Just like the plants in your flower garden, herbs can be annual or perennial plants. Some of them will withstand a Wisconsin winter and grow again next year, while others will be killed by the lightest of frosts. Basil is probably the herb most sensitive to cool temperatures. Low 30s will turn the leaves [Continue]
I’ve nearly completed the first gardening season at my new home. After 30 years of gardening, this past year taught me some new gardening skills and reinforced some basic gardening tenets that I’ve known but never had occasion to worry about. First and foremost, vegetable gardens absolutely positively need full sun! Full sun means [Continue]
The entryways of plant nurseries, grocery stores, drug stores and department stores are filled with beautiful pots of chrysanthemums in an array of gorgeous fall colors. Soon all those pots of mums will migrate to front porches, decks and sidewalks throughout the area. Don’t be quick to buy the biggest most spectacular plants [Continue]
Every yard has one. Maybe it’s out of sight behind your garage or on the side of the house where you never go. Perhaps it’s in the back corner behind the kids’ yard toys. Maybe it’s inside the vegetable garden or at the back of the flower bed. Possibly it’s right out front for all [Continue]
July brings weather challenges to the garden – strong winds, torrential rains, hail and hot sun. These can take a toll on flower and vegetable gardens, but there are some things you can do to protect plants from harsh weather. First, watch the weather forecast daily. If you don’t know what’s coming, you [Continue]
Every year I experiment with a new vegetable, herb, fruit or flower in my garden. Not this year. This year, in my new home, everything is different. The soil, light conditions, wind, water, surrounding vegetation, weeds, insect pests, the deer population, whatever critters live along the riverbank; it’s all unfamiliar. The ecosystem I created [Continue]
Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes everything you’ve believed about a particular topic. “Grow a Little Fruit Tree” by Ann Ralph, is one that did so for me. Pruning is something I have fairly good knowledge of but I never questioned one of the basic tenets, the one that decrees [Continue]
People plant vegetable gardens for many reasons – for exercise, to save money, to get outdoors, for relaxation, for better nutrition, to have control over their food supply, and to teach children. Are you ready to plant your first vegetable garden? Nothing matches the thrill you’ll feel the first time you eat a vegetable you’ve [Continue]
A few columns back, I mentioned that my husband and I have moved from our one-acre property to a smaller ¼-acre yard with many challenges. We closed the sale of our former home at the end of September leaving a garden still producing bountifully, apples and pears yet unharvested and grapes fermenting on the vines. [Continue]
Imagine waking up to a stack of steaming golden pancakes or a big bowl of cereal topped with raspberries fresh from the patch. Suddenly, you notice a white squiggly thing inside one of the berries. It looks like a little worm! Looking closer, you see squigglers in all the berries. There goes breakfast! The little [Continue]