Garden Detective

It's time to start focusing on the outdoors, and getting better educated is always part of the fun. Benner's Farm in Setauket (56 Gnarled Hollow Rd., 631-689-8172) has unveiled a roster of workshops that will get you on your way, help the little ones get involved and even give teens something to look forward to. 

Eat Dirt You Worm! (Ages 5 and up, $35) Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m.-noon

Learn...

Looking to get outside this weekend? Farmingdale State College's Ornamental Horticulture Department has your back, as it's holding its third  Educational Field Day and Open House Saturday from 8:30 a.m.  to 4:45 p.m.

The teaching gardens on the campus, 2350 Broadhollow Rd.,  will be open all day. There will be plant sales (and a raffle), plus lectures, workshops, garden tours...

Lots of readers tell me they talk to their plants -- some even sing to them -- and they all claim the plants benefit from the interactions. I used to think the only benefit to plants was the carbon dioxide exhaled through speech (or song), but a couple of years ago I read a study that showed tomatoes grew better and bigger when exposed to music -- from a radio.

And now a new "Nature"...

I was driving home from dinner last night and almost drove off the road when I spotted the most beautiful moon I've ever seen hanging out nonchalantly over Hempstead Harbor as I made my way from Port Washington to Roslyn.

I learned later this was the "Monster Moon," an astrological occurrence that results in a perfectly round, full, yellow-hued, awe-inspiring sphere hanging above...

Hungry? So are some plants growing out in the wild, maybe right in your town. And they want more than just fertilizer, water and sunlight. They want meat. Really.

If this interests you and watching "Little Shop of Horrors" on Netflix over the weekend won't satisfy your, er, thirst, I've got just the show for you.

Matt Kaelin, somewhat of a carnivourous plant conoisseur, for...

The big storm Wednesday night turned out to be a bit overhyped, and its expected second half, coming Thursday night, has been downgraded. In any event, snow is falling and winds are whipping, so -- short of flying to the tropics -- I can't think of a better escape than hitting up a garden show. And there's no need to travel to Philadephia; we've got a couple of winners right here on Long Island.

Hicks...

Want to learn how to cultivate your green thumb in time for growing season? The folks over at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, who always do a great job educating the public on such matters, are holding their 31st annual Spring Gardening School on April 13 from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at The Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood.

You pick the classes that interest you most (pruning;...

The Perennial Plant Association has named the 2013 Perennial Plant of the Year: Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’ (say it with me now: po-lig-o-nay’tum o-do-ray’tum vair-e-ah-gay’tum).

Every year, the Perennial Plant Association bestows this title on one standout plant. You might be more familiar with one of this year's winner's common names: variegated Solomon's seal, striped Solomon's seal,...

Last month, I showed you how to grow your own pineapple at home. It's a fun and easy — albeit patience-requiring — project. Well, you might want to get crackin' on that, because if recent events in England are any indication of what such a fruit could yield, you could stand to make a tidy sum.

According to the UK newspaper The Sun, 30 tons of horse manure, urine and straw, plus the...

Looking for a reason to stop cursing the dang cold? You might be freezing your tootsies off today, but come July, you might be grateful for the Arctic snap you endured way back in January.

Laura C. Harrington, professor of entomology and an expert on mosquito-borne diseases, explains:  "Cold weather, especially extreme cold temperatures, limit survival of mosquitoes and other...