Have you been wringing your hands about this crazy weather, wondering if it will kill the bulbs that are emerging from the ground way too early? Chill! (pun intended). There's not too much you can do. Let me explain:
FAQ
Ten Things to Do While You’re Waiting For the Snow to Melt
April 4, 2015 – Posted in: FAQ, Mud SeasonWatching the snow pack melt is sort of like watching the tide recede--in slow motion. It is tempting to grit your teeth, clench your hands and mutter "C'mon, already!" but since that really doesn't get you anywhere, here are some things to do instead. Some of them I've already done, some of them I've done [...]
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 [...]
Why You Need to Get Outside During the Next Thaw
February 20, 2014 – Posted in: FAQHave you, like us, had more snow this winter than in the last twenty years?Perhaps, like us, you are getting a thaw? The temperature is well above freezing during the day, with intermittent rain? You need to get out! Take a walk through your garden--wear rubber boots and carry an umbrella if you must--but get [...]
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?
Hard Freeze, But No Frost: What Gives?
March 27, 2012 – Posted in: FAQ, WeatherVery early this morning, the temperature bottomed out at 18F, so my max-min thermometer tells me. And yet, when I looked out my window, there was not a speck of frost on the grass. If I hadn't consulted the thermometer, I would have thought it was a lovely spring day out there. (The grass has [...]
The New USDA Hardiness Map and Cold Climate Gardening
February 3, 2012 – Posted in: FAQThe new hardiness map put out by the USDA is not going to help you at all if you've been gardening in the same spot for any length of time with your eyes open and your mind engaged. Let's face it: common sense and experience will trump aggregated data every time. It doesn't matter what [...]
Frost: The Least You Need to Know
October 6, 2010 – Posted in: FAQ, Recommended LinksStumbled across a link to an excellent synopsis of frost and its effects via @urbangarden. If you don't have a copy of A Gardener's Guide to Frost, this is the next best thing.
If You Can’t Take the Frost,
Get Out of the Garden
April 20, 2010
– Posted in:
FAQ,
Plant info,
Weather
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 [...]
January Thaw: A Video
January 25, 2010 – Posted in: FAQ, WeatherWhat happens when the snow melts in the middle of winter? I made a brief video to show you: Some roads and a few low bridges have flooded, forcing early school closings and rerouting traffic. A thaw in January is common, but rain doesn't always accompany it. Sometimes it is brilliantly sunny, inspiring snowball fights [...]
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