Must-Have Fashion Accessory for Gardeners

I’ve always worn an old baseball cap when I garden, which was not much in the looks department and did not protect my neck from the sun. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been more careful about sun protection. (And perhaps a bit regretful about those sunburns in the Bahamas back in the 80s.) So, this [...]

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Bloom Tuesday

I’ve never been very dedicated to keeping garden records, even though I have several lovely journals just for that purpose. I’m hoping this blog might keep me more on task. So, here it goes, the first of what I hope will be weekly updates on what’s blooming in my garden. Right now, I hope [...]

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Condo for Bees Open

Unlike so many condos for people, I am hoping my just completed condo project for orchard mason bees will soon be abuzz with activity. I’ve been meaning to build one of these since I read an article in Fine Gardening about raising raspberries and the importance of orchard mason bees as pollinators.
Last fall, we had [...]

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Maybe I Spoke Too Soon…

The rain we’ve had has been great, as I noted in the previous post, but c’mon, snow! This morning, I woke up to a small pile of the white stuff on the gardens and yard. It’s melting rapidly, but according to local weather forecasts, we’ll be getting night temperatures in the high 20s the next [...]

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Feeling Grateful

It’s been cold and rainy the past couple of days, but I cannot help but feel grateful for it. This is one of those turning-point rains, steady and plentiful, but not too hard. With a rain like this, suddenly the grass goes from dull to vibrant, the trees start to glow with leaf buds just [...]

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New Northern Gardener Available

The May/June issue of Northern Gardener will be arriving in mailboxes and at news stands soon. This is our biggest issue of the year and includes articles on several hot trends in gardening. Margaret Haapoja writes about tropical plants, including plants that are hardy to the North (Margaret lives near Duluth) but look like they’re [...]

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Oprah’s Rose

She influences the best-seller lists, dabbles in presidential politics, and tells American women how to think about themselves….and now, what to plant in their gardens. Oprah Winfrey is introducing a rose. Called “The Legends” in honor of 18 African-American women leaders and pioneers, Oprah’s rose is a large, hybrid tea rose with big, bright red [...]

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Plant Architecture

Sunday morning, I walked out to get the paper and saw this sparkling sedum. The clear nodules within the plant are drops of dew. In person, they looked like pearls of water. This is the same Autumn Joy sedum I wrote about last fall. What I love about sedum is its seasonal changes and [...]

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We Have a Bloom!

It seemed to take forever, but the squill (Scilla siberica) bulbs I planted last fall are starting to bloom. This purple one is officially the first, but several white ones also opened up today.
They are very dainty, a little difficult to photograph because they face downward, but are very good to see.

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Sowing Seeds in the Cold

Most gardeners that start seeds do it inside, either in a sunny window or under grow lights. This year, I have been trying winter sowing as well as indoor seed starting. For a complete explanation of the winter sowing process, check out this site or frequent posts by happyhobbyblogger, a fellow garden blogger who is [...]

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