Cold Climate Gardening

This May has ended up exceptionally warm. The apple trees did bloom early, but there wasn’t a frost the entire time the apple trees were in bloom, and there hasn’t been one since. That is nice. In fact, that is excellent. To not have all my apple blossoms ruined by frost is one relief. However, […]

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This is in the “what’s up” category. Out of eleven rose bushes planted (eight last year) all but one made it through our U.P. winter - zone 4 - and are leafing out nicely. John Cabot and William Baffin are climbers that can be left on the trellis, White Meidiland and Fire Meidiland […]

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It seems here in the U.P. it can’t get warm. Had a couple of days in the 60’s, but it looks like next week will be in the 50’s again with 40’s at night. Well, it is a nice long season for the tulips which are just beginning to blossom, and the daffodils […]

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This is a dangerous time of year. That might seem like a peculiar thing to say about the fine weather in May, but it is true. This is a dangerous time of year because there is the ever present danger of things being caught in a frost that really should not.
In other words, my apple […]

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Due to the crazy weather, all my tulips are blooming at once, and it is quite delightful. I have taken pictures with an old fashioned film camera, so if I get them developed, I will post pictures. I will also have pictures to look at when there is nothing but dying tulip foliage […]

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Well, I did get my walls o’ water up, 6 of them, but haven’t put the tomato plants in yet. Still down to the 30’s here at night in the U.P. We put up a small collapsible greenhouse, and I’ve started putting my geraniums out, as well as the peonies on the front […]

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Check out these botanical fonts created at a design camp. They were made out of bits and pieces of whatever was at hand in the woods. You can download them here for free. There are other fonts to download, too, but I haven’t checked them out. Thanks to Doug Welch for pointing this out.

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