Vermont Garden Journal

The cyclamen plant was also used medically to treat depression and the tubers were even fed to pigs, hence the common name, "pig bread." With the proper care, it now makes a terrific indoor or outdoor plant.

Come January, it gets a little hard to keep the kids and yourself entertained indoors. One way to build some excitement is to garden — but not like what you'll be doing outside in a few months — this is grocery store gardening.

Feel the need to get your hands a little dirty during the winter? No problem. Just bring the gardening indoors!

It used to be an annual ritual after the holidays to sit down and peruse the seed catalogs that had just arrived in the mail. These days, the catalogs arrive early, but I still resist the temptation and don't look at them until January.

Usually when recommending gifts for gardeners, I suggest tools, gloves or seeds but any good edible gardener knows that you need the right equipment to process what you grow.

Holiday wreaths adorn many houses this time of year. They can be traditional evergreen wreaths with pine cones, winter berries and dried grasses or creative takes on the traditional.

The amaryllis bulb has become one of the symbols of the holiday season. Amaryllis bulbs have traditionally produced large, single flowers in the red, pink or white color range. Now there are unusual colored types with double flowers, striped flowers and dwarf selections.

The Farmer's Almanac and the National Weather Service are predicting a snowy, cold winter. This Thanksgiving weekend is a good time to get your shrubs ready .

One gardening question I hear often is, "How do I get my orchids to bloom again?" Here is a tutorial for how to get the easiest and most widely available orchid type - the moth orchid - to do just that.

Fall is composting time and there are lots of ways to do it. Here is a Composting 101 review for new composters and those needing a refresher!

I've been growing mushrooms in wood chip beds for years, but last year I decided to try something different. A local mushroom grower was selling pre-inoculated shiitake logs, so I purchased some. Well, even after a dry summer and my infrequent watering, our logs are fruiting.

With our warm, dry summer and fall, the subtropical bulbs have been putting on a show. Canna lilies, dahlias, gladiolus, Four-O-Clocks and other tender bulbs have been growing strong. But with the first frosts of the season rolling through the area, it's time to dig and store them.

There aren't many vegetables where you're eating the same varieties that were cultivated thousands of years ago but that is a the case with shallots.

It was my daughter, Elena, living in Canada who turned me on to Jack-O-Planterns . Instead of just having the spooky glow of a candle or lights inside your jack-o-lantern, you have plants sprouting from the head!

The fall colors are starting on native trees and shrubs turning our forests ablaze. Vines also can provide fall interest beyond their colorful leaves. Many are familiar with the bright red colors of Virginia creeper and Boston ivy this time of year, but two other fall vines give color in a different way.