At Plainview Farm, we try to share our knowledge and experience in many different ways.
This collection of helpful articles cover a wide range of topics and horticultural information. It reflects our experience, learned through the years of growing plants in zone 5.
New topics are added frequently. Some editorials are included.
The editorials are honest.
Please click on any link to learn more.
Fall 2008
Asters help Maine gardeners extend the growing season, while also offering color, fragrance and statuesque form. They even provide cut flowers for the vase.
Spring 2009
When Plainview Farm opened in 1988, we remember that very few people mentioned deer problems in their gardens—much less complained about the damage done by these “four-legged rodents”, as a customer of rather caustic wit once described them.
Spring 2009
Once seen, the stately beauty of well-grown British delphiniums will never be forgotten.
Groundcovers are great multi-tasking plants, replacing lawns, preventing erosion, shady sensitive roots and substituting for mulch. Any plant that spreads to cover the ground by root or leaf (or both) may be considered in this category.
Spring 2009
Our geographic area (southern Maine) has climate with a minimum temperature of not less than -25° F. This is called zone 5. The plants we grow and offer are well-suited for growing in zone 5, with some exceptions.
Spring 2009
In 2005, the Perennial Plant Association named the hellebore Perennial of the Year.
Spring 2009
Often is heard the exclamations of astonishment when novice buyers first see the prices asked for some of the newest hosta varieties.
Spring 2009
The discussion about what creates the best light conditions for ideal plant growth and health is one that causes great puzzlement for gardeners
We have created lists of plants that will succeed in the following problematic sites: too dry, too wet, too salty. Check them out.
Spring 2009
Maine’s landscape is famous for its variety. Within the state, one can find ocean beaches, lakes, rivers, mountains and forests. Maine is locally influenced by both coastal and inland weather patterns.
Spring 2009
Loosely defined, “perennial” refers to those flowering plants that return from the rootstock year after year. Alan Armitage quotes Henry Beach with this gem: "A perennial is any plant that, had it lived, would have bloomed year after year."
Spring 2009
Although often advertised as such and just as frequently found to be anything but, we grimace when we see this phrase making bold headlines in mail order catalogues.
Spring 2009
One of the most important steps to take before planting your garden is to assess the quality of your soil.
Spring 2009
Occasionally, we will talk with people who mourn the unexpected loss of a perennial that has been in their garden for ten years or more.
Spring 2009
Pruning is the gardening practice that allows humans to help a plant grow well through selective removal of sick, old or extra wood.
Spring 2009
There is no single list called “Rockery Plants”. Instead, we select plants based upon their preferred conditions. Plants that like the weather hot and dry, the soil gritty and well-drained will thrive.
Spring 2009
It is not an uncommon fantasy – relaxing amidst breathtaking
views of the open ocean from the deck of your home
overlooking the Atlantic.
Spring 2009
In the nursery, often overheard is the customer asking one of us to “pick the best one for me”.
Spring 2009
Perfect soil is usually the product of a human intervention that requires the investment of a bit of knowledge, a bit of material, a bit of time.
Spring 2009
The appreciation of a fern garden, or dell, as they are traditionally called in England, is an acquired one, we think.
Spring 2009
Gardeners tell us that the use of “professional” botanical language is one of their least favorite aspects of gardening.
Spring 2009
When our time is short in the summer, we have come to appreciate the Moonlight Garden as a source of great pleasure in the gloaming hours.
Spring 2009
The plants installed in Plainview Farm trial gardens represent our communal effort to professionally evaluate annuals or perennials - even shrubs, on occasion.
Spring 2009
Steven Taffler, English plantsman and author who visits the American colonies primarily to snoop around the greenhouses of American hybridizers, or so he says, adamantly refuses to plant anything in his garden with “boring, solid-colored leaves”.
Spring 2009
Why do we think of some perennials as “weeds”? What is a weed. after all? Memorize the classic response: weeds are plants that are growing in the wrong places.
Spring 2009
Each season, especially in spring, we get many questions about plants that will do well (actually, most people are happy with “survive”) in wet or damp gardens.
Spring 2009
Creating the perfect woodland garden begins with soil preparation, although some special considerations must be made for the site. And Plainview Farm was no different.