It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
April is typically the best month in our region to overhaul our bedraggled lawns after a long, dark and wet winter. By this time of year, the moss has made huge strides and the dandelions are in full bloom. Keeping a healthy and attractive lawn doesn’t have to be an enormous amount of work, nor does it have to be…
Summer-blooming bulbs, like Lilies, Dahlias and Gladiolus (to name just a few), have a very warm spot in my heart. I have fond memories as a child of planting Glads and coming home from school every day to check their progress, feeling the stems for potential flower buds, until finally they would emerge into their glorious colors. It was absolute magic for a youngster such as myself. You too can experience those same feelings (no matter what your age), simply by…
When you have been gardening for over 60 years, like I have, you see a lot of trends and fads come and go. A recent trip down memory lane jogged a few for me around the subject of growing vegetables. Two that I remember well are French Intensive Gardening (or Biodynamic Gardening), and Square Foot Gardening. Here’s a little background…
I am feeling a bit philosophical today, so bear with me. Last week I finally bit the bullet and got into the garden for my spring cleanup. I had purposely left everything in the fall to die back naturally, as normally happens in nature. In retrospect, I think it was a good idea as it provided lots of visual interest throughout the entire winter. But alas, the time has come to remove the dead and rotting foliage from my perennials and evaluate just exactly what survived and what needed to be replaced. Here is what I learned…
And so, it begins again. Another gardening season is upon us and it is time to get off our proverbial butts and venture out into the cold abyss of our gardens to start the ritual of gardening once again. Up to this point I have to admit that I have been dragging my feet, but there is no turning back now…
If you are anything like me then you are probably feeling sick and tired of this cold, wet weather. I hate to say it, but I have had zero motivation to get out in the yard and do all the things that need doing. The only real solution is to distract myself with seed and plant catalogs and dream about all the new exciting introductions that I will simply have to find a home for once it warms up and dries out. Join me in exploring some of the following goodies that I will be looking for this month and beyond…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
Let the Trilogy of Conifers continue with the finale! Two weeks ago I discussed some basics on conifers to ponder and then last week we went with some beyond blue selections. For this week we move onto flavors, large and small, that boast bright yellow or white variegation. As I have stated in this forum many times, I love me some…