Hello Holly!
The Christmas Holidays are almost upon us. I have been procrastinating terribly, in terms of decorating my house. No tree yet, no decorations up, no wreath on the door. I will probably end up poaching from my neighbors’ yards at the last minute to “Deck the Halls.” If I end up needing some “help” from my neighbors, I will be going in search of holly trees. …
Planning a Habitat Garden: North and South
The problem about giving gardening advice on a website that is not region-specific, is that every piece of advice has to be replicated in duplicate or triplicate for it to be useful. That is just fine! Repeating the same advice for three or four climate zones will help with our “Natural Search.” (Ha ha! Another pun! I am bad with the …
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 …
Soil Acid Or Alkaline?
I received a question the other day about soil being acid or alkaline, as it relates to flowers.
Cultivated flowers fall into two groups based upon soil preferance. One group will grow only in acid soil with a pH below 6.5, while the others prefer or will tolerate only alkaline soil, pH 6.5 or above.
Acid lovers are plants that thrive on raw humus, such as their ancestors found in the woods, where
leaves …
