Prolonging the Strawberry Season A lot of my plants are blooming a little early this year, but the strawberries seem to be right on schedule. I grew a dozen plants in an upside-down container, but it has split open after a couple of days of incessant raining. I guess I'll have to find a spot in the ground for the plants....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Design for the Birds I've been watching the Cornell Lab of Ornithology webcams for the past week, as great blue heron and red-tailed hawk eggs hatched. It's been fascinating watching the parents feed, shelter and protect their little fuzz balls. I also had an up-close encounter. A pair of cardinals like to nest in the yew shrub, in front of my house. You can see how close they are to the windowsill. The cardinals are empty nesters now, but they haven't gone far....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Pinch Me! Helping Your Plants Branch Out. Is it that time already? I feel like I just got my plants in the ground and yet they're begging to be pinched back and deadheaded. Perennials really are little attention seekers, aren't they? And after all these years, you would think basil plants would have learned to branch out on their own. Every year we have to train them.  Oh well, I garden because I love it and primping plants is a large part of gardening. After all, they'd be perfectly happy to bloom once and go to seed. We're the ones who expect them to perform week after ...

Rose Gardening - A Problem Waiting to Happen? Rust - Powdery Mildew- Black Spot. Could we be talking about roses" I've said before that growing roses shouldn't be so worrisome and dreaded. Unless you are growing your roses for show, a little spot now and then isn't cause for alarm. Nevertheless, we all grow our roses for their beauty. So to keep them looking good all season, here are some tips on avoiding problems and what to do if a disease should find its way to your garden....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Full of Beans It's warm enough for the iris to  bloom here, so I planted beans this weekend. I always direct sow my beans. They grow quickly. I grow both pole and bush varieties. The pole beans take a while to start producing and the bush beans fill the void. But they also take up a lot of space, so I'm growing them in large containers this year....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Keeping Your Garden In Color When I first started gardening, many of my plants were either hand-me-downs or impulse buys. My garden plan consisted of "squeeze it in." Some of those plants have since disappeared and a few have made themselves quite at home. I can't really claim to have improved my garden plan, but I have taken note over the years of what looks good when and I have tried to pair little vignettes to have something featured at any given time during the summer....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Living Mulch We're having a problem with a ground covering weed, in our Master Gardener display garden. It's probably caused by a combination of a mild winter and overly rich mulch. My solution would be to get more plants. More plants =Less exposed soil. And my top picks would be some colorful shrubs. I love gardening, but even I don't want to spend all day plucking and pinching. There are so many more options in shrubs these days and they're so much less fussy about where they grow than most flowers are. Susan Harris, over on Homestead Gardens, starts us off with 5 Great Shrubs to Fill Up a Garden. They ...

Plants that Battle Bugs Last week we talked about using onions to deter pests in the vegetable garden. So far, so good. Why stop there? Several herbs can not only deter pests, but also attract some of the good guys. Yes, there are some useful beneficial insects that you should welcome in your garden. And there are some vegetables and herbs that insects avoid, just like your kids do....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

Gifts for Mom, the Gardener There are plenty of Mother's Day gifts for mothers who garden. Whoever placed Mother's Day in mid-May had perfect timing. I've always thought that giving a perennial plant or tree, for any event, is such a wonderful way to create years and years of memories. Some excellent choices are rose bushes, azaleas and fruits trees, but whatever your mother particularly loves would be a sure bet and garden centers have finally wised up to the fact that they are a no brainer for Mother's Day shopping....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening

How to Re-Pot a Plant Yes, It Has to Be Done It's just about time to send your houseplants on an outdoor vacation. After a winter of dry air and hit and miss light, most plants enjoy a few weeks, or months, out in the open. Ease them into this transition by moving them to a shady spot, before subjecting them to bright sunshine....Read Full Post Source: About.com Gardening