Globe garden guru Carol Stocker will answer your gardening questions today, live from 1-2 p.m.

Boston Globe Garden Writer Carol Stocker will give a free illustrated lecture Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Lake Street Garden Center in Salem, N.H. on the best native plants that grow well in New England gardens without irrigation, pesticides or fertilizer. The natural garden aims for self sufficiency. Though you'll never achieve this goal - there are always weeds that need pulling - still you can minimize maintenance by choosing the right plants. Once a year renew the mulch throughout the garden in the fall after cutting down dead stems and adding garden litter to the compost pile.

Adaptation to our local conditions is only one attraction of native plants. They also offer a relatively restrained and subtle beauty that can be a welcome alternative to the showy brightness of highly bred garden staples.

The natural landscape invites wildlife. Instead of a tidy clipped yew hedge that offers little to bees, butterflies and birds, plant a mixed hedge of unsheared, fruit producing shrubs such as viburnum, blueberries, hollies and service berries. Set out a birdbath and bird feeder.

Best wildflowers for shade include Jack-in-the-pulpit. The tubers are well suited for planting amon low ground covers like Chrysogonum virginianum or partridgeberry. Celedine poppu (not to be confused with invasive Chelidonium majus) grows well with Virginia bluebells, columbine, foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and creeping phlox. Iris cristata and Phlox divaricata are also spring shade natives but a little harder to grow successfully.

Shade plants for later in the year include Cimicafuga racemosa, or black cohosh, Astilbe biternata and Aruncus dioicus. Among the last plants to bloom under shade are white wood aster, buff goldenrood and white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum).

For sun try white wild indigo, penstemons, which combine well is sundrops (Oenothera), purple coneflower and butterfly weed.

How does this early spring affect our gardens? There's a possible frost predicted for tonight and we are bound to get more cold weather in April so it's important not to plant anything that is not frost hardy. However, this record early balmy weather, which most scientists world wide link to climate change initiated by fossil fuels, is a guilty pleasure that is hard to resist. It is accompanied by drought conditions which has made it possible to work the soil. March is usually "mud month," too wet to garden in, but not this year! It's so early that many nurseries are not yet open for the year. But take advantage of the warm dry weather to amend your garden and lawn soil with compost and other soil amendments such as super phosphate, lime, and bulb fertilizer for bulbs. Mulch your garden soon before plants grow too tall. Turn compost piles. Water plants that need it. Many bulb flowers such as daffodils are keeling over from lack of water, so water them. Can you fertilize now? I have. Can you plant seeds of frost hardy vegetables such as lettuce, peas and radishes outdoors? Sure. Give it a try!

Greetings, Gardeners! I will be answering garden questions live this Friday, Feb. 24, from 1-2 p.m. on Boston.com. Meanwhile, high-value, water-wise plants, small water features and Mediterranean style are among this year’s gardening trends to consider.

In Boston and other colder areas, where the blooms are gone and deciduous leaves have fallen, more people keep their ornamental grasses instead of cutting them back, so they can provide winter interest. For the same reason, they’re looking for plants with winter berries, evergreens, barks of different colors and textures or deciduous trees and shrubs with dramatic forms. But they’re also adding plants that change with the seasons, offering new interest with each.

The number of front yard gardens is on a steady rise (29 percent in 2011, compared to 27 percent in 2010 and 25 percent in 2009), according to the Garden Trends Research Report’s Early Spring 2011 survey (conducted for the Garden Writers Association Foundation). Meanwhile, the number of backyard gardens has taken a 3-percent hit, down from 50 percent in 2009 and 2010.

Vertical gardening is also on the rise, as documented in the new, popular book Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces by California garden designers Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet. The practice of growing plants up from the ground instead of out, or of planting them off the ground to start with—on trellises, arbors, balconies and walls—has become especially popular among those with small spaces, landscape eyesores or an awkward “skinny spot” in their garden.

