Of the almost 500 species of aloes in the world, the most well-known is aloe vera, also called Aloe barbadensis. You are probably familiar with aloe vera gel that is sold to soothe sunburn. Aloe vera juice is sold in health food stores, and while it tastes pretty awful, it has many health benefits. Both [Continue]
Along with your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, get more exercise, get organized, quit smoking, or whatever else is on your list, consider adding some gardening resolutions. The best part is you don’t even have to think about them for a few months yet! Resolve to cut down or eliminate the use of synthetic [Continue]
Before you brought your Christmas tree home, it lived 8–12 years in the field, depending on its size and species. Someone put a lot of time and effort into planting, watering, fertilizing and pruning that tree. And let’s face it – when that tree was cut, it was killed. It will be prettily decorated for [Continue]
Just as Black Friday began ahead of time on Thanksgiving Day this year, the seed catalogs began arriving in my mailbox in November instead of late December when they normally do. I’m not sure this will spur people to order earlier or more than usual, but in my case, it did allow time for a [Continue]
Carrots are one of the last vegetables to come out of the garden in fall, although they can be harvested much earlier if desired. There are five types of carrots categorized according to shape. The types are danvers, nantes, chantenay, imperator and ball. Each type has many varieties. There are early and late varieties, disease [Continue]
I was going to start out with “I don’t mean to scare you . . .” but I really do intend to scare you. Do you buy bulk or bagged compost, topsoil, mulch or hay? Do you get compost or mulch free from your city or town? Either way, you may be getting more than [Continue]
This fall when you’re packing away the shorts and swimsuits, there’s one more thing that you should take care to pack away properly – your garden seeds and tender bulbs. Seed packets are usually stamped with “Packed For” or “Sell By” followed by a date, similar to an expiration date on food products. But just [Continue]
Some gardeners are scrupulous about pulling everything out or cutting everything back before winter comes. Others leave the entire job for spring. The ideal is probably somewhere in between. You should pull up and compost all annual flowers and vegetable plants. As an alternative to adding plant debris to the compost bin, dig big holes [Continue]
Each year I keep a running list of how I’ll make my garden better the following year. This is an invaluable tool – no matter how good your memory, winter has a way of erasing from our minds all those good garden-related plans. I’ll share with you some of the notes I’ve made for next [Continue]
When you hear the word “groundcover,” what is your immediate thought? Something to plant where grass won’t grow, maybe in a part of the yard you never visit or don’t want to mow? Boring, right? Things are about to change! Consider planting an herbal ground cover – suitable for those areas mentioned above, as well [Continue]