Winter
Winter Gardener’s Calendar
A perfect time to plan! Curl up with your gardening books and the gardening magazines and catalogs you’ve received in the mail. Get out the gardening journal and start dreaming… General Landscape Clean up when you get a break in the weather. Remove fallen branches and downed evergreen clumps. Rake leaves to prevent stains on […]
Healthy Soil, Healthy Plants
The key to successful gardening is “healthy soil.” Quite simply, when you feed the soil the proper nutrients, you let the soil feed the plants. So how do you “feed” the soil? First, you need to understand some basic principles about soil and why it is so important, then you can take steps to improve it.
A Buffet of Berries for Winter Birds
Plants with berries add winter interest to the garden and also attract many different types of birds. But which berries are best for your yard, and how can you ensure a bountiful buffet for your feathered friends to enjoy? Caring for Berries No matter which berries you choose to add to your landscape, opt for […]
Tooling Around in the Garden: Selecting and Caring for Garden Tools
Let’s face it – purchasing a new garden tool is usually not the first thing on your mind when you visit your friendly neighborhood garden center. Most of us tend to gravitate toward the latest and greatest herbaceous eye-candy without considering whether we have all the equipment necessary to prepare and care for it. The […]
Size Up Your Site: A First Step in Planning Your Landscape
Whether you plan your garden from start to finish or use a professional designer, a few simple steps can help you assess your property’s potential to develop the landscape of your dreams. By getting involved in the landscape design process, you can address practical problems, structure your outdoor living space and develop a plan that […]
Creating Humidity for Houseplant Health
Houseplants are like Goldilocks...sometimes there is too much humidity and sometimes not enough. However, somewhere it's "just right." Many of our houseplants hail from the tropics and grow in humidity of 50-80%, considerably more humid than our homes.
Getting Tools Ready for Spring
Did you clean your gardening tools last fall when you stopped gardening? Hopefully, you did and don’t need to read this article. However, if you didn’t, it’s now time. After all, spring is just around the corner! Let’s get this done and be ready to jump in when spring arrives.
Growing Plants Under Artificial Lights
When growing plants indoors it is often difficult to provide the proper amount of light required to maintain a happy and healthy specimen. With the onslaught of winter the days are shorter and the nights are longer limiting the amount of available natural sunlight.
Pruning Fundamentals
The first thing to look for when pruning a tree is broken, diseased or dead branches, all of which should be removed. Many deciduous shrubs can really benefit from annual pruning. Pruning not only controls the size of these shrubs, but it can also increase flower production and encourage colorful bark.
Easy-to-Grow Indoor Herbs for Winter
Even though it may be miserable weather outside, don’t be stuck having to buy overpriced fresh herbs at the store or using dried. Why not grow your own inside the house? Most common herbs will grow quite happily in a sunny window. Your kitchen may be the perfect spot. After all, it's probably warm and sunny there.
