If luck is with us – in the guise of lovely, sunny weather—this will be one of the busiest and one of the most enjoyable outdoor months of the year. Just to name a few of the chores: All hardy and half-hardy annuals and vegetables to be seeded Lawn feeding and reseeding to be attended … Read more
April is one of the most beautiful and busiest months in the entire calendar of Western gardening operations. It is time to look ahead to summer and begin visualizing your garden as you want it to look. For instance, you will want to ensure that there will be no ugly bare spots in the border. … Read more
National Bug Week We Americans seem to have a penchant for designating and observing varying “weeks” and “months” dedicated to promoting or memorializing certain projects or events. The month of April could be designated – and very fittingly – as National Bug Week, with the populace requested to lend a concerted hand to the extermination … Read more
April is daffodil time. When the bright flowers appear, appraise the varieties you have and look over the plantings of friends and neighbors for ideas on the new kinds to plant next fall. Many brilliant ones have been put on the market in recent years. Be on the lookout for the short-cupped type, which comes … Read more
One of the most rewarding of all garden undertakings is starting plants indoors from seed. Unfortunately, it is frequently also one of the most disappointing, for failure to “bring through” a batch of seedlings spells loss of time and opportunity and leaves the gardener with a deplorably deflated ego. 6 Indoor Seed Planting Requirements What … Read more
When I was a child, there were no supermarkets. So a vegetable garden was very important. After school, we helped mother plant lettuce, radishes, and peas on a warm day in early spring. At the same time, large whole onions were saved from the season before, and our own onion sets and a few potatoes … Read more
Many herbicides are toxic to bees. Among them are herbicides containing glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. Other herbicides toxic to bees include Dicamba products and even natural concoctions containing vinegar. Safer herbicides include those containing Atrazine and 2,4-D. How Do Herbicides Harm Bees? Some herbicides kill bees on contact. Yet, many herbicides don’t immediately … Read more
Herbs used only for their medicinal or healing qualities were divided by the herbalists in about the fifteenth century into specific groups according to their supposed action upon the human system. The background of history and legend tells its own story because practical horticulture had a therapeutic side of more excellent value than mere esthetic … Read more
There is more to a good garden than an abundance of pretty flowers. Plants with showy flowers naturally attract the most attention, but the scent is more subtle than color. A mere whiff of a pleasing fragrance from a bruised aromatic leaf can conjure up half a lifetime of memories and give refreshing enjoyment. Meanwhile, … Read more
Soil is partly earth but not all earth. Soil is a living thing. It grows, gets sick, and becomes well again. Like both garden and gardener, the soil changes dramatically from winter through spring, summer, and autumn—back to winter. As the cycles march along, year after year, our garden soil may grow stronger or weaker. … Read more