When it comes to cleaning the water, especially storm water carrying pollutants like fertilizers and motor oil into local waterways, many people are turning to rain gardens. “These shallow depressions are filled with deep-rooted plants and grasses­ — all of them noninvasive, native or locally adapted — that can handle being inundated with water and also don’t mind being dry,” Zaretsky and Associates’ Coates says.

“Many gardeners are catching their own rainwater in rain barrels and cleaning or recycling grey water (wastewater from domestic activities like laundry, dishwashing and bathing)” adds Anthony Tesselaar, cofounder and president of Tesselaar Plants. “In fact, in many municipalities now, saving water is not only ‘in’, but mandatory”.

Black and amber shades in plants continue to be a “hot” color trend, says North Coast Gardening’s Schmidt. “People have already been bewitched by the dark drama of black plants,” she explains, “and as they learn to design with them more effectively, they’ll only become more popular.”

Amber shades, she adds, are also extremely popular – amber heucheras, the amber Flower Carpet roses, and other plants with amber tones are going to be big in nurseries this year. I grew a Tropicanna Black canna last year and liked the dark leaves very much.

Just as consumers are being more careful with their water usage, they’re also shopping smarter. In particular, they’re looking for low-risk, high-value plants that not only look good in the garden center, but have a tried-and-true reputation.

“Plants bred to withstand attacks from pests and diseases that are also tolerant of climate and soil extremes provide a better value,” says Tesselaar (developer of the low-maintenance, disease- and drought-resistant Flower Carpet roses.) “Gardeners are more aware than ever that choosing the right plant for the right situation is imperative if you want to help save the planet — let alone your bank balance.”

For as little as $15 to $25, for instance, you can have long-term color without a lot of expense by using continuously flowering shrubs like Flower Carpet roses, hydrangeas, potentilla (shrubby cinquefoil) and spirea. Or, if your garden already has plenty of beautiful structure, use such colorful, flowering machines to dress up these ‘good bones.’”

More and more people are moving away from large ponds and toward smaller water features, says Coates: “Now people prefer a cut piece of stone, a boulder or a beautiful glazed urn with water bubbling out of the top.”

Coates thinks it’s a maintenance issue: “People either have to be really into ponds and all the maintenance they take, or they have to hire someone to do it for them." What’s more, says Schmidt, fountains made with natural stone or metal are hotter sellers than features made of manmade materials. “The ball-shaped fountains made of stone are very big this year,” she says, “and I think that copper and other metals are coming into fashion as accents in fountains and as materials for planting containers.”

“Green roofs have definitely seen more of a commercial application and have been done in mostly urban areas, but they’re still a huge trend,” she says. “Green roofs help save on heating and cooling costs and actually protect the roof underneath from the degrading effects of the elements, so cities have received tax incentives for green roof installations.” Some cities, like Toronto and Chicago, are even starting to require green roofs on some new buildings, based on the square footage.

Carol Stocker, Boston Globe garden writer, will be online live today, from 1-2 p.m. to answer your gardening and horticultural questions in her chat room at Boston.com.

Carol Stocker, Boston Globe gardenwriter, will be on line live today, Jan 20, from 1-2 p.m. to answer your gardening and horticultural questions.

Christmas tree and green holiday decorating questions? Boston Globe garden expert Carol Stocker will answer these and your landscaping, gardening and plant questions Dec. 16 live from 1-2 pm.

Boston Globe garden expert Carol Stocker will answer your questions about holidaygift plants, landscaping and decorating with greens live from 1-2 p.m. on-line.

Live animals, heirloom apples, locally made products, and children's
crafts will highlight Shades of Autumn, an annual celebration of the harvest season,
at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, October 8, through Monday (Columbus Day),
October 10. Tower Hill will be turned into a virtual farmland, featuring beautiful
displays of garden produce and a farmer's market, and taste-testing tours of the
famous antique apple orchard (2pm each day)-with 119 varieties of pre-20th Century
apples.

