Well, this is it. I’ve been writing and running this website for 20 years, and I’ve decided it’s time to pack away GeorgeWeigel.net. I’ve been gradually shedding different parts of my career now that I’m a full-fledged member of the Medicare and Social Security community. My Garden House-Calls consulting business, garden trips, […]
Time is winding down if you want to read and/or save anything I’ve written here over the past 20 years of GeorgeWeigel.net. I’m retiring this site at the end of the year, and when my web hosting contract runs out at the end of April 2026, the site and everything in it will […]
I’ve been gardening for 45 years now and have picked up a few practical insights that a.) aren’t always obvious, and b.) aren’t lessons you usually read about in books. As I head into the final month of this website, I thought I’d share eight of the most important with you. 1.) You […]
Gardening is recycling at its core… or at least it could/should be. When done thoughtfully, growing plants in the yard returns as much to nature as it uses, creating an endless (sorry, Lion King) circle of life. Things feed things until it all comes back around. It’s what I like most about […]
Our winters have been consistently warmer these past three decades, but that doesn’t mean we Pennsylvania gardeners can let down our guard like we’re now the semi-tropics. Last winter reminded us that we can still flirt with sub-zero winter nights, even if it’s just for a quick-hit arctic blast or two. Really, that’s […]
We’re in the heart of bulb-planting season right now in Pennsylvania, and if you’re part of the majority, you’re either lining up a few packs of tulips across the front foundation or planting none at all. Few gardeners take advantage of the full potential of spring bulbs – those little onion-looking things that […]
Trying to plant a half-acre, deer-infested, clay-laden yard that was neglected for a decade – at Medicare age, no less – has been a “challenging” endeavor for me the last few years. Muscles were strained, gallons of sweat were poured, and much money was invested, not to mention that visit to the ER […]
When it comes to spring-blooming bulbs, almost all of the mainstream favorites are non-native species. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops, squill, fritillaria, summer snowflakes, and just about everything else bulbous we plant for spring color originate in lands other than the U.S. That poses a bit of a drawback for those trying […]
Warning: We are about to enter the Twilight Zone. No, not the Rod Serling version but that time of the gardening season between peak plant performance and that final, glorious blast of fall foliage. It’s a time when little might be going on in the yard – if you haven’t planned for […]
We should be past the worst of another summer’s heat and dryness and, if we catch a break, about to head into at least a few weeks of ideal growing time. September and October can be two of our best months for plant growth. Baking temperatures back off, the soil stays warm enough […]