Planning Border Beds »
When faced with filling a large border, try to mix in groupings of evergreens, shrubs and grasses to give the garden year round interest. These seasonal sentinels are always there to provide structure and interest, so your garden doesn’t disappear from view when winter arrives. A formula to keep in mind is if one quarter [Read More...]
How to Start a Vegetable Garden »
Welcome to our first ever video series! We’ll be adding new videos periodically throughout the growing season with updated information and even more adorable animations. However, we’re certainly not the alpha and omega of knowledge here, and we would really love to see additional vegetable garden advice and suggestions from our knowledgeable and awesome readers. [Read More...]
Creating Organic Matter in a Garden »
Health of the garden depends on organic matter. What happens below the soil line is really more important as what happens above the soil. In gardening, many products are called organic matter. Animal manures, peat moss from bogs, leaves, straw, newspaper, sludge, yard and garden waste, kitchen scraps, and green manures or cover crops. These [Read More...]
Signs of Spring »
A few months ago I stopped at the local lumber yard in search of leftovers in the garden department. They had an abundance of Spring flowering bulbs marked down to almost nothing. Of course I grabbed them up, then waited for a warm day to get them planted. In the middle of December that warm [Read More...]
For Your Consideration: Valentine’s Day Edition »
So, it’s Valentine’s Day. It’s the lover of all things love related’s favorite day. And it’s the day that most flower shops love and dread. Love for the business and dread for the business. Hundreds of thousands of husbands, boyfriends, would be boyfriends, friends or creepy stalker types the world over flock to their local [Read More...]
Tool Time: Tips for Buying Garden Tools »
With the beginning of another gardening season just a couple months away it is time to talk about tools. Having the right tool for the job is just as important in gardening. Tool efficiency is necessary for any aspect of gardening. If your garden tools are dull or poorly made, you can spend tons of energy [Read More...]
Annuals From Years Ago »
For centuries, gardeners have grown brightly hued annuals from seed, since seed is reliable, easy to transport, and relatively inexpensive. These plants provide season-long color and usually a wonderful fragrance. These plants can be used in masses or as fillers in a flower border as well as in containers. Each of the following annuals have [Read More...]
In the cold of winter… »
In the words of the late Carla Emery, “Seed companies are embarrassingly generous with their catalogs.” If you are new, or even fairly new to gardening, simply do an internet search for “free garden seed catalogs.” You will quickly find abundant listings of great companies eager to send you a catalog and your mailbox will [Read More...]
Salt Injury on Trees »
Salt injury is something home owners should be aware of when the snow starts to fall and the plows are out and you need de-ice the driveway and sidewalks. The symptoms of salt injury are similar to injury caused by other stresses. When in doubt, suspected salt injury can be verified with soil and [Read More...]
Marvelous Mache! »
This is an amazing green vegetable. We like to grow it in our hoop house each year. It’s very versatile, as it is good in salads, soups, stir-fries and as a substitute for lettuce in a nice sandwich. We use it on burritos as well. Here in Zone 5, I plant Mache in September and [Read More...]