My job gets really tough this time of year.  Here I am trying to motivate you to get out into the garden and clean up the beds, replant the containers, plunk some bulbs into the ground and spread mulch everywhere to control weeds and insulate the soil...

If you are looking for a sturdy perennial that will grow in shade or morning sun then look no further than Hellebores.  These perennials are tough as nails and rarely need to be divided once they are planted.

Having just finished presenting a class on “Putting the Garden to Bed” I am feeling like this check list is a bit redundant.  If you missed the class this will serve as a good reminder.  

As we move into the winter season and the options for flowering plants significantly decreases we turn to foliage for our color fix and surprisingly we have many choices.  By far the biggest group of plants to offer us winter color is our evergreens which botanically speaking are called conifers.

First off let me say that I don’t like the expression “Putting the garden to bed” because it sounds so final.  The fact is that there are still plants out there that are wide awake and believe it or not, there are some plants that react to winter with renewed energy.

I have fond memories of planting bulbs as a youngster.  First, Mom and I would go to the garden center and study all the delicious varieties we had to choose from.  Then, after making our decision and purchases we would go home and lay the bulbs out in the beds in drifts.

It’s not every day that I get to teach a class here at the nursery.  I am surrounded by very capable employees who have years of experience and are well qualified to instruct our customers.  However, this coming Saturday the 11th of October here at the nursery at 10 am I will be back in the front of the class dispensing gardening wisdom to the masses one gardener at a time. 

It is official. As of the 24th of this month the days are now shorter than the nights and will continue to be so for the next six months. While that might sound depressing the fact is that Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

Any gardener that is worth his salt is aware of the importance of bees in the garden.  They are our chief pollinators along with wasps and flies, some moths and butterflies and even hummingbirds and bats.  In the early season one can observe our native mason bees and bumble bees working over early blooming shrubs and bulbs and perennials.

Let’s face it, for the most part the lawn is the man’s domain.  It is literally his “turf” and when left alone he can spend endless hours mowing, edging, aerating, dethatching, feeding, reseeding, watering and weeding not to mention the time it takes to keep his trusty John Deere steed in good running condition.