Category: Spring Projects

Hay versus straw Hay is grown as food for livestock.  If you buy hay for your garden you will have seed heads that can sprout and create weeds. I learned this the hard way one year when I sprinkled hay over a newly seeded part of our lawn and large weeds emerged that were hard to pull out. Straw makes a great mulch and planting bed for your garden. It has no nutritional value for animals because it's made of…

I have three favorite bulbs that I like to grow in the summer. In my Zone 6 garden they have to be planted in the spring after the last frost. That's what I'm doing now. There are many other summer blooming bulbs as well, but these are my personal favorites, currently. The term 'bulb' applies to a large class of flowering and ornamental bulbouslike plants in their dormant condition, including corms, tubers, rhizomes and pips. White…

I bought a potted Easter Lily for the small family gathering we had this year, and we received some potted daffodils from my brother and sister-in-law as a gift. Most often these bulbs are thrown on the compost heap or trash bin as soon as they've finished blooming, but I decided I wanted to keep mine. I asked horticulturist Ruth Clausen for her suggestions about saving these bulbs for future years. I was hoping she would tell me I can…

Part of the fun of gardening for me is that there are always new things to learn. Recently, I learned something new about fertilizing trees and shrubs, about growing canna outdoors in containers, and about pruning lilacs. Where did I get my information? I asked Ruth Clausen the horticulturist and author, and John Hoyt a local arborist who works in my garden! Pruning Old-fashioned Lilacs-- John Hoyt recommends that pruning be done when it’s a little cooler (early morning or…

There's something romantic and old-fashioned about flowering vines, the way they amble over garden fences and climb up trellises. If you're thinking of planting an ornamental vine in your garden this year, know what some of the different types are by reading on. The basic types of vines are those that cling to a support with aerial roots, those that twine or grow tendrils that wrap around a support, and those that need our help attaching to a support. [caption…

Tip #1: Preparing your soil.  Before you put your potting mix in the container where you will be germinating seeds, put the mix in a large bowl and add hot water. Work the soil in your hands until it's all mixed.  Add more hot water if necessary to keep it moist (about like oatmeal) but not too moist!  See video. This is the consistency you want.  Whenever I've had difficulty with germination or with fungus growing on seeds it's because…

Helleborus orientalis is also called Lenten Rose. In horticulture circles it’s well known that you can’t rely on common names to reveal the true identity of a plant.  The name Lenten Rose sends a mixed signal because it is not in the rose family, but it does bloom during the Lenten season.  In our part of the country that makes it an early spring bloomer!…

It's time to wake up your houseplants!  As the days grow longer and the sun gets stronger, now is the time to wake up two of my favorite flowering houseplants, clivia miniata and agapanthus.  Because it takes so much energy to produce a flower, they have been resting over the winter between bloom times. Here are some techniques gardeners use to get them ready for spring. Clivia miniata Clivias are native to…