Activities include children's crafts and a children's scavenger hunt. Hot apple cider, a special harvest menu in Twigs Café, and Massachusetts products for sale from numerous local vendors will round out the weekend.

Weather permitting; enjoy a hayride through the trails. A musical concert for children of all ages presented by "Merry-Go Music" on Sunday, October 9 at 1pm and 3pm, and again on Monday, October 10, at 1pm.

Tower Hill Botanic Garden is a perfect place to spend the weekend with family and
enjoy the glorious colors of fall in New England. Admission for this weekend is
free for the residents of Boylston. Otherwise, the admission is $10 for adults,
$7 for seniors, $5 for youth 6-18, children under 6 years of age are admitted free.
Tower Hill is located at 11 French Drive in Boylston, Mass., 3 miles north of Exit
24 from Route 290. For a complete schedule, call 508-869-6111 or sign on to www.towerhillbg.org

And here's another announcement:
New England Wild Flower Society’s Education Department has announced its October 2011 classes, courses, and field trips; and they are searchable/available online, downloadable online, and available by calling the registrar (508-877-7630, ext. 3303). For more information, visit http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.

Night temperatures are predicted to drop into the high 30's starting Wednesday night. Bring indoors temperature sensitive tropicals you want to try to save from cold, especially fibrous plants such as begonias, impatiens and coleus, before then.

The average date for the first frost for Boston falls on Nov. 6, though we could get our first frost anytime between Oct. 12 and Nov. 20, according to the National Climactic Data Center. The average first frost falls a little earlier, typically on Nov. 1, in Middlesex county.

As warm days begin to yield to cooler evenings, cool-weather vegetables (lettuce, spinach, etc.) and flowers begin to thrive. But many plants will need protection against cold nighttime weather.

A light freeze, from 29°F to 32°F, will kill tender plants but will have little destructive effect on other vegetation. A moderate freeze, from 25°F to 28°F, will have a widely destructive effect on most vegetation, with heavy damage to fruit blossoms and tender and semi-hardy plants. A severe freeze, 24°F and colder, with result in damage to most plants.

Here are a few steps that you can use to protect your tender plants against freezing temperatures to extend your growing season:

Find out the average first frost dates for your area. You can type in your zip code and get helpful info here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/
Have an outdoor thermometer handy, and check it often.
Check weather reports for forecasts of low temperatures.
Water the soil around your plants; moist soil retains heat better. DO NOT spray water on the plants themselves.
Cover your plants overnight. There are many good, lightweight plant covers available, but old bedsheets will do. Remove the covers during the day if it is warm and sunny.

Don't wait until the last minute to start bringing your less frost tender potted plants indoors. As the weather cools down, the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures widen, making it more difficult for plants to adjust to the big change in temperature when you bring them inside.

Here are some other tips to make sure your plants successfully make the transition from outdoor to indoor:
Bring in only healthy plants. Unless you are planning to run a “plant hospital,” say goodbye to the struggling plants.
Check plants for diseases and pests. Problems tend to spread quickly indoors from plant to plant.
Spray plants with an organic insect control. Even if you don’t see them, insects such as aphids and spider mites can hitchhike on your plants—and then infest your healthy houseplants. Use a horticultural oil, such as Summit Year-Round Spray Oil, which contains no harsh chemicals yet is effective against a wide range of insect pests.
If you have room, bring in a pepper plant or some tender flowering perennials to extend your growing season.
Give away healthy plants that you don’t have room for inside.

Globe gardening guru Carol Stocker will be online live to answer your gardening questions on Friday from 1-2 p.m.

The Boston Natural Areas Network are having their 6th Annual Harvest Festival and Perennial Divide this Saturday at City Natives, 30 Edgewater Drive, in Mattapan. It is free and open to the public, rain or shine and they will have a lot of plant material. Call 617-542-7696 or check online at www.bostonatural.org for more information( click on BNAN Events and/or City Natives). Yes, you can find them on Facebook. BNAN is a great organization.

