Newsletter

  Scotland Garden Tour, Hardy Geraniums, Storage Tomatoes and Pruning Blueberries   As the calendar turns to April, the activity ramps up in our zone 5 garden. A late snowstorm last week didn't deter me from starting more seeds indoors and getting plants ready for spring. In this newsletter I'll be talking about hardy geraniums (one of my favorite, low maintenance perennials), some cool varieties of tomatoes that last months after harvest fresh and pruning blueberries. Before we jump into all the gardening how-tos, I want to let...

Trees with Interesting Bark, Hardy Catmint, Get Started with Leeks and African Violets The calendar has turned to February. No matter the groundhog sees with his shadow, we still know in our zone 5 garden that we have months of winter to come. But that doesn't mean we can't be doing gardening activities now. One thing about winter is it lets some plants show off more than they would when the foliage is out. I'm thinking of the bark of some of our trees. Growing trees for their bark color and texture is good to remember, because in cold...

Plants for Problem Places, Seed Catalogs, Growing Asparagus, and Norfolk Island Pine It’s a New Year with all kinds of possibilities. I appreciate you for getting this newsletter and being part of my gardening universe. I have recently changed my email server. If you happen to be getting this newsletter after you had unsubscribed, I apologize. Please just unsubscribe again so I can have a clean list or let me know and I'll unsubscribe you. Thank you. I always get excited come January because for us it's the beginning of a year long process...

  Black Raspberries, Vivacious Veronica, Japanese Iris and Wild Parsnips   It's July. Happy Independence Day! We've had a wet and warm June, so our gardens continue to look colorful and lush. The warm season flowers and veggies are loving the latest heat wave especially since there is ample water in the soil. We've moved on from our honey berries and June bearing strawberries. The next fruit up is the black raspberries. This lesser known bramble is a great one in the garden. It doesn't spread like its cousins the red raspberry...

    Early Summer Flower Garden, Gardens of Sardinia, Curious Cucumbers and Jumping Worms   I've just returned from leading a Garden Tour of Sardinia, Italy. It was a fabulous trip exploring this large island off the Italian coast. Sardinia certainly has lots of Mediterranean influenced gardens but surprisingly in the interior where it's wetter and cooler, there are some familiar temperate climate trees and shrubs growing as well. We spent time with a Sardinian landscape architect exploring dry land gardens and his own...

    The Other Lilies, Brussels Sprouts and Kohlrabi, Grow Some Nasturtiums and Flea Beetles     The highlight of my day was getting my tractor back from the mechanic's shop so I can start mowing and moving wood chips and compost. It's these simple pleasures that make a gardener smile! It's just in time because with cool temperatures and rain in our zone 5 Vermont garden, everything is growing fast! The planting continues and it's time to pop in some bulb lilies. The most popular are the Asiatic and Oriental lilies, but...

    Luscious Lamiums, Let's Beet It, Strawberry Pots and What's Up North Garden Blog   I'm taking a break from racing with the weeds. It seems they're winning. With cool temperatures and lots of moisture, our zone 5 garden has exploded with weeds. I spent a day weeding out most of the gardens last week, but they're back with a vengeance this week with more rain. I'm just trying to keep up! But many of our perennial flowers are loving this weather including our lamiums. These colorful ground covers are spreading and will be...

Delightful Dianthus, Heirloom Tomatoes, Gardening with Kids and Rubber Trees I know it might be my imagination, but the days seem to be getting noticeably longer already! It is happening! Spring is getting closer so it's time to really start planning your next gardening moves. I have all my seed orders in and soon I'll be starting onions and leeks indoors for a spring planting. Also, this time of year it's good to have a plan for growing some new perennial flowers. One that we like, and have grown for years, is the Dianthus family of...