Mickey Gast

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.  …

Would you like to see a really cool plant? Because I would very much like to show you the coolest-looking plant I found. It’s definitely the weirdest plant I’ve bought …

I often see peace lilies make it to the top of lists of houseplants that thrive on neglect. I believe – and you can disagree – that no plant thrives …