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weeding
Peony Rescue with Cobrahead
March 20, 2012 – Posted in: Garden chores, New House, New Gardens, PeoniesThe unseasonably mild weather has prompted me to start in on garden clean-up. And since the garden was untended for at least a year, there is a lot of cleaning up to do. This was what the garden looked like last year in early June, the first time we went to see the house we [...]
What I am doing differently this year
May 14, 2009 – Posted in: Hardscaping and ProjectsDottie over at D and G Gardens and Crafts blog asked me what I was doing differently this year in my garden. I'd have to say there are no dramatic changes, just a shift in emphasis. I'm trying to work harder at maintaining what I have, rather than adding a lot of new plants. I [...]
Two things I learned while weeding today
November 6, 2008 – Posted in: Garden chores, WeatherI normally don't weed my beds in November, because it is too chilly, wet, windy, and perhaps snowy. However, we have been enjoying a string of unseasonably warm days and I was able to take advantage of it today. Weeding grass out of daylily foliage is usually pretty tricky, because the leaves are so similar. [...]
Goldenrod: This native plant should be kept out of the garden
October 9, 2008 – Posted in: Garden chores, Native/Invasive, Pests, Plagues, and VarmintsGoldenrod is my enemy There, I've said it. I don't care if goldenrod is a native plant; it is no longer welcome in my gardens. I tried to be understanding, truly, I did, but it just did not want to play nice with the other plants. It did not want to play at all: total [...]
Weeding for the audience
July 27, 2008 – Posted in: Garden choresEvery year about this time, the Juneberry bed looks like this: This photo was taken last July, but gives you the general idea: milkweed, musk mallow, lambs' quarters, and a weedy form of evening primrose all detract from the daylilies that are supposed to shine here. Being a detail person, in past years I have [...]
My Summer in a Garden
July 29, 2007 – Posted in: MiscellaneousA small change in routine can make a big change in the gardenI was the oldest of a large family, and I aspired to be a good girl. Not so much in the sense of morally superior; I wanted to do it right, correctly. Even as a child, I was a perfectionist. Perfectionists: You know [...]
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
July 14, 2007 – Posted in: DesignLong-time readers of my blog know that I have never shied away from being honest about the poor upkeep of my garden. Sometimes I find beauty in the weeds, and sometimes they depress me, but I've never pretended they didn't exist. I agree with Colleen that fear of "not doing it right," or "not being [...]
Canada thistle, the plague of my peonies
June 23, 2007 – Posted in: Pests, Plagues, and VarmintsCanada thistle weaves throughout the peony bedObservant readers may have noticed the prickly-leaved weed sidling up to 'Rozella' in my last post. That dastardly villain is Canada thistle, aka Cirsium arvense, and it is one nasty customer. According to the University of California Cooperative Extension, Once established, Canada thistle spreads rapidly by horizontal roots, up [...]
Spring madness: Search and rescue
May 8, 2007 – Posted in: How-toIf you are short on time, energy, and money, but notably the first two, be conservative. You'll be more pleased with one fair-sized, well-composed, well-maintained bed than with a half-dozen large beds that are choked with quack grass and creeping Charlie. That's excellent advice from The Complete Flower Gardener by Karan Davis Cutler and Barbara [...]
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