Seasonal Garden Maintenance Articles
Garden Tasks for Late Fall
September and October are the months to prepare your garden for the winter. In warmer areas, the fall is the time to plant cool-season vegetables. In colder climates, gardeners need to “put the garden to bed.” Here are the main fall gardening chores for the fall, including warmer and cooler climates.
Cool Climates (Pennsylvania and north)
Remove dead flower stalks (example: daylily flower stalks), dead leaves, flowers and debris, but wait until perennials are …
Planning for the Fall Garden
Planting, growing and harvesting does not have to end with the summer! There are a number of crops that can be planted in August. Because of short growing seasons, or tolerance for frost and cold temperatures, these crops will thrive and reward you late into the fall, even into the early winter after the first light snowfalls. In order for this to be successful, it is time now to begin planning for the fall garden.
Fall …
Butterfly Larvae are Here!
A few weeks ago, I captured pictures of the first Eastern Black Swallowtail in our garden. She was busily laying eggs all over our fennel plants. I have since been inspecting the plants each day to see if the eggs had hatched. Last week, I thought they had. However, the little green wormy looking thing did not match the Swallowtail larva I have seen before. …
Beefing up the Winter Garden
Last week, I thought about how I can make my garden a little more interesting in the winter. The picture in the last post is highly unusual. We do not normally have snow at all-not even a few flakes. That means we have a very long winter without much snow and lots of brown and dormant lawns. If I get organized in time for next winter, I will be planting more of these plants to …
Be Thankful for Gardening
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. It has almost disappeared as a holiday, with Christmas decorations going up right after Halloween in many places. (I think WalMart had a tree up on November 1.) I still like it for what it is: a chance to gather with family and friends after a long summer. It is a chance to hunker down for winter. Where I …
Halloween Gardening Pun (and fun!)
Tomorrow is Halloween! Yay! Chris and I are both major fans of Halloween. For some last-minute inspiration, pop on over to his nifty Halloween website! Halloween is a fun time for gardeners. After all, pumpkins are the star of the show! We did a big post on pumpkins a few weeks back. For fun on Halloween night, make Pumpkin Brains …
Fall Color in the Garden
Fall color is at peak in some areas and passed in others. To leaf-peepers at home and on vacation, the fiery red of sugar maples, purples of sweet gums and brilliant yellows of birches is a beautiful mystery. It doesn’t have to be so. Here is an easy primer on fall color.
You Look Lovely in Red
Most of …
The Return Of Spring – Cleaning Up My Garden
Every year I look forward to spring. I can’t wait to see my perennial plants, like old friends, pop their heads through the snow, still lingering in my garden. I go out dressed in my old Parka, scarf, boots and gloves, looking like I was going to the Arctic, instead of my own back yard. Then, after my euphoria wears off, I realize how much work I have to do. Old stems of plants …
Spring Is Here! How to Plan For Early-Flowering Shrubs and Flowers
Along with snowdrops and daffodils, early-flowering shrubs are one of the first signs of spring. Since there is little color in the garden so early, plant them together to form spring ‘cameos’ that stand out better in a landscape that is still looking winter-bleak.
Later shrubs, such as Forsythia, Star Magnolia and Bridal Wreath, flower shortly after the new foliage emerges, giving a fresh green halo to the blooms. As spring proceeds, a succession of …
The Christmas Tree.
 Christmas trees were introduced to the court of Queen Victoria
 by her husband, Prince Albert.
 Although it was the custom to decorate live evergreen trees in
 honor of the Gods, our modern day practice of cutting down a
 tree to bring indoors is a desecration of the original concept.
The Evergreen is one of the few plants to remain green even in
winter and it …
