is your garden sustainable? (a test!);  hot annual vine; when to start seed 

Ouch! In a word, that's the snow-shoveling report from my yard. But let's look ahead together, rather than talk about my back.   

ipomoea lobata, hot fan-dancer of an annual vine

Hummingbirds, butterflies, and even the Royal Horticultural Society agree: The annual vine called Ipomoea lobata, formerly Mina lobata, and a.k.a. Spanish flag or exotic love vine, is the bee's knees (and those pollinators concur). I have a new name to suggest that blends flags with the exotic erotic: Let's call this July-through-frost morning glory relative the fan-dance vine instead! Order your seed now.   

  
book giveaway: how sustainable is your garden? 

Now, not spring, is the time to plan for the garden to come. Especially to plan for a greater degree of sustainability in 2014 and beyond. As in: rethink, reduce, reuse. Horticulturist Vincent Simeone, author of a new book on the topic, helps us take a critical eye to how we can waste less and reap more. Plus: Enter to win his "Grow More With Less." All here!   

when to start seed? use the calculator tool!

I can see on my website "dashboard" that more of you each day are itching to start seeds and searching for help to figure out when it's OK. Look no further: my seed-starting calculator, customized to your location. Bookmark it for regular use!

did you miss these posts?  

• The February garden chores
• What birds eat (a BirdNote q and a)