Question:

I live in a condominium in Chicago and am interested in starting a small indoor vegetable garden as a hobby next spring. I have no gardening experience either indoors or outdoors and am wondering if you would be able to either provide some tips or recommend a book or magazine that would be helpful in getting someone completely new started. Also, would you be able to recommend a store in Chicago where I could purchase supplies and perhaps speak to someone live?

Brad, Chicago, Illinois

Answer:

Who says you have to live in the country to have a garden of any kind? Indoor vegetable gardens are great for apartment dwellers or people who just don’t want to go full blown with a garden, but love fresh produce. Herbs of all kinds do great indoors, as well as lettuce, tomatoes and peppers. If you have room for a container with a trellis, pole beans do well too. Living in Chicago like you do you have a whole library of garden centers, nurseries and greenhouses to explore and absorb tons of information from. Alternative Garden Supply in Carey, Ill., immediately comes to mind as a resource center for you (800-444-2837). Their website is http://www.altgarden.com/. They have several retail outlets as well, Brew & Grow, and one is located in N. Besly Court in Chicago (773-395-1500).  You might want to explore hydroponics gardening as well, which is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. It’s an excellent way to grow watercress as a starter plant.

Question:

Is there any truth to a “mosquito plant” that will actually ward off these pests? What kind of care do they need?

LaVonne, Port Townsend, Washington

Answer:

You are referring to the citronella plant which is a perennial grass similar to Lemon Grass. It’s generally purchased as a small plant, or clump, and grows five to six feet tall with grass-like leaves. In warmer climates it will survive as a perennial and can be planted as attractive back drops in your flower beds, but in northern climates it will not survive a winter frost so it’s best suited as a container plant that you can take in and out of the house with the seasons. They prefer full sun and regular watering, but they don’t like being kept wet.

Question:

I have a Yucca plant that I moved from my childhood home to my current home about 25 years ago, it was planted in an area that receives sun most of the day, it has grown quite a bit over the years and is now three plants, and it looks very healthy but It has never bloomed in the 25 years it has been here. I live in north central Arkansas.

Joe, North Central Arkansas

Answer:

Yuccas come from Mexico where it is hot and sunny and that’s how they like it all year around. It sounds like your Yucca is doing great. The stems don’t really grow much or fast, which also makes them a desirable house plant as well, but their rosette of leaves can grow at a rate of 6-8 inches a year. Try a light concentration of fertilizer next summer when you step up watering a little and see if you can’t entice the plant to flower. Yuccas as a rule don’t flower in North American climates, but if you come up with just the right combination of care, you just might meet with success. For people who have Yuccas as house plants, however, they very rarely flower.

Question:

I have a very large shaded area of my yard that I’d like to put Lily-of-the Valley in, but it gets absolutely no real sunlight and I’m not sure they will survive? Is there a better plant to use? I’m looking for a perennial that is low maintenance primarily, but attractive.

Jack, Paducah, Kentucky

Answer:

Well, there are lots of shade loving plants, but Lily-of-the-Valley is probably the perfect perennial for you, given your needs. Lily-of-the-Valley thrives in a woodland type of environment, which is where they originated from in Europe. They love the shade of the trees, rich, moist soil and thrive best just being left alone. Another great attribute of the Lily-of-the-Valley is the fact that they spread out making excellent ground cover from spring to fall and effectively prevent weeds from becoming established. The fact that they have those wonderful little fragrant white flowers is just topping on the cake!

Question:

What areas of the country do Brussels Sprouts grow best in? We live in Kansas and weren’t sure if we were too far north to plant these in our garden and we didn’t want to waster our time if that was the case. I held off planting them this year, but wanted to be prepared for next spring if they will survive in our area.

Red and Tanzie, Mission, Kansas

Answer:

You shouldn’t have any trouble growing Brussels Sprouts in Kansas. They’re related to the cabbage family so they are a hardy, slow-growing, long-season vegetable and they grow in most areas of the country. In some of the milder areas of the country they may even over winter! Plant them in late spring to early summer and when the weather starts to cool off they’re ready for harvesting. Water and tend to them frequently like the rest of your garden plants. Just a word of caution though, sprouts maturing in hot weather or under dry conditions may yield a crop that is bitter in taste.

Question:

My daughter gives me an Easter lily every year for the holiday and once it quits blooming I usually just throw it out. However, I recently read that you can plant them outside once the temperature warms up. If I do this will they actually bloom again later in the summer?

Casey, Vienna,Ohio

Answer:

Easter lilies can be planted outside after all danger of frost has passed. Lilies like well drained soil and a sunny location. Plant the bulbs about six inches deep, including about two inches of mulch they’ll need. They like their “feet in the shade and their head in the sun.” When the leaves and stems of the original plant start to turn brown and die off, cut them back just above a healthy leaf on the stem. With proper watering new growth will appear eventually. You probably won’t get the plant to bloom a second time the same year, but the following year you can expect it to flower in June or July, which is their natural blooming period. Your store bought Easter lily is forced to flower under controlled greenhouse conditions in March, so it’ll take a year to “recycle” itself. Be sure to cut the plant back in the fall though and mulch it well for safe keeping over the winter.

Question:

I am making plans to incorporate a “dry wall” into my landscape, since I don’t really have a level area on my property that would support a flowerbed. I need the wall for other landscaping reasons, but want it to be attractive. What plants do you suggest for enhancing the appeal of just a plain rock wall?

Tony, Taneytown, Maryland

Answer:

This is one of my favorite landscaping subjects since building this type of wall can dramatically enhance the appeal of a garden and the yard. Forget the fact that it probably has a retaining purpose and serves an important need! The plants on the top of the wall should be compact with shallow roots to limit competition with other plants lower down the wall. Saxifrages, hen and chicks and androsaces are good starters. Alyssum, aster, creeping baby’s breath, phlox and sedum are good plants as well. Good shrubs for dry walls also include clematis, winter jasmine, santolina and spirea.

Question:

I have a small stream that runs through our property. It’s not much more than a trickle at times, but it runs year around. I’d like to put some attractive plants along it in strategic spots.  Do you have any suggestions for what would work best?

Cynthia, Lawrenceburg, Indiana

Answer:

The moist soil that runs along a stream can be ideal for a lot of plants. In your shadier areas, plantain lilies, some cattails and there are many different kinds of ferns that do well too. For your sunny areas and to really brighten things up, monkey flowers, water irises and marsh marigolds all produce big, beautiful flowers. Tap into your local extension office for some ideas as well.

Question:

What makes roses smell so good?

Tanya and Chrissy, Stony Point, North Carolina

Answer:

Roses contain a blend of oils, usually found in their outer petals. As each flower opens, the oils oxidize to release a complexity of scents. Rose scents, as a rule, fall into five categories:  old rose, tea, musk, fruity and spicy. The next time you smell a rose keep that in mind. You may detect the smell of fresh picked apples, apricots or peaches in your fruity smelling rose. A clove, cinnamon or myrrh scent gives you your spicy-scented rose, where a fragrance of dry China tea indicates a tea-scented rose. Beeswax or honey scents are found in your musk-scented rose.

Barbara Sue Schubert is a marketing professional, free-lance writer and a garden and plant enthusiast from southern Wisconsin. “To me, my sales and marketing background and my gardening have a lot in common, both feed my family! Writing, on the other hand, feeds my soul.”