Posts tagged as:

chores

Mud Season Chores: Cleaning up

March 24, 2009
Sedum thumbnail

I hate to admit it to you Southerners, but when the snow melts, what it invariably reveals is…a mess. I’m not just talking about the dead vegetation that needs to be cut back. There’s human-made messes that ought to be dealt with, too. But let’s talk about the plants first.
Cut back and clear out dead [...]

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Early spring blossoms: Crocus and snowdrops

March 24, 2008

The temperatures are still dropping into the teens every night (last night’s low: 17.5F or -8C) and even when the high hits 40F (4C) the brisk wind makes it feel chillier. But at least a hurried stroll around the premises is now rewarded with signs that Spring is slowly making inroads in Winter’s territory. These [...]

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Servicing my watering needs

April 23, 2007

I had a conversation with a gardening friend about watering the other day. We each have strong personalities and the talk was lively and interesting, filled with opinions and advice. When the time came for “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” I did and I’ll share them with you too.
I have spent [...]

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Early Pruning

March 18, 2007

Pruning the apple trees is a rite of spring. In past years I had a tendency to get started late and finish in a somewhat hurried splurge of activity—tinged with a bit of panic that perhaps I wouldn’t get it done in time. This year I had to take a different approach.
Since I’m no longer [...]

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Valentine’s Day Snowstorm

February 14, 2007

Justin and Owen shoveling snow on February 14, 2007 - Photo by Cadence Purdy
By 9 a.m. this morning about 8 inches of snow had fallen, and the weather service predicts

Snow will continue right into this evening… heavy at times.

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Bending the Rules, Planting Shrubs

April 16, 2006

When we last left our gardener, she had just received her Fedco shrub order, shortly after removing one and a half pounds of dock root from the spot where she wanted to plant her Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer.’
Have you ever had a gardening project turn into a Project? Heh. If you’ve been gardening any length of [...]

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What’s Up? Dock!

April 11, 2006

From this space, roughly five feet wide by six feet deep . . . . . . I dug out all these dock roots (that’s a 15-inch ruler) . . . plus this wagon full of rocks . . .plus these additional weed roots, mostly goldenrod

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March is Going Out Like a Lamb

March 30, 2004

After the miserable snowy weather in the middle of March the month has made a dramatic turn for the better in these last few days. It started on Sunday the 28th which dawned clear and sunny. The day followed in the steps of the morning and Monday kept up the same and today as well. [...]

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Getting Ready for Winter

October 11, 2003

Well, after that killing freeze we’ve had some nice warm days (and nights). I brought my rosemary in anyway because I don’t trust myself to remember to bring it in for next spell of cold nights. And I dug the Bishop of Llandoff dahlia bulbs my sister had given me, mostly because Talitha really enjoyed [...]

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Triage Weeding

May 23, 2003

As I’ve mentioned already, I’m perpetually behind on my weeding. Really behind. I decided I’d share my techniques with all of you, in case you find yourself up against a flower bed that’s really been let go too long.
Make it easy on yourself.
Make sure the bed is moist, either from recent rainfall or from supplemental [...]

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Decoy weather: Unseasonably mild

November 24, 2002

Decoy weather–an apt term. Somehow, once October is over, it’s hard to call it Indian Summer anymore. I have noticed around here that we consistently have one day in the first week of November that is warm and sunny. I always give the kids the day off from school then and have a general clean [...]

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Planting prima donna peonies

October 20, 2002

The peonies from Reath’s came on Monday the 7th, but because of various commitments I couldn’t plant them until Thursday. They came wrapped in plastic with wood shavings to keep them damp, and then the whole shebang was packed in straw or hay–the first time I ever saw that used as a shipping material. I [...]

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Prepare ye for frost

October 15, 2002

You were smart to bring them in. You don’t want the roots to freeze. Once they are in the ground, I would try to protect the tops for about a week to let them settle in. (The traditional vegetable garden protection is bed sheets from the house. You could also use the pot they just [...]

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