Question: Nasturtiums are one of my favorite flowers to grow. This year, I’d like to try growing a few of the climbing types. Are they easy to grow from seed or will I need to buy transplants somewhere? Answer: Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are a favorite of many gardeners. Their glossy...
Tips for growing cauliflower

For many gardeners, cauliflower is a challenging vegetable to grow. Not only do cabbage worms find it irresistible, but it can be persnickety to grow, requiring just the right weather and soil conditions to thrive. Today, I’d like to offer you some cauliflower- growing tips to help increase your chances of...
Elderberries are beautiful landscape plants and medicinal, too

Question: Everyone in my family takes elderberry syrup in the winter because there’s evidence that it is antiviral and helps fight against the flu. We’d like to start growing our own elderberries and making our own syrup. Are there particular varieties we should grow? Answer: Elderberry (Sambucus spp.) plants have...
3 ways to grow purple coneflowers from seed

Purple coneflowers are a favorite among many gardeners. Known botanically as Echinacea purpurea, this North American native perennial produces colorful magenta blooms in late summer and is a butterfly and bee magnet. While the straight species of this plant is my personal favorite, there are many cultivars and varieties that...
Controlling two-spotted spider mites by introducing predatory mites

Question: We always have spider mites on our flowering garden phlox and a few other perennials in the summer. The leaves look speckled with tiny pin-pricks of white, and we can see their webs on the undersides of the leaves. We’ve read that spraying can lead to other problems (and...
Lichens are a welcome sight

Question: Please help! I just noticed that my wild plum tree in my backyard has some sort of fungus growing on it. Is there anything I can do, or is it diseased beyond repair? It was healthy this summer with many blooms. It has been in my yard for at...
How to grow the super-fruit goji berry

Gogi berries (Lycium barbarum) are the latest super fruits. They’re high in antioxidants and nutrients, and several cultures dry the berries and use them for medicinal purposes as well. They are said to support immune function and regulate blood pressure. Nightshade- family cousins of the tomato, pepper and eggplant, goji berries...
What’s plaguing that jade plant?

Question: Several of my jade plants have developed black spots as well as places on the edge or middle of the leaf that totally dry up. I’ve never encountered anything like this and feel it must be some kind of weird virus. I’ve been spraying with a biofungicide and also...
Learn how to grow alpine strawberries

If you’d like to try something new in your fruit and vegetable garden this year, how about growing alpine strawberries? These little jewels are so much sweeter and more flavorful than large-fruited strawberry species. Plus, they’re easy to grow and require less space. Alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca) are small in...

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