November 2017 - White Flower Farm's blog

Antsy About Ants on Your Peonies? Have No Fear

Erica Anderson
July 17, 2023
Peonies

“The Ant King Palace opens its carmine door: Peony in bloom.” ~Yosa Buson (1716-1784)* It doesn’t take a scholar of 18th-century Japanese haiku to know that Peonies and ants often go together. Some of us encountered ants crawling on the rounded buds of Peonies when we were little, when bugs were “cool.” (In fact, this plant-critter connection was so fascinating to one precocious youngster that she became an entomologist.**) More of us, alas, approach the subject having experienced struggles removing the insects from our kitchen countertops. The idea of ants inhabiting one of the showiest of all garden flowers may,…

Keeping A Garden Journal

The best gardening advice that you can get may be your own. That doesn’t discount reliable information from gardening books and magazines, or expert recommendations from your local garden center, but who else knows best about what has worked in…

Forcing Bulbs – It’s Easier Than You Think

For starters, “forcing” is a misnomer because it sounds too much like work. We’re just tricking the bulbs into thinking winter is over quite a bit sooner than it is. Forcing is an easy sleight of hand that offers the…

Our Staff Favorites for Holiday Gifting (and Receiving!)

Each year, we ask a handful of our staff members to choose their favorite gifts from among our holiday offerings. Some select classic, tried-and-true treasures including our bestselling Canella Berry Wreath or Basket, premium Amaryllis, or fragrant Lily-of-the-Valley. Others cannot…

Winter Protection

As this is written in early November, it’s still too early to apply winter protection to newly-planted perennials, but it’s not too early to plan for it, if you garden in a cold-winter area (USDA Zone 6 [-10°F] or colder).…

Fall Sale! Save 20% on All Fall Planted Bulbs, Perennials & Shrubs

An extended period of mild autumn temperatures is a boon to gardeners. The soil in most parts of the country is still plenty warm, which creates ideal conditions for settling in new plants and bulbs. The comfortable weather also means…