The first thing I do when I finish planting any new plant is to give it a good soaking of water. Right away. This includes when the soil is already damp and even when I’m planting during a rain, which happens a fair amount because of the limited time I often have to […]
They’re back… and worse than ever. Those swarming, biting gnats have exploded in population this spring, making outdoor life miserable or impossible for anyone living within a mile or two of a central-Pennsylvania creek. More accurately called “black flies,” this pest is one we had solved for 25 years before we stopped […]
Native plants help draw and feed pollinators, but that doesn’t mean non-natives are useless to wildlife.
Here’s an article on an interesting native-plant talk by entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy and author Rick Darke that made the case for why we should plant more native plants.
Native plants make good sense in the garden. But that doesn’t mean we should plant nothing but natives… or feel guilty about our peonies and hydrangeas.
If you’ve ever wondered what my yard looks like, you’ll get a chance to see it on Sat., July 14. That’s the day of the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club’s “Plant America Beautiful” summer garden tour. My wife and I agreed to be one of the five or six residential stops on the tour, which […]
Forget the weather forecast if you’re wondering if it’s going to rain. Just check if I’m planning to mulch. Without fail, rain falls every year after the 8-cubic-yard pile of mulch shows up on my driveway. It doesn’t matter whether meteorologists forecast rain or not. The mulch pile causes it, which […]
You could keep paying $3 or more for a packet of fresh herbs at the grocery store. Or you could start growing your own herbs for pennies – even fresher and at arm’s reach whenever you need a sprig or two for dinner. Most cooking herbs are easy to grow, too. And […]
Trying to eat healthier? Eat purple. Not so coincidentally, the plant pigments that give burgundy, bluish-black, and purple color to some plants’ leaves, roots and fruits – known as anthocyanins – are the same ones that act as antioxidants when eaten. That’s true of other plants and colors, too. As a general […]
So here we are at the beginning of May, and I’m just now cutting my grass for the first time. I can’t ever remember the grass lagging this long into spring. Then again, I don’t remember a lot of things as well as I used to. The cool April has the whole […]