When does the gardening season end for you? The first frost? The first snowfall? I find it hard to call it quits, and here's why . . .
cold-climate-gardening
Cold Climate Gardening Books: New Titles
December 12, 2017 – Posted in: Book reviewsHere are four gardening books where you don't have to worry if the plants will survive the winter, you don't have to mentally adjust the planting or maintenance schedule, and you'll usually get a few tips on overcoming some of our climates challenges. In other words, books for cold climate gardeners! Plus a link to the big book roundup I did a few years ago.
Yes, You Can Cut Back Dead Plants Too Early
March 10, 2017 – Posted in: Garden chores, Hellebores, Mud Season, WeatherI cut the dead foliage off my hellebores in February, and I paid the price in March. How was I to know we'd have the coldest temps of winter in March? Read on to find out what I did to fix things.
My First Day of Gardening–in February?
February 23, 2016 – Posted in: Garden chores, Mud SeasonI blame it on the sunshine. If the sun hadn't been shining, I wouldn't have had the overwhelming urge to get outside and DO something. Because, really? February is too early for garden cleanup. But of course, this hasn't been a normal February. A normal February looks like this: So, in a normal February, I [...]
Mow Your Leaves and Pamper Your Plants
October 24, 2015 – Posted in: Garden choresWe are blessed to have a couple of hundred-year-old trees in our front yard. For the past two years, I have asked the family member in charge of mowing the front yard to use the bag attachment on the lawn mower for the final mowing, so that the leaves are shredded and collected by the [...]
Cold Climate and Short Season Gardening Book Round-up
February 19, 2015 – Posted in: Book reviews, FAQWhat do cold climate gardeners do in the winter, after they have wrung every drop of enjoyment out of their now-bedraggled seed catalogs? Why, they read gardening books, of course. To help my readers in this endeavor, I have assembled all the books that I have either read or are in my possession that relate [...]
How to Fortify Your Roses Against the Cold
October 5, 2014 – Posted in: RosesJack Falker is a rose enthusiast who gardens in Minnesota. Minnesota--in case you don't have the USDA Hardiness Map memorized--is entirely a cold climate state, consisting of Zone 3 and 4. (Okay, there is a teeny bit of Zone 5 in the most recent map, but still.) One can't grow roses in Minnesota without knowing [...]
Cold Climate Gardening in Franklin, NY
June 29, 2013 – Posted in: EventsFranklin, NY, a gathering spot for passionate cold climate gardeners: who knew? Deborah Banks, a frequent commenter on CCG, knew. She is a member of the Franklin Garden Club, and one of the organizers of a series of garden lectures held over the course of this spring. She invited me to see her garden and [...]
The Backyard Parables: Book Review
February 2, 2013 – Posted in: Book reviews"A writer who gardens is sooner or later going to write a book about the subject," opined Eleanor Perenyi. Certainly there is a meditative aspect to many gardening chores that lends itself to interior dialogue. I have had conversations with myself, or with a faraway friend, as I was pulling weeds or raking leaves, "speaking" [...]
Ten Ways Cold Climate Gardeners Treat Cabin Fever
January 11, 2013 – Posted in: FAQ, FeaturedA long winter is not for sissies. If you are new to the tribe of hardy plants and hardy souls, here are 10 time-honored ways to beat cabin fever. How many do you already practice?
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