Blog

  No Mow Lawns, Cool Cucumbers, Coleus for Sun and Shade, and Rhubarb     It's May and the gardening is in high gear. It's hard to find time to garden and work, but it's a rainy day, so here I am writing this newsletter for you. Our lawn has been growing fast with our cool, wet spring in Vermont. I'm not a big, traditional lawn fan, but I do love how gardeners are trying to make lawns less of a mono-culture and more friendly to pollinators. I talk about "no now" lawn mixes and ways to integrate them into your lawn in this...

  Gardening for the Birds, Late Blooming Lobelia, Fall Greens and Storing Winter Squash   And just like that it's September. In our zone 5 garden not only does the calendar change, but the evenings get a little cooler and the plants clearly start slowing down their growth. But that doesn't mean it's the beginning of the end in the garden. Birds are busy feasting on our native shrub's berries in anticipation of heading South or overwintering here, Fall blooming perennials are showing off their colors. It's still time to plant fall...

    Two Large Perennials, Snacking Peppers, Honeyberries, and Hydrangea Happiness Book   April is wrapping up and for some gardeners, it's been a tough one. While our zone 5 Vermont garden stayed on the cool side most of the month, gardeners in Southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic states dealt with hot temperatures that pushed plants into flower early. Then, of course, there was a freeze and many flowers were lost. Gardening isn't for the faint of heart. At least our tulips and daffodils withstood any cold weather we...

  Fall Brambles, Hosta Daze, Saving Herb Seeds and Japanese Knotweed   We just returned from a short camping trip and it's amazing how things still changed dramatically in our garden  even after being away for just a few days in late summer. Not only are the vegetables and fruits continuing to produce, but the annual and self sown flowers are really coming into their own. Our brambles (blackberries and raspberries) were particularly exciting this year. It started with the black raspberries fruiting in July, then the blackberries...