Every year, The National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization that promotes gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, selects one annual, one perennial and one edible to recognize. Those chosen for “The Year of the …” program are easy to grow and genetically diverse with many new varieties. Chosen as the “annual” for the Bureau’s … Continue reading Year of the Coleus
Articles
Help our Bees and Butterflies
Since 2006 we have heard about the unfortunate loss of honey bee colonies in North America and elsewhere. The decline in the number of bees is both shocking and frightening and blamed on a number of causes. Additionally, there’s been much discussion about the lack of Monarch butterflies this past summer. Anyone can implement a … Continue reading Help our Bees and Butterflies
Low-Maintenance Gardening
If you’re like many gardeners, you get overly zealous in the spring, creating larger flower beds, carefully edging existing beds, meticulously spreading mulch where needed, trimming the grasses, tending to newly sprouted perennials, etc. Then by mid to late summer, you realize your energy isn’t quite the same and there are certain areas of your … Continue reading Low-Maintenance Gardening
Get Your Garden Ready for Planting
It’s time to get started on the vegetable garden so we can grow our own healthy, organic food this year. Many of us have already started seedlings indoors to transplant out to the garden or the cold frames as soon as weather permits. Authors David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth, of “What’s Wrong With My Plant? … Continue reading Get Your Garden Ready for Planting
Time to Plant Tulips and Daffodils
By Sally Ferguson – Fall is flower bulb season. As the leaves turn to autumn colors, gardeners are busy planting the tulips, daffodils and other spring-blooming bulbs that will brighten the landscape next spring. Expert gardeners say that bulbs are some of the easiest flowers for even novice gardeners to grow successfully. By following a … Continue reading Time to Plant Tulips and Daffodils
How to Photograph Flowers
It’s spring in many parts of the world. For those of us who spent the winter trapped inside, spring means, among other things, an irresistible chance to grab the camera and start capturing the first blooms of the season. Yet, how do you turn those shots of your favorite blooms into something special? Here are … Continue reading How to Photograph Flowers
Feeding Birds in Winter
We enjoy feeding our feathered friends throughout the winter season. Although at one time we had six different feeders throughout our yard, we now have only one, which is located outside a low casement kitchen window that is hinged on one side and swings out. Hubby set up a bird feeder pole with a hook … Continue reading Feeding Birds in Winter