DebWFF, Author at 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,…

Joined: February 5, 2016
Articles: 33

Create Beautiful, Successful Patio Pots

DebWFF
May 5, 2017
Garden Design

Tips for Creating Beautiful, Successful Patio Pots In our part of the country, the high and low temperatures of spring are beginning to even out, and the danger of frost will soon be past. That’s when we pot up collections…

The Store Is Open for the Season!

DebWFF
April 5, 2017
Events, Store

Welcome spring with a visit to the White Flower Farm Store! We’re open for the season and stocked with plants, supplies, gifts, and gear to get you going and growing. While the weather is not quite warm enough to begin…

Break-Through Clivia Bred by Longwood Gardens

DebWFF
March 22, 2017
Botanic Gardens, clivia, Indoor Plants, Plant Breeding

Over the years, White Flower Farm has been honored to work in partnership with some of the world’s exceptional plant breeders and to be able to offer our customers exclusive and extraordinary treasures. Last year, we partnered with legendary Longwood…

Mt. Holyoke College’s Spring Flower Show

DebWFF
March 8, 2017
Garden Design

With wind chills near 0° last Saturday morning, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take refuge from the elements in the Talcott Greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. Stepping inside, we were greeted with the sights…

Bubbling With Ideas for Spring

DebWFF
March 3, 2017
Garden Design

With winter showing signs of an early withdrawl, some of us have been spending time sketching plans for gardens. Pen, paper and, if we’re feeling really fancy, colorful magic markers in hand, we play around with ideas for new borders or beds,…

“Spring” in February

DebWFF
February 23, 2017
Garden Design

In the midst of a week when temperatures in the Northeast and many other parts of the country have been in the 60s, we’re seeing the effects of a sustained February warm-up in our gardens. Snowdrops are blooming here in…

In Snow-Covered New England, We Dream of a Tropical Paradise

With the Northeast under a blanket of snow, and icy winds shaking the branches of bare trees, our bodies and our spirits crave respite. It’s one of the reasons we try each winter to visit Sarasota, Florida, and the earthly…

‘Holiday’ in Atlanta

The winter holidays come to an end for most of us the day after New Year’s when empty champagne bottles and party hats are tossed out, and it’s time to get back to the office. But if you happen to…

Caring for Cut Flowers

DebWFF
February 2, 2017
cut flowers

In the depths of winter, when color in the landscape is hard to come by and the flowers that filled our summer gardens exist only, for the time being, in our memories and imaginations, many of us decorate our homes…

Asclepias tuberosa: Essential Monarch Food & a Whole Lot More

Asclepias tuberosa, our native Butterfly Weed, has long been a favorite in the borders, beds and meadows here at the farm. In recent years, it’s attracted significant attention as an essential source of food for Monarch butterflies who feed on…