City Natives is easy to get to and walking distance from Mattapan Square. There is ample parking there.This event includes a gardener’s market of native plants, fresh produce, honey and family arts and crafts. Gardeners are invited to exchange, donate or simply take home perennial divisions and other plants. Please pre-divide plants into smaller pieces and bring containers to take your plants home. Master Urban Gardeners (MUG) will be available to give advice on plant care.

Select native plants propagated at City Native Nursery will be available for purchase. You can take a self-guide tour of the Learning Garden or stop by the BNAN table and ask for a MUG volunteer to give you a guided tour. Also, participate in a beekeeping demonstration. There will also be live music.

Globe Garden Writer Carol Stocker will be on line live today, Friday, Aug. 19, to answer your gardening questions from 1 to 2 p.m. Afterwards a transcript of the questions and answers will be posted and archived.

Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will be on line live Aug.12 from 1 to 2 p.m. to answer reader's gardening questions. A transcript will be posted afterwards.

Boston Globe Garden Guru Carol Stocker will be answering questions live on Boston;com 1-2 p.m. today live.

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will be on line LIVE at boston.com 1-2 p.m. Friday to answer your gardening questions.

The Mall at chestnut hill announces Step Into spring flower & Garden show April 1 – May 15. Award winning landscape artists, horticulturists, master gardeners and floral designers will share exquisite examples of richly planted gardens, stone sculptures, unique garden settings and beautiful floral arrangements in common areas throughout the mall. The public will have the opportunity to view native floral along with some of the most rare and unusual varieties. Examples of textures and blooming colors of the natural outdoors will be on view throughout both levels of the mall.

As part of Step Into Spring, the Mall at Chestnut Hill will also host three special events to celebrate the season:

· A Taste of Spring Preview VIP Party – Friday, April 1, 7:00-10:00 p.m.
A special evening to unveil the glorious spring garden displays. Guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $35 and will benefit the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and are available online at www.masshort.org or at the door.

· Children's Spring Fling – Saturday, April 16, 12:00-2:00 p.m.

A free arts and crafts event for children incorporating spring flowers and bright colors.

· Fashion & Florals – Saturday, April 16, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

The Mall at Chestnut Hill presents fashions created by 10-12 student designers from Mount Ida’s Fashion Design program. Retailer fashions from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, BCBG, Bloomingdales, Brooks Brothers, Kate Spade and Tous will be showcased in between the student’s looks.
Participating landscapers and florists include:

1-800-Flowers, A Blade of Grass, A Yard and a Half Landscaping, Berkeley Wholesale Florists, Berry’s Greenhouse, Brattle Square Florist, Bunker Hill Florist, CMC Design, Carbone Floral Distributers, Cass School of Floral Design, Cedar Grove Gardens, Celebrated Flower, Chester Brown Inc., COGS Design, Coleen's Flower Shop, Crystal Brinson, Horticulturalist, Dana Markos, David Austin Roses, Earthworks, Elgreen Orchids, Exotic Flowers, Flores Mantilla, Flowers by Steve, Frosty Hollow Orchids, Holly Alderman, Ikebana International, Ilex Flowers, Irish Limestone, Jeri Solomon Floral Design, Land Escapes, Mahoney's Garden Center, Markus Specimen Trees, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Massachusetts Master Gardeners Association, Michael Jardin Fine Gardens, New England Land Artisan, Parterre Garden Services, Peter R. Sadeck, Rosa Flora, Quansett Nurseries, Quinlan-Wasserman Inc., Raspberry Bouquet, Riccardi Wholesale Flowers, The Rose Society, Stapleton Floral Design, Stephanie's Flowers, Twig Boston, Vetra Horticultural Services, WAFA and Winston Flower

“This is a wonderful partnership between many talented florists and landscapers and we are proud to work with Chairs Peter Sadeck and Diane Valle to showcase some of the area’s most artistic forces,” said Debora Konig, Director of Mall Marketing for Mall at Chestnut Hill. “We hope folks will come down to the mall to view the displays and participate in the events, to be inspired or simply for a reminder that spring is about to bloom!”

