Mulch can kill trees--that sounds kind of extreme, doesn't it? But it caught your attention, right? I suppose it would be more accurate to say improper mulching can kill trees, but as I look around me, improper mulching of trees seems to be the standard practice, the only kind of mulching around trees that's being [...]
Garden chores
Garden Lines
November 12, 2010 – Posted in: Garden chores, Lilactree Farm........................................The curious stranger roves, With grateful travel, through a wild of groves; And though directed, oft mistakes his way, Unknowing where the winding mazes stray; Yet still his feet the magic paths pursue, Charmed, though bewildered, with the pleasing view. Stephen Duck, 1731 The hedge clipping was finished yesterday (October 5). We have a variety [...]
7 Fall Gardening Mistakes That Will Cost You Money
November 2, 2010 – Posted in: Garden choresHeading into fall, there are times when we might be feeling overworked, too frazzled, or simply not feeling like doing everything we normally do. Everyone needs to find their own balance in the garden, but you may want to take the time to avoid these common mistakes which can wind up costing you in the long [...]
Five Inches of Rain Brings on Autumnal Madness
October 4, 2010 – Posted in: Garden choresFive inches of rain fell here in roughly 24 hours. After a multi-week dry spell where my constant promise to my garden was, "As soon as we get some rain, I'm going to…", it finally rained, big time. Casting an eye at the seasonal clock and acknowledging that we really should have had a frost [...]
Alfalfa on Roses
April 23, 2010 – Posted in: Garden chores, RosesToday 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 [...]
Climate is What We Expect;
Weather is What We Get*
April 10, 2010
– Posted in:
Garden chores,
Weather,
What's up/blooming
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 [...]
Mud Season: Clean Up Quandaries
March 25, 2010 – Posted in: Garden chores, Mailbag, Mud SeasonA fellow gardener emailed me earlier this week: Oh cold climate wise one, Have you seen the forecast for Friday?! Snow and lows in the high teens. What does this mean for all the little perennials I've pulled leaf mulch off of? Should it go back on? I'm really looking forward to actual gardening this [...]
Choose locations to plant fall bulbs now
March 10, 2010 – Posted in: Garden chores, Plant info, Snowdrops, What's up/bloomingIn January, the snowdrops in the Secret Garden looked like this: This Sunday just passed--March 7th--those same snowdrops looked like this: Such are the vagaries of an upstate New York winter. Since then, the temperatures have been mild and the sunshine brilliant, and the snow is receding. This, my fellow cold climate gardeners, is the [...]
Planting Tulips, Part 2
November 11, 2009 – Posted in: Garden choresYesterday I told you how I finally realized species tulips planted in the peony bed would help to bridge the bloom gap of late spring. I got the tulips chosen and purchased, and now I'm going to show you how I planted them. The Smartest Way to Plant 150 Tulip Bulbs But first let's talk [...]
Planting Tulips, Part 1
November 10, 2009 – Posted in: Garden choresAfter the snowdrops, after the crocuses, after the daffodils, there is just about nothing blooming in the front of the house until the June show of peonies, irises, and poppies. I have not been the first person to notice this bloom gap, not by a long shot, and the traditional recommendation is to plant tulips [...]
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