A plant dies, and the pessimist says, “There goes another one! Me and my black thumb should just quit.” A plant dies, and the optimist says, “If I can figure out what killed it, my next try is sure to thrive!” I must be an optimist (at least when it comes to […]
Did you ever feel like the deck was stacked against you on a yard project? All the time, eh? For me, I got that feeling when I started tackling the 60-foot-long, steep bank that lines my driveway. This area was a mess when we bought the place. Earlier owners obviously […]
Gardens can still look reasonably good this time of year if you’ve stayed on top of maintenance, policed for pests, and kept things watered. However, strings of 90-degree days and other life matters have a way of eating into garden care, leading to August yards that, well, aren’t always at the top of […]
Though the spotted lanternfly has been annoying a lot of central-Pennsylvania gardeners for two or three years now, not everyone has experienced the misfortune yet of hosting this new Asian import in their yard. Be ready. You may be about to meet them for the first time. Lanternflies morph into their adult […]
One question I get a lot – and can’t answer very well – is when and how much to fertilize plants. It’s another one of those gardening questions where the only truly accurate answer is, “It depends.” Factors include the nutrients already in your soil, the time of year, the weather, the […]
One day earlier this month while down on my knees doing battle with the oxalis, it occurred to me that a lot can go wrong in a gardener’s weed-fighting efforts. A lot can go wrong anywhere in the garden, for that matter. But narrowing it down to weeds, it’s easy to get overwhelmed […]
I’m beginning to think that maybe nature has banned me from the blueberry list. At my previous place in Cumberland County, I harvested quarts of tasty berries every summer from five blueberry bushes I planted along my western backyard border. The main thing I learned was to drape and secure a sturdy […]
I’ve long suspected that deer have some sort of sophisticated, yard-monitoring network that lets them take maximum advantage of the plants that gardeners set out. Now I’m sure. There’s just too much efficiency going on to assume that simple-minded deer happen to wander by and find certain target plants for dinner almost […]
Gardeners are prone to all sorts of medical and psychological afflictions not faced by the “normal” population. Maybe it’s the price we pay to conquer the many threats and curveballs involved in getting things to grow. I thought I’d go over nine of these maladies that aren’t even well known in the […]
I liked the new streamlined layout of the 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show, which ended Sunday after being held outside for only the second time in its 194-year history. I also thought the display gardens were a cut above the 2021 ones, and I liked the spread-out conditions of FDR park’s 15-acre venue over […]