Flower and landscape exhibits will be on display at the Mall at Chestnut Hill from Friday, April 1 through Sunday, May 15. For more information and a full list of participating landscapers, please visit www.simon.com or call (617) 965-3038. Step Into Spring is produced by Boston Portfolio Properties, LLC, a real estate brokerage firm focused on personalized service to owners and buyers of the most desirable properties in Boston and the surrounding suburbs. Visit www.bostonpp.com for more information.

Boston Globe garden guru Carol Stocker will answer garden questions you send to Boston.com live Friday, March 11, from 1-2 p.m.

She will also appear in Stow Thursday, May 10, at 7 p.m. to speak and answer questions at the old town hall opposite Route 117 from the new Stow town hall at 380 Great Neck Road. The event will be hosted by the Stow Garden Club and there will be an admission charge and it will be taped for local cable TV.
Carol can also be contacted for private home garden consultations at stockergarden@gmail.com.

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will take your questions today at 1 p.m. at boston.com.
Also: Please note that the Berkshire Botanical Garden Annual Winter Lecture
“At Home in the 365-Day Garden” with author / garden blogger Margaret Roach
is Saturday, February 19, 2:00 pm (snow date February 20)
Monument Mountain Regional High School
Tickets: $35 Garden Members / $42 Nonmembers / $25 Members Lunch
Tickets: www.berkshirebotanical.org or call 413-298-3926 (Reservations Required)

"Plants that Inspire," the 2011 UMASS Garden Calendar is now available with its daily timely garden tips geared for each month of the year. The University Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry staff put a new version together each year. To order, got to www.umasscalendar.orggarden or send $12 to Garden Calendar, c/o Mailrite, 78 River Road South, Putney, VT 05346.

You can also order the monthly newsletter March through October for $10 payable to UMass sent to Garden Clipppings, UMass Ext., French Hall, 230 Stockbridge Road, Amherst, MA 01003-9316

To register for workshop series go to www.umassgarden.com.

Boston Globe garden writer Carol Stocker will be on line with more tips and gardening answers today at 1-2 p.m. so email your questions to boston.com at that time to get an immediate response.

Here's her top rated House and Garden Event for this weekend:

The New Bedford Preservation Society19th Annual Holiday House Tour Saturday, December 4 (4 to 8 p.m.) and Sunday, December 5 (1 to 5 p.m.).

Everyone knows Nantucket, but if you haven't discovered Historic New Bedford, an even bigger center of 18th century whaling wealth, this is your chance. Historic homes have been decked in festive holiday décore with historic characters in period costume. The magnificent Rotch-Jones Duff House and Garden Museum will be included in this year’s tour. Highlights at RJD will be a Festival of Tables and a New Bedford Museum of Glass exhibit. The "Spot the Victorian Peppermint Pig Scavenger Hunt," will again be part of the tour with proceeds from the sale of the pigs (available at tour headquarters) benefitting the society's scholarship fund. View a video of last year's tour at the society's website: www.nbpreservationsociety.org .

Both the Saturday candlelight tour and Sunday afternoon tour start at the Wamsutta Club, 427 County Street, tour headquarters, where a pre-tour holiday brunch will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., along with a holiday raffle of gifts, art, handcrafted items and generous gift certificates donated by local merchants. Discounted advance tickets ($19 with $2 discount to Society members) are now on sale at the following locations: Elaine's at the Black Whale, New York Shoe Repair (for credit card sales), The Surrey Shoppe, Periwinkles, Baker Books, Davoll's General Store, The Ultimate Touch, The Woodhouse Shop, Roseland Nursery and the Marion General Store. At the door, tickets will be priced at $23. Cost of the Sunday brunch is $17 (all-inclusive, tax and tip), and reservations may be made by calling the Wamsutta Club at 508.997.7431.

