A fellow gardener and I were talking today about how there is often a slump in the middle of the summer where there isn’t much blooming. There’s no problem in the spring and early summer because so many perennials, bushes and trees get there blooming periods over early, but somewhere around now (end of July),...
These are the Bees’ Needs…
I suppose most people have heard about the plight of the bees. How they are suffering from “colony collapse” and have been for several years. The reasons for this syndrome are not fully understood and may be numerous. However, one culprit that is being blamed, at least in part, is a type of pesticide in...
Deadheading 101
I’ve had quite a few novice gardeners ask me about deadheading lately. Even experienced gardeners are not always sure when to leave the faded blooms alone and when to chop them off, so I thought I’d offer some basic advice on deadheading, a somewhat tedious, although some find it zen-like, gardening chore. Deadheading refers...
Plant Life Cycles
Every once in awhile I notice that a plant that was previously doing well has disappeared or is a shadow of its former self. This happened to a ‘bleeding heart’ (Lamprocapnos) this year. In the last few years it has been a star of my spring garden, but this year it was about half its...