Early to mid-April is a perfect time to start to enjoy your springtime flowers. Way before Dahlias, summertime annuals, and asters, the breath of selection of spring blooming perennials is dazzling but there are definitely favorites that I enjoy year after year. Columbine The sheer variety of shapes and colors of Columbine flowers has always …
Continue reading "Springtime Pretties-What You Should Be Planting for Spring Color"
Yes, I write a garden blog, but after rediscovering these delicious healthy muffins from the 70's, I had to post this when I got my Johnson and Johnson shot. Think of it as a new chapter after COVID where you will be eating healthier! With less sugar and more fiber, but instead of being tasteless …
Continue reading "Healthy Morning Glory Muffins"
Who says you have to plant your containers in May after the danger of a final frost? I have plants in my containers all year long and start in early March after pulling out Christmas greens using the long list of early spring flowers that can tolerate and love chilly weather. There are so many …
Continue reading "Cold Loving Spring Containers"
As earth stewards of our amazing planet, we can appreciate the potential importance of all species to the continued existence of a complex ecosystem. But there are some that stand out and do the heavy lifting. Specific integral species are more important than others to the sustainability of an ecosystem and are called ‘Keystone Species’ …
Continue reading "Powerhouse Keystone Species – Plant an Oak and Aster"
The grass is starting to green up and bulbs are peeking through the soil and spring is around the corner. Gardening chores come fast and furious once warm weather hits and sometimes you don’t have time to fit all the tasks in. To jump-start your gardening year, you can hit the ground running early to …
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After picking out dead honeybees from a honeycomb frame recently, I pledged to use only plants that are neonic free. Neonics or neonicitonoids have been implicated in recent bee declines as well as other factors, such as loss of habitat and the game changer bee parasite- varroa mite. There are a number of studies that …
Continue reading "Pollinator-Friendly Seed and Nursery Directory"
Late winter is always a tough period for me. Patrolling my property on warm sunny days in late winter, I am ready to see something blooming and if at all possible - fragrant. This seems a difficult task in late February and early March, but there are three candidates that came through with flying colors. …
Continue reading "Late Winter Blooms and Fragrance"
Sunny yellow blooms fringed with a fringed ruff poking through snow is my first sign that spring has sprung. Eranthis hyamalis, or Winter Aconite, in the buttercup family, is a spring ephemeral, which means that it is a short-lived plant above ground with a burst of blooms, then disappears, remaining under ground until next winter. …
Continue reading "Winter Aconites-First Sign of Spring"
The cold and dreary days of Winter seem endless in January and February, especially during a pandemic when we are not getting out as much as we're used to. But by providing food and shelter for native animals and birds, with good selections of native plants, we can brighten up our landscapes and our lives. …
Continue reading "Winter Interest with Native Plantings"
Having a bunch of succulents on hand from various projects, I wanted to create something special for Valentine's Day. Rooting succulents is easy and I wanted to make the rooting process attractive as well as productive. Succulent cuttings simply involves cutting a 3" terminal branch and removing the lower leaves. Leave them out for a …
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