Fig feasts were part of my late summer meal planning. Growing figs was always something I thought was beyond my reach here in MD zone 6b, but I harvested for the first time an avalanche of tasty large brown turkey figs this summer. Rarely found in stores, occasionally at farmers markets, there is nothing better that …
Deer resistance is a huge buzz world in the gardening world and for good reason. Many of us battle these animals daily and too many just throw up their hands and give up. All it takes is to educate yourself on the many possibilities that are available - both native and non-native - and throw …
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I declare 2021, The Year of the Tomato! Forget COVID, late frosts, and marauding ground hogs, I have harvested the most tomatoes that I can remember in my many years of gardening. Bad Start to a Tomato Year With an inauspicious start - an unusually late killing frost around Mother's day - I was left …
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Spring perennial bloomers are easy. There are so many great spring performers that you always have something blooming all spring long with little effort. Fall can be a little trickier to have a constant parade of colorful bloomers and I always am looking for new candidates and old favorites. One of the all time favorites …
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What's blooming in my garden? Elderflowers!! The sweet umbels of creamy colored flowers that can reach 12" across are so fragrant and have a unique smell, kind of like floral, creamy, and summery all in one package! All cultivars look very similar with their shrub-like plant structure, compound leaves, and big, beautiful clusters of white …
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American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, is aptly named as the latin name means beauty + fruit. The purple jewel-like berries are arranged artfully on cascading branches of this wonderful deciduous and deer resistant shrub. Native to the central and southeastern United States, it is found naturally growing in open meadows and woodlands. A nutritional powerhouse, with …
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Bottle Brush Buckeyes are blooming everywhere and if you are in the know, you are planting more of them. Attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and other native pollinators by the dozens, this native is a great understory plant for shady woodland areas. Deer and rabbit resistant, it forms a dense, mounded, suckering, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub which typically …
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Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Aromatic Ah....The fragrance of lavender! Evoking many memories, like wandering through blooming fields of lavender on a hot summer day buzzing with bees. This is one herb that if I were on a desert island, I would want to grow! Growing lavender in my garden every year is essential and I …
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Held outdoors for the first time in its 193 year history, the Philadelphia Horticultural Society's Flower Show debuted with an explosion of color and large-scale architectural floral installations at FDR Park in Philadelphia. Where nature meets architecture, or Habitat: Nature's Masterpiece, is the overall theme and will be held June 4 through June 13 and …
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Native vines are a totally underused plant in Mid-Atlantic gardens. Filling gaps, covering walls and fences, and a great vertical element in any garden, vines can be used to attract native butterflies and insects to your garden. Vines are useful if you don't have a ton of room and usually grow quickly and form almost …
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