First off, Happy New Year and congratulations on surviving all that 2022 threw at us. Despite a soggy spring, long dry summer, and a killer freeze in December, I consider the year a success. I made considerable progress in my new garden, planting a ton of new plants and…
A Few Tips For A Better Garden In 2023
I know a few of you might find it incredibly hard to believe, but I actually spend a considerable amount of time researching my columns rather than just making s#%t up. In truth, it is probably a combination of both. We live in the information age where knowledge is all around us, literally at our finger tips. The challenge of course is…
Bring On The New Gardening Year
Okay my gardening friends, 2020 is behind us and it is time to start drooling over the seed catalogues and visiting garden centers to see what looks interesting this time of year. During the next several weeks of rain storms (remember, this is a La Nina year so there’s likely to be lots of rain and mild temps) find a moment to take stock in the garden to see where you want to make additions and deletions, take some notes, and then get ready for spring. It will be here before you know it!
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.