From the monthly archives:

June 2008

Two Troy-Bilt Tillers

June 30, 2008

We grew vegetables for years without a tiller
I am not the vegetable gardener in this family. My husband, on the other hand, has been growing vegetables since he was a teen. When we finally moved here, a decade into our marriage, he brought along the front tine rototiller he had purchased as a single working [...]

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Keeping and organizing garden records

June 27, 2008

Reading Carol’s description of her plant cataloging project got me thinking about my own efforts to organize my records. When I first started gardening, I used some large index cards to catalog all my plants. I entered the same info Carol did, but didn’t include the plant tags. On the back of each card I [...]

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Really northern gardener looking for a shade plant

June 26, 2008

Wyn recently commented elsewhere:
I live in zone 2 and am looking for a shade plant that is non-poisonous to pets for the north side of my fence. When I entered that info in google it sent me to this site. Lovely pictures and great info, unfortunately not really my zone. LOL.
Judging [...]

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Mr. Terra-Cotta needs some new hair

June 24, 2008

Meet Mr. Terra Cotta. He came into my life on my most recent birthday. I sowed some chives seeds in his scalp, and they have made for him a hairstyle rather complementary to his astonished expression.
However, the chives are ready to be potted on, and Mr. Terra Cotta needs a new “do.” Can you suggest [...]

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The Rubbermaid watering can: discontinued but not forgotten

June 21, 2008

Recently someone asked me to recommend a watering can. We have been using this Rubbermaid watering can for over a decade. What I like about it:

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2008

June 15, 2008

Poppies, peonies, and iris: the three Grandes Dames of June
In a cold climate, the gardening season is shorter and more compressed. By the time the spring flowers get going, boom! it’s summer. Consider this: on May 29th we had our last frost. The next day it hit 80F (27C), which we reckon to be summery, [...]

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The View From Here

June 4, 2008

The view from here is wonderful, as long as my back is to the garden, and my gaze goes across the road, across the far side of the valley.

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Endless Summer and Forever and Ever Hydrangeas: Growing Tips for Cold Climates

June 1, 2008

Endless Summer Hydrangea: Dream Come True–or Nightmare?

Hydrangea ‘Forever & Ever Double Pink’ stole my heart in 2006. This photo was taken September 7 of that year

It’s just like Elizabeth said. We gardeners want to believe that our dream plant is out there, just waiting for us to find it. I know when I first saw [...]

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