April 2010

What’s Wrong With My Juneberry?

April 27, 2010

They’re having a plant clinic over at Garden Rant, and I decided to submit the perplexing, premature leaf drop my ‘Autumn Brilliance’ Juneberry exhibits every year. The leaf drop was addressed in today’s clinic, but since they didn’t show all the images, I thought I’d share them here.

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The Perennial Care Manual: Book Review

April 26, 2010

The Perennial Care Manual: A Plant-by-Plant Guide: What to Do and When to Do It by Nancy Ondra is the book I wish I’d had in my hands when I first started growing ornamental perennials over twenty years ago. Wait, make that over thirty years ago, when I was in high school and didn’t even [...]

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Alfalfa on Roses

April 23, 2010

Today I put alfalfa pellets around my roses and scratched it into the soil. The odd thing was, I couldn’t remember why I was doing it. I knew I had read, or had been told, that it was good to give roses some alfalfa as they’re just leafing out. But I couldn’t remember where I [...]

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Branches Bench in the Secret Garden

April 21, 2010

I have long wished to add some seating to the Secret Garden, but not any old bench would do. It had to be durable and it had to fit in with the whole idea of a Secret Garden. This branches bench from Lowes fit the bill. It is made of aluminum, so it won’t rust [...]

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If You Can’t Take the Frost,
Get Out of the Garden

April 20, 2010

Don’t get me wrong–I love snowdrops, winter aconites, crocus and all the very earliest bloomers that signal the end of winter’s dominion. But here in the land of late and unseemly freezes, plants that emerge later have the advantage. Those poor ‘Black Beauty’ lilies in the photo above were seduced by the atypical but not [...]

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Precocious Spring: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 2010

April 15, 2010

I took a look at last year’s April bloom day post, and discovered that most of last year’s blooms are already gone. The crocus that were in their glory last April, are completely done with this year. The squills are at the end of their bloom. The Cornelian cherry that was merely in bud this [...]

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Nominations for Mouse & Trowel Awards Now Being Accepted

April 14, 2010

In case you’ve been living under a rock, or don’t hang out on Twitter or Facebook, nominations are now being accepted for the Mouse & Trowel Awards. These awards honor garden bloggers in various categories. Anyone can nominate a garden blogger for this honor. April 30, 2010 is the deadline to submit nominations.

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Climate is What We Expect;
Weather is What We Get*

April 10, 2010

The weather has been unseasonably warm here. It’s a great cure for cabin fever, but a worry to the true gardener. If it’s this warm and dry in early spring, what will July be like? It also incites the gambling tendencies inherent in our noble profession. I wonder if we’ve had our last frost? (Not [...]

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