Now is one of my favorite times of year – I can open the bulb catalogs and plan your orders for fall planted bulbs that will emerge next spring, just when we need color the most! I will be placing orders by Labor Day to be sure we get our first choice of varieties before they…
Keep up with weeding and deadheading Give annuals a pick-me-up of fish fertilizer or Organic Plant Magic Replace any tired plants in containers, being sure to top off with new potting soil Finish shrub pruning Prune birch trees as sap is not running in hot weather Prune vegetative growth of roses and wisteria Divide and…
This variety came into the marketplace several years ago, and I snapped it up for its fantastic color. It’s the earliest phlox in my garden to bloom and certainly the longest lasting. Phlox likes a mineral-rich soil high in organic matter plus good air circulation. Plant it in the open in full sun for best…
Grass is a cool weather crop. This time of year your job is to help it ride out the heat. One simple way to reduce summer stress on your lawn is to mow high, high, high. Not only do you naturally crowd out weeds, you’re allowing native pollinators to thrive in that taller canopy. Conservation…
Most foxgloves are biennial plants, meaning that they flower at Age 2. The dwarf pink variety ‘Foxy’ falls into this category. After that, the plant dies. So if you have ‘Foxy’ you can leave the seed stalk and hope that it will spread some seed around your garden for another year. In 2016, this biennial…
Rain gardens are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people are taking responsibility for their “ecological footprint.” A rain garden is a sunken garden that is planted with deep-rooted, water loving plants and grasses in a well-draining basin. Its purpose is to receive runoff from impervious surfaces such as roofs, sidewalks, and driveways. Storm…
As more of us grow our own food, even on a small scale, there is much to learn about the life cycle of various plants in the vegetable garden. Most lettuce varieties are cool season crops. When the hot weather comes, they send up tall stalks that will flower and set seed. You’ll notice that…
It’s not too late to plant some flowers that will lure in monarch and other butterflies and support their life cycle, while encouraging good pollination in your vegetable and fruit gardens. The leaves of Joe Pye weed are food for developing caterpillars. You may remember that the monarch caterpillars can feed only on the of milkweed…
To encourage your lawn to thicken, we recommend mowing only when the grass reaches a 3-4″ height. Scalping it lower only encourages more light penetration, and then weeds spring up. Watering is best done in the early morning hours so that the blades can thoroughly dry off. An inch of rain per week is all…
Happy 4th! Let’s celebrate the continued birth of the independent, local, organic food growing movement sweeping across our Nation! We’re so happy to help folks grow organic food right in their own yard. Below is one of our clients in Harvard, Massachusetts we helped on that journey. This amazing 2,000 square foot vegetable garden was…