Add Fragrance To Your Garden
As I mentioned last week, I am determined to recreate an heirloom flower bed. Not finding heirloom seeds in stores here, I spent much of the past week browsing through and making lists of potential purchases from online heirloom seed company catalogs. Although my initial sheet had over thirty varieties on it, I was able …
Remembering Grandma’s Garden
My husband and I just returned from a ten day vacation in Virginia. The weather was perfect the whole time we traveled; spring was emerging and everywhere we visited the surroundings were bursting with color. Since we both love American history almost as much as we love gardening, both Monticello and Colonial …
Out the Kitchen Window
I regularly volunteer at our library’s used book sales. It’s fun sharing recommendations with fellow readers and I find that many readers tend to be gardeners as well. In my mind, that’s the perfect combination of characteristics! This past weekend I was chatting with a young couple who had just bought their very first …
"Bee-Friending" Insect Populations
Insect populations around the world are rapidly declining. Within the next 20 years, 40% of the earth’s insect species may be extinct and within 100 years insects could disappear completely. Insects are the foundation of the planet’s ecosystems. When just one type of insect disappears, dozens of other species, including humans, are directly …
Plant A Patch: Possum-haw holly (Ilex decidua)
A relation to last week’s selection, Possum-haw holly is a native, deciduous shrub especially known for its bright red berries throughout the fall and winter seasons. Like its evergreen relative, Possum haw holly prefers a full sun location, but will tolerate partial shade. It does well in moist but well drained locations so can …
Let It Snow
Originally published 12/12/2017 It’s supposed to snow here again over the long weekend. The forecaster assured us that this area wouldn’t have any accumulation this time, just flurries, but in my mind it marks the true beginning of winter. And winter to me means frigid temperatures, snow storms and shoveling snow, none of which …
Plant A Patch -- American Bittersweet ( Celastrus scandens)
American bittersweet can be counted on to give spring, summer, fall and winter beauty. This native vine, which grows well in poor to average soil, prefers full sun for maximum flower and fruit production, but it will also tolerate part shade. The greenish-white to yellow blooms appear in May and June. In late …
“Frenemies “ -- Bugs, Your Garden and You
When I started my gardening career, and I hate to admit how many decades ago that was, dealing with bugs in the garden was easy. See a bug? Kill it — preferably with a strong, extremely toxic chemical. Today my relationship with bugs in the garden is much more complicated. …
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