Did you plant your garden early this year because the weather is so mild? I did! This afternoon, and I was expecting this, I got an email from the Weather Channel saying we should expect a “hard freeze” tonight… Don’t panic… there is good news! There are simple things you can do to save your […] Read more…
Your Last Spring Frost and First Fall Frost Dates differ from your Hardiness Zones, they’re are two distinctly different things. Both are extremely valuable to know in achieving success in your garden. Last Spring Frost and Fist Fall Frost Dates: What It Means To You Native plants grow naturally and without problem where climate conditions […] Read more…
I spent each day this past week tuned into the Home Grown Food Summit. There were a lot of wonderful speaker/presenters on a large range of topics pertaining to beginning and intermediate home gardeners and small farms. It was certainly worth the time investment listening to 37 specialty speakers on topics. While the summit is […] Read more…
A bird best identified by silhouette, the smudge-gray Chimney Swift nimbly maneuvers over rooftops, fields, and rivers to catch its food. Its tiny body, curving wings, and stiff, shallow wingbeats give it a flight style as distinctive as its fluid, chattering call. This enigmatic little bird spends almost its entire life airborne. When it lands, […] Read more…
Are you planning on watching the awesome training presentations in the Home Grown Food Summit going on this week? I am! You have the chance to get free training from 38 experts on how to grow your own food and medicine (one of the single best things you can do to reduce your dependence on […] Read more…
Fall is the time to plant garlic which you will harvest next June or July. Both the planting and harvesting of garlic is super-easy and something you will want to do every year since nothing tastes better and stays fresh longer than garlic that you grow yourself. I usually pop the garlic cloves in the […] Read more…
I think marketers of landscape fabric have convinced everyone to believe that the act of purchasing and putting landscape fabric down in flower beds, around foundation plantings, and as an underlayment for garden paths, will stop weeds and that it will also keep pea gravel from getting smushed into the earth due to foot traffic. […] Read more…
Our beloved, early spring blooming, native wildflower Sanguinaria canadensis “Bloodroot” is now upon the perfect time of year for planting. Bloodroot gets its name from when a break in the surface of the plant, especially the roots, reveals a reddish, blood-like sap. Bloodroot was once used as a dye and as an herbal remedy by […] Read more…
Wonderful article written by Karen Chapman on Great Garden Combo: A Fall Landscape Scene That Lasts. Karen beautifully covers the steps and details necessary for anyone to create beautiful garden vignettes. She also has a new book titled Fine Foliage with Christina Salwitz. The layout of the book is beautiful. Though the book offers a […] Read more…
Most people do not realize that there were no honey bees in America before the European settlers brought hives from Europe. Native pollinators, especially bees other than honey bees, have been pollinating the continent’s flowering plants since long before the arrival of honey bees. Even in today’s vastly altered landscapes, our native bees continue to […] Read more…
