Newsletter

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...

    Self Sowing Vegetables, New Coreopsis, Sweet Peas, and Propagating Houseplants As I look out at 5F temperatures and 1 foot of snow, it's hard to even imagine a garden growing out there in a few months. But I know it will happen. Nature is resilient and one of the ways I've been impressed by this with self sowing plants. Certainly many perennials self sow and spread their seed around the garden. But what about annual flowers, and more importantly, vegetables? In my new book, The Continuous Vegetable Garden, I talk about self...

    Milkweed for Monarchs, Bring on the Beans, Cosmos and Japanese Beetles   Summer is here in our zone 5 Vermont garden in a big way. With record setting temperatures and lots of moisture still in the soil, plants are exploding with growth. Fortunately, we stayed on top of weeding earlier this month, so it's manageable now. But insects have arrived. Most of the insects in our garden are neutral or beneficial. And some are even rock stars. Monarch butterflies have gotten a lot of press for their impressive flights to...

  Creeping Phlox, Quick Carrots, Let's Eat Dandelions and Pruning Hydrangeas   Spring arrived on schedule in our zone 5 garden, then it decided to go on vacation. So now we get snow showers, chilly nights and flowers that are in suspended animation. It will change and I'm okay with the slow down. Things were moving along quite fast there for awhile. One plant that's showing lots of life is the creeping phlox. This is one of the first perennial flowers to bloom in spring and the colors put on quite a show. I talk about varieties...

    Peony Splendor, Perfect Peppers, Climbing Roses and Controlling Japanese Knotweed     With lots of rain in Vermont, we have lush, overgrown growth throughout our gardens. We've been spending time weeding, edging, transplanting (the rain is good for that chore), and caring for all our seedlings and new plants. We've been dividing and moving late bloomers, such as tall garden phlox, and transplanting self sown seedlings of lettuce and calendula. It's fun to watch it all come together as June approaches. In our zone 5...

  Saving and Growing Gladiolus, Winter Plant Protection, Fall for Parsley and Poinsettia It's almost Thanksgiving and time to really close up shop for winter in our zone 5 garden. We're scurrying to finish up garden chores before the nights really get cold and the ground freezes. The snows a week or so ago really got us moving. While we've dug the dahlias, we're just getting to the gladiolus. That's okay. Gladiolus are hardier than you think. I had three corms I forgot last fall and they actually overwintered in our garden and they bloomed...