Home & Garden category, Page 4

Nature, history and culture intertwine in “Tropical Forest Hawai’i: Aloha ‘Aina,” a new long-term exhibition in the Tropical Forest Conservatory at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh. The major redesign of the 12,000-square-foot, 60-foot-high space is the result of a multi-year process of research and planning that took Phipps...

Beautiful, exotic blooms aren’t the only draw at the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania’s annual orchid show. This year’s two-day event also will include a silent auction, an hourly raffle of orchid plants and orchid-related items, a sales area, a repotting table and educational opportunities. Show hours will be noon-8...

While spring gardening might not be foremost on residents’ minds during a snowstorm, the state announced Friday it will ban plant sales of certain pampas grasses and two varieties of buckthorn. The state Department of Agriculture added three species to the state list of noxious weeds, which are non-native invasive...

Easter has lilies. Thanksgiving has gourds. Christmas has poinsettias. And Valentine’s Day should have amaryllis. For the uninitiated, amaryllises are big bulbs that can produce among the biggest and showiest flowers a gardener can grow indoors (maybe outdoors too). Best of all, water and a bit of light is all...

After the houseplant heyday of the 1970s, the penchant for potted green companions faded with all but the most dedicated plant parents. But over the past decade, as many young adults began filling their homes — and social media feeds — with indoor plants, a cross-generational audience started to take...

An orchid that recently was awarded the American Orchid Society’s Certificate of Cultivation Excellence is among specimens displayed in “Orchid and Bonsai Show: An Ocean of Color,” running through March 6 at Phipps Conservatory. “Plants receiving this award represent the highest level of orchid culture,” said Adam Haas, interpretive program...

Houseplants have been keeping a lot of us company during the pandemic, and the good news is there’s a plant for any home, big or small, well-lit or not. There’s also a virtual jungle of stylish containers in which to show them off. “I love incorporating plants into our interior...

Windowsill herb plants would seem a perfect antidote to winter’s visual and culinary blandness, except that such plants rarely do as well as billed. The ideal windowsill herb thrives despite dry air and relatively low light conditions to offer intense aroma and flavor. And it should be a pretty plant...

There are some trees whose showiness does not end once they’ve lost their leaves in autumn. Some trees have an attractive bony framework that is then revealed. Ginkgo tree, for instance. Leafless, a ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) tree, soft and green in summer, appears as if each main limb knows where...

Holiday decorations shine, sunlight on snow sparkles and Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens both sparkles and shines with the return of the winter flower show. “Sparkle and Shine” is the theme for the extravagant “Holiday Magic! Winter Flower Show and Light Garden,” running through Jan. 9 at the facility in...

In addition to being bright and beautiful, this year’s fall flower show at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will be a little bit spooky and kooky. “Fall Flower Show: Happy Troll-O-Ween” will feature the usual array of chrysanthemums in a kaleidoscope of fall colors, along with the mythical creatures that...

One thing that distinguishes fall gardening from spring gardening is the pace, said Elizabeth Pesci of Greensburg. “In the spring, there are so many things that have to be done on a schedule; but in the fall, you can take your time and go a little slower,” said Pesci, who...

With its distinctive orange and black markings, the monarch butterfly is easily recognized as it flits about the garden. Monarchs serve an important role as pollinators, as they feed on the nectar of many different types of flowers. They also are significant in various religious and cultural traditions. The Hopi...

We’ve reached the weekend. Here are a few ways to spend it. Pittsburgh CLO Pittsburgh CLO’s “Wizard of Oz’” will be performed at 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field on the North Side. The stage will be in the end zone. There will...

Greensburg Garden Center’s upcoming garden tour will transport participants to outdoor spaces reminiscent of the British Isles, the tropics and places in between. Set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 31, the tour will feature seven gardens arranged along a self-driving route that begins in New Alexandria, reaches out...

After a two-year hiatus, the Wexford Garden and Pond Tour is blooming again. Discover the rich landscapes created at 11 outstanding properties during self-guided tours on July 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A bonus night tour of three select properties will be held from 8 to 10 p.m....

Highland Park visitors can stop and smell the flowers during a tour showcasing 10 unique gardens. The Highland Park Garden Club, which supports community gardening and promotes gardening education, will host its first Highland Park Secret Garden Tour July 11. The event will run from noon to 4 p.m. The...

Cut flowers, potted plants and hanging baskets are all traditional Mother’s Day gifts. But did you ever think of giving Mom a tomato plant? A container garden just might be a refreshing and tasty way to think outside the Mother’s Day gift box — or pot, as it were. “A...

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — Elize Lutz and Harrie Dekkers’ new home is a 1,011-square foot, two-bedroom bungalow that resembles a boulder with windows. The curving lines of its gray concrete walls look and feel natural. But they are actually at the cutting edge of housing construction technology in the Netherlands and...

Shoppers at Greensburg Garden Center’s annual May Mart plant sale will find themselves in a new and improved space. The center’s garden recently was refurbished by Cole Kuczynski of Greensburg as an Eagle Scout project. Kuczynski and his helpers removed old compost and debris, built a wire compost bin, refurbished...

The gardening world has a tried-and-true formula for the perfect window box: a thriller, a filler and a spiller. You simply can’t go wrong with a tall red geranium amid a tranquil bed of white impatiens and cascading vines of ivy. But maybe you’re an experienced window box gardener looking...