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Fall Garden Cleanup

Cleaning up garden beds for me is a long slow process. First I remove seedheads of plants I don't want to reproduce. Annual weeds - cut them off (don't pull!) and get those seeds out. It's still an uphill battle with Canada goldenrod and to some degree with white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima, formerly Eupatorium rugosum). [...]

By |2021-12-12T08:55:12-05:00November 12th, 2021|Categories: How-To's|Comments Off on Fall Garden Cleanup

Make Lovely Lovage Soup

Inspired by my friend Betsy Williams' intriguing lovage soup and lovage-lemon pesto, I decided to get better acquainted with this leafy perennial herb. Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is widely cultivated throughout Europe and parts of Asia, but it's not so common in these parts. Fortunately, Gilbertie's Herbs grows it (organically), so I was able to purchase [...]

By |2021-06-17T18:49:35-04:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: How-To's|Comments Off on Make Lovely Lovage Soup

Make a Cheap, Easy, Lazy-Way Compost Bin

Along with doing what I can to keep water on my property, I compost most garden and food waste. Compost - naturally decomposed organic material - improves soil structure, enhancing its ability to hold air and water, yet drain well. It is not fertilizer. Fertilizer is like vitamins. You can't live on vitamins. Compost is [...]

By |2021-04-26T19:03:23-04:00April 26th, 2021|Categories: How-To's|Comments Off on Make a Cheap, Easy, Lazy-Way Compost Bin

Get Amaryllis to Bloom Again Next Year

Amaryllis (properly Hippeastrum) are the gifts that keep on giving. This year I've had the privilege of filling my house with top-sized potted bulbs from White Flower Farm. No more cheap supermarket bulbs for me. Eventually the show will be over.  But after enjoying two or three bloom stems with clusters of colorful trumpets, I'm [...]

By |2021-03-07T09:08:10-05:00February 26th, 2021|Categories: Garden Coaching, How-To's|Comments Off on Get Amaryllis to Bloom Again Next Year

How to Water Houseplants

Cats and dogs train their owners to stick to a regular schedule. But plants are on their own timetable. Watering every Wednesday and Sunday, like clockwork, doesn't cut it. Some (most) plants need to dry out between waterings. Some must never be allowed to dry out. If a plant is suffering and you don't know [...]

By |2021-02-07T15:36:47-05:00January 31st, 2021|Categories: How-To's|Comments Off on How to Water Houseplants

Make Your Yard a Pollinator Victory Garden

Kim Eierman is an environmental horticulturist, landscape designer, speaker, teacher and founder of the horticulture and communications company Eco-Beneficial in Westchester County, NY. It's really easy to turn people off by telling the truth. Even willing, well-intentioned listeners can feel beaten up by too many discouraging facts and figures. Eierman doesn't just tackle the upsetting [...]

By |2021-01-03T09:25:19-05:00December 30th, 2020|Categories: Books, How-To's|Comments Off on Make Your Yard a Pollinator Victory Garden

Stumped? Just Make it a Garden

How do you deal with a stump where you'll be looking at it up close and personal for years? Without resorting to disruptive (and expensive) stump grinding or toxic chemicals?

By |2020-11-30T06:39:42-05:00November 28th, 2020|Categories: How-To's|Comments Off on Stumped? Just Make it a Garden

Plant “Minor” Bulbs Now for Major Spring Impact

Tiny spring-flowering bulbs are cheap, quick and easy to plant and addictive - there's always room for more. Check out online and catalog offerings (you won't find all that many in garden centers) during fall bulb-planting season and try something new. Thumb or scroll through and buy whatever stirs your heart and suits your conditions.

By |2020-09-27T18:24:18-04:00September 27th, 2020|Categories: Great Plants, How-To's|Comments Off on Plant “Minor” Bulbs Now for Major Spring Impact