Autumn Joy sedum is a plant that lives up to its name
For some visual joy in autumn, plant Autumn Joy sedum.The plants’ domed flower clusters now smile skyward like heads of pink broccoli. Autumn Joy is, understandably, a stalwart of the late summer and...
View ArticlePlant for posterity: Replace a giant tree with a giant-to-be
Nothing like some strong winter winds to remind one of mortality — tree mortality.No tree lives forever. Nothing does. But we humans sometimes don’t appreciate trees’ mortality, especially trees that...
View ArticlePruning: Get the right cut for the growth you want
In the short space that follows, I think I can guide you on how to prune any plant, from a midget marigold to a mighty oak.That’s because all plants respond similarly to pruning. Once you understand...
View ArticleDon't ignore forsythia just because it's gone green
The warm glow of forsythias cools down as their flowers fade and green leaves start to unfold. For the next 11 months, this plant that displays such cheerful color on the drab heels of winter will be...
View ArticleVegetable gardens can be pretty as well as functional
Considering the superior flavor of fresh-picked vegetables and the choices you get when you grow your own, it’s a wonder that more people don’t have vegetable gardens.Even a local farm or farmers...
View ArticleStaking trees: Do it only if needed, and do it right
To stake or not to stake?Too many gardeners answer this question in the affirmative. Who doesn’t want to lend support to a wispy, young tree?And there are situations when a tree can use some mechanical...
View ArticleDogwoods' beauty continues into summer
The last of the “hounds of spring” is in its glory. Dogwood.The flamboyant show began back in late winter when cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), a kind of dogwood, swathed its branches in a veil of small,...
View ArticleStrawberry beds get a boost from renovation
If you saw my strawberry bed, you might think I don’t like strawberries. The leaves have been lopped off, some plants were ripped out of the ground, and those that remain are partially buried in...
View ArticlePreparation, planning make for a successful meadow
Weeks of lawn mowing can make a backyard meadow — a carefree carpet of flowers and grasses — seem like an especially appealing alternative.Even small yards can accommodate a patch of meadow.Although a...
View ArticleGardening: growing blackberries without the blood
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been picking and eating what are arguably the best fruits I have ever tasted (a belief I often hold when a particular fruit is ripe). They are blackberries, but not...
View ArticlePlan, plant now for spring-flowering bulbs
It’s nearly that time of year when gardeners think of spring — of planting bulbs that are going to bloom then.Bulbs are “pre-packaged” flowers, so a green thumb isn’t necessary to get those first...
View ArticleLuscious fruits come from timely harvest, good storage
“Ripe” is a term that’s used much too freely when it comes to fruits.A plum is not supposed to taste sour like a lemon; that lemon-y plum is not ripe. Nor — and this is important — will it ever be.read...
View ArticleUsing a coldframe is like moving your garden south
In one weekend, you could effectively move your garden — or at least part of it — a few hundred miles south. If you’re handy, you could do it in less than a day.Do this by building a coldframe — a...
View ArticleEat fruit at peak flavor
Pick up an apple and hold it to your ear. Can you hear it breathing?Of course you can’t. But that apple, like any other harvested fruit or nut, is breathing, taking in oxygen and giving off carbon...
View ArticleManage light for flavor and tenderness
Some of my vegetables blanched at what I did to them. Not from embarrassment, but from lack of light.To make a vegetable more tender and less bitter, consider blanching it. Plants blanche when they...
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