2022 was another busy and eventful year on the gardening front. Lanternflies showed up en masse (at least in some favored areas), lots of excellent new plants debuted, and Pennsylvania banned more plants and enacted new rules that affect how we’re allowed to fertilize our lawns. I thought I’d close out the […]
I reached another “maturity” milestone this fall – my official Social Security retirement age. That means I’m now in the dual-old-fogey class of qualifying both for Medicare and full Social Security benefits. It also means there’s good reason why I’m tired these days after spreading just two yards of mulch and why […]
Five more invasive landscape plants are about to bite the dust in Pennsylvania. Come Jan. 10, the state Department of Agriculture is adding burning bush and four species of privets (the Japanese, European, Chinese, and border types) to the state’s Controlled Plant and Noxious Weeds list. Burning bush is a widely planted […]
Lots of new houseplants (gift and otherwise) show up in living rooms this time of year, which can spell bad news for curious pets. And I’m not talking poinsettias either. Many popular holiday plants are toxic to dogs and cats, including peace lily, amaryllis, mistletoe, cyclamen, and lilies, says Anastasia Zygarowicz, who writes […]
Two springs ago, I took a shot at growing what’s known as “sedum carpet” – a tray of short, dense, perennial, creeping sedums of several varieties. They’re cut into pieces and intended as a fast, weed-preventing way to cover the ground, especially in hot, sunny areas where you need something short, such as […]
If you’re back in the traveling game again, you’ll find several good gardening destinations on a trip into America’s Midwest. I’m just back from leading a Lowee’s tour that took us through Nashville, into St. Louis, and back through Louisville and Columbus. We ogled a diverse group of visit-worthy gardens at each place. […]
Runoff from farms and factories is a key source of water pollution that ends up draining into the Chesapeake Bay, where it’s long harmed the health of aquatic life. But runoff from the fertilizers that go on our ample acreage of home lawns also is a contributor – an estimated 14 percent of […]
When we last left the new “mini-meadow” experimental planting on my backyard bank in late May, the seeds were just sprouting. Germination of the 27 different seed varieties was good, and the bed looked promising. By the first week of June, most everything was up and growing at about two inches tall. […]
Last week I zeroed in on my list of gardening jobs that I’m not too crazy about doing – the ones that will be the first that I farm out as age forces me to scale back. This week it’s time to look at the seven jobs that I like most – in […]
As I was finishing off the last few bucketfuls of my most recent 10-yard load of mulch, my back reminded me why I’m not a fan of this labor-heavy activity. Mulching might be great for discouraging weeds and keeping moisture in the soil, but it’s not much fun. “Brutal” better describes it […]