Mickey Gast

I’ve always thought that people who love plants generally tend to be generous. In my neighborhood alone, there are three little free plant libraries in which you’ll find everything plant-related …

I think you could call it a tradition by now for me to introduce our readers to weird plants in the winter months. Once the gardening season is truly at …

I have a couple of friends who are very much into board games. They seem to remember the rules of 15+ games by heart and juggle an impressive number of …

One of the highlights of coming back home from my late summer vacation is getting to interact and reconnect with my own garden. I did not have a gardening-free vacation, …

If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the plants that you grow, what would that be? Predictably, my answer to this question varies with the …

When I started writing this article, my first draft was titled The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Gardeners, an obvious riff on the self-help bestselling classic. But the more I …

Summer is a time to eat al fresco and have ice cream; and maybe lounge in the hammock. Yes, theoretically I know that. But what do you think happens when …

Let me tell you how I decided to buy a curry plant. It wasn’t exactly planned. Just a classic case of “well, if the universe insists, who am I to …

The sweet and citrusy smell of cola hits me all of a sudden and with it come memories of my childhood. Of sticky snacks and cherries and ice cream floats.  …

I’ve confessed it before, and I’ll say it again. No matter how much gardening experience I’m accumulating, I’ll always find pruning slightly intimidating. There’s something slightly unsettling about cutting off …

Do you like conducting experiments? Are you intrigued by the idea that underwear has something to do with gardening? I was, too, my friend. Keep reading. I wasn’t a big …

I first came across the term “edimental” when I was looking up whether I could eat this mesmerizing little plant that I had bought on impulse. It’s called purple Shiso …

Up until a few years ago, I used to think of bare-root planting as an advanced gardening skill. Something that I felt slightly intimidated by. Surely a skill that I …

I love planting perennials.  Above all, I love the fact that there’s a perennial for every garden. For every type of soil. For every type of shade. In any color …

I’ve never been a big fan of super tidy gardens with nary a leaf out of place. I like looking at them and walking through them, but I’ve never been …

I’m curious if this ever happens to you. You think that something you know is so obvious that everyone else knows it too. When, in fact, they absolutely don’t. It’s …

After a thorough inspection of my garden notes and photo albums from previous years, I’ve now calculated that my hydrangeas will start blooming in exactly eighty-seven days and six hours. …

I’ve spent the past couple of months (basically since the end of the holiday season) counting down the days until I could do outdoor jobs again. But once the weather …

It’s already March and I have bulbs on my mind. And not just the spring bulbs that greet me every morning as I take my customary garden stroll, coffee mug …

I’m a big believer in the fact that plants are excellent communicators. Not in a weird “I talk to my houseplants every morning” kind of way; more in a “I …

Perhaps the main reason why I love houseplants is because they can make any house feel like a home. Bring a houseplant into a room and it will instantly create …

I write a lot about saving plants, fixing plants and solving plant problems. I love plants and hate waste, so whenever one of my green babes is going through a …

If you asked me to think of a smell I associated with plants, my first thoughts would fly to scented garden darlings such as jasmine, honeysuckle and fragrant roses. It …

I’m always nervous when I have to repot a cactus. I despair. Then I prepare. Then I collect everything that could ever be of use to transplant my cacti safely.  …