Mud Season

I actually like keeping records. I can get obsessive about it, and that has gotten me into trouble in the past. So last fall, when I was frantically planting out the plants I had kept in containers--some of them for two years--I left the documenting of that planting for "later," applauding myself for not getting [...]

The calendar says it's spring, but you're still looking out on a vast expanse of snow: You look at it and think, "Before any flowers will bloom, first that stuff has to melt, then the soil has to thaw, then the leaves will emerge, and then--finally!--I'll have flowers. Not so, dear gardener. Not so. The [...]

Watching 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 [...]

It is more important to have the first bloom on your block than the first tomato. The first outdoor bloom is a potent morale booster, signifying that the back of winter has been broken. However, to have the very first flower blooming in your neighborhood is not a matter left to chance. You must employ [...]

Dear Friend and Gardener, I have learned through my online friendships with many garden bloggers that spring comes late to my part of the world. Friends around the country (and the world) speak of snowdrops blooming when mine are buried under snow, and show off their daffodils while I am waiting for my first crocuses [...]

Snow still blanketed the lawn, despite the warmest temperatures of the calendar year thus far. As I reached down to pick up the pot of amaryllis for its photo shoot (see below), I noticed that the snow had melted down to the ground in a strip a foot wide bordering the house. And what to [...]

In my previous post, I described my idea of a cabin fever bed as a way to enjoy at least a part of the garden from indoors, when the weather is too miserable to be outside. One of the goals of such a bed is to grow plants that provide interest as far into winter [...]

I have taken contributor Brian Bixley's admonishment to heart and I'm trying to get more early blooming plants in my garden. The gardening season is typically considered the time from the last spring frost to the first autumn frost. By that measurement, I have a short season garden. The only way to get a longer [...]

Yesterday I actually planted plants. Outdoors! I consider this just short of a miracle, because the snow isn't fully melted yet. Here's how I did it. Know Where to Plant First, I made sure I knew where the snow had melted first. Yesterday, the snow was melted over much of the front lawn, but the [...]