The Annual Holiday House Tour is the Society’s signature fund-raising event. All proceeds benefit the work of the Society in its efforts to sustain and promote historic preservation in New Bedford through such projects as the historical building marker program, historical cemetery tours, walking/trolley tours, the Re-Leaf tree-planting program, the newly formed scholarship fund, the publication of self-guided walking tour brochures, lectures, and more.

For more information, please call the New Bedford Preservation Society office (388 County Street, New Bedford) at 508-997-6425 or visit www.nbpreservationsociety.org. Be sure to check out the New Bedford Whaling Museum, too.

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Globe Garden Expert Carol Stocker will be on-line live at boston.com from 1-2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, to answer your gardening questions. .

Water Whimsy at Garden in the Woods
Framingham, MA - New England Wild Flower Society announced today the Society has partnered with New England Garden Ornaments to present Water Whimsy, a small show of large and small water features at Garden in the Woods. In addition to the Michael Mazur fountain in the entrance garden and the Nate McCullin bird baths in the wildlife garden, there are seven fountains which appear in Water Whimsy at the entrance to the Curtis Path, in the Idea Garden, Edible Garden, Rain Garden, and Patio Garden. All of the fountains recirculate the water being used or they are standing water birdbaths.

Water Whimsy continues in the Garden through September 7. Included in the show are bubbling, flowing, and standing fountains. Elements were chosen to appear timeless as opposed to new or antique. Chiseled stones, millstones, staddle stones, stone balls, molded balustrades and caps, granite bowls and bamboo are used to create these features, nestled among the native plants in the various gardens. They provide a whimsical feeling within the naturalized structure of the many gardens.

Millstones were used in windmills, watermills, and other structures to grind wheat and other grains. Grains would be poured into a round trough. The millstone would be run around the inside outer lip of the trough, grinding the grains. Larger mills used wind or water to power the operation. Smaller mills used human or animal strength to handle the rotation of the millstone around the trough. The three millstones in this exhibit show three different sizes. The two larger stones were imported from England.

Staddle stones look like stone mushrooms and were originally used as supporting bases for granaries, hayricks, game larders, etc. These staddle stones lifted the structures off the ground to protect them from moisture and vermin. The two shown adjacent to the Rain Garden are from the Cotswold region of England and are from the 19th Century.

The three column fountain in the Entrance Garden is of Basalt, a stone quarried on the west coast of the US. Naturally occurring in the rock face as plates, it is easily cut along its veins into the natural column shape. The top is then cut and polished and the column plumbed for a water feature.

The granite bowl used in the Idea Garden water feature is from a piece of Quincy, MA, granite, salvaged from the foundation of a building in Boston. The stone mason who carved it is famous for using a blow torch to carve into stone. The spheres of the Three Sphere Fountain, found opposite the Patio Garden, are hand carved from lava stone. Each has been weathered to a beautiful dark black patina.

Scott LaFleur, Botanic Garden Director and Horticulture Director for New England Wild Flower Society, remarked, “Water Whimsy is a great show for the hot days of summer. The soft sounds of the water draw you in close to hear and see the features. They are beautifully integrated into the Garden and look like they were always there. Being a small show, it does not overpower the Garden. You still focus on our collection of native plants when you visit.”

New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods was founded in 1931 by landscape designer Will Curtis who developed the Garden with Howard Stiles. The Garden showcased Curtis’ designs and interest in featuring native plants for sustainable gardens. Curtis deeded the Garden to New England Wild Flower Society in 1965. The Garden is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday and holiday Mondays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April 15 through October 31. Guided walking tours of the Garden are given weekdays at 10 a.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. Entrance fees to the Garden are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with identification, and $4 for youths 3 to 18.