Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Milkweeds have many benefits—they are hardy, low maintenance, good in rain gardens as well as in dry soils and during droughts, tolerate deer, the mid-summer flowers attract butterflies and the leaves feed monarch butterfly larvae. Milkweeds are not weeds at all (a plant out of place that you don’t want in your garden) unless, perhaps, you have a formal garden. […]
Growing butterfly milkweed, harvesting garden produce often, and keeping container plantings watered are some of the gardening activities for this month. Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is not a weed at all (a plant out of place that you don’t want in your garden). Better common names are butterfly or orange milkweed, as it is in the milkweed family, has orange […]
Herbs, in my opinion, should be grown in every garden. Not requiring a lot of space or care, the benefits are immense. Think about various dishes that are made and you will find at least one herb flavoring it; potatoes and chives or lovage, tomatoes and basil, spaghetti sauce and oregano, and many more. Herbs like other plants fall into […]
Sustainability means using fewer non-renewable resources to ease the burden of extraction, production and consumption of these resources puts on the environment and on society. Starting a garden is one positive step you can take toward living a sustainable life, especially when you focus on low- or no-waste methods of growing food. You can easily start a sustainable garden […]
Gardening is a healthy, enjoyable and both mentally and physically rewarding activity. But while planting your own vegetables and flowers provides a much-needed break from the robotic work and life schedules, it is important to make sure that you do it right. One of the most important decisions you will have to make at some point is whether to use […]
PRUNING TOOLS Whether you’re looking for gifts for a gardener (or yourself), are doing dormant winter pruning of shrubs and trees, or pruning shrubs and shearing hedges in late spring through early summer, having the proper pruning tools for the job will make it go much easier and quicker, with less plant damage. The first tool every gardener should have […]
CREATING WATERFALLS AND STREAMS By the Pond Lady There are many reasons to add a waterfall. Waterfalls are beautiful to look at and the moving water adds sparkle to your pond. Waterfalls sound good, they provide a way of recycling the water and they also add valuable oxygen to the water to benefit fish. Waterfalls or moving water create white […]
GETTING YOUR POND READY FOR WINTER By the Pond Lady Signs of autumn are springing up everywhere. Leaves are turning colors, birds are gathering for their flight south, pumpkins and apples are being harvested and the blankets are being put back onto the beds. Sunscreen is being traded for sweaters and sweatshirts. Water lilies and other vegetation in your pond […]
Home Gardening Seasonal articles to address your gardening desires We have received your emails and we know you want “more”. Please browse through our list of home gardening article categories below and let us know if they were of any help. Elisabeth Ginsburg, writes a weekly gardening column for three of the regional (Westchester, Connecticut and Long Island) sections of […]
Her nickname was ‘Lacebark’ Pinus bungeana by Ketzel Levine Her nickname was ‘Lacebark’ and she was a living mosaic, pieced together from alabaster, ivory, amber, and jade. You know the type, with cheeks that put the glow of the moon to shame. I’d never met anyone like her, and probably never would have, had I not glanced through the Personals […]