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In most cases, hiring an arborist is the best approach. A professional arborist knows how to remove and repair severely damaged trees. Perhaps the best approach is one that utilizes a checklist format, so that comparison of several firms can be made.
Late winter tends to drag on. We can begin to plan our gardens and what new plants we will add to our landscape, but we cannot go outside and do much in our gardens because of the weather. However, there are some great plants we can enjoy even in the winter. Kentucky coffeetree is one... Continue Reading →
Planting onions from small bulbs or "sets" is not the best way to grow large onions for storage. Plants grown from sets often begin blooming in mid-summer and stubbornly refuse to stop. Once that happens, onion bulbs don't increase much in size. Onion Sets This happens because onions are biennials. They grow foliage and a bulb the first... Continue Reading →
“Recipes, instruction manuals, last testaments: by making seeds the plant condenses itself, or at least everything it knows, into a form compact and durable enough to survive winter, a tightly sealed bottle of genetic memory dropped onto the ocean of the future.” Michael Pollan For gardeners who grow their plants from seed, seeds are... Continue Reading →
Looking out your window in January, the predominant colors you’ll see are shades of brown, gray and, if we have snow, white. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide some relief, but the view is still pretty neutral. An excellent way to brighten the dead of winter is to plant trees and shrubs that possess colorful fruit or bark,... Continue Reading →
Many people enjoy growing houseplants, watching them grow or bloom. According to WebMD, the following benefits are a few of those provided by houseplants. Add moisture to the air. Low indoor humidity increases your chances of catching a cold or flu, or having dry itchy skin. Purify the air by removing volatile organic compounds. Good... Continue Reading →
Pantone, a company with world-renowned authority on color, each year selects a Color of the Year. Living Coral, a vibrant warm coral hue with a golden undertone was the featured color for 2019, but for 2020 they have selected Classic Blue, a calming deep blue. Pantone forecasts global color trends and their Color of the... Continue Reading →
As acreage owners ponder the winter landscape, trying to answer the question – “Is now a good time to prune my shrubs?” – it’s wise to consider a few basic guidelines.
Christmas cactus, amaryllis and poinsettias are popular gift plants during the holidays. They are beautiful, and fortunately, are not difficult to grow. Here are a few tips for each, to keep plants healthy until next Christmas, if you gave or received one this year. Poinsettias Many poinsettias hold their leaves and remain attractive after the... Continue Reading →
Good tools make the work in my landscape much easier. I get the majority of my work done with just five tools, so if you have a gardener on your gift list consider one of these ideas. Hori-Hori - Garden or Soil Knife If there was just one gift I could give a gardener, this... Continue Reading →
Looking for an unusual gift plant for your gardening friend? Consider a potted citrus tree to grow as a houseplant and even produce edible fruits. But if you're curious to try and grow a plant from an orange or lemon pip (seed) for yourself, don't do it. Although the seeds will grow, they will produce... Continue Reading →
In December, we have a lot of great plants that are used for holiday decorations. We have the Christmas tree, wreaths, poinsettias, mistletoe, and holly. Holly is a fun plant we can grow in our landscapes for winter interest from the berries and evergreen foliage. Holly, Ilex x meserveae, is a broadleaf evergreen also called... Continue Reading →
