Where is this year flying off to? I can hardly believe it’s almost at the end of bulb planting time already. I’ve been busily getting my flower beds all ready for their long winters nap in between the rainy days, and have re-discovered it’s a lot more work to make things tidy looking than leaving things as is for the wildlife to enjoy. I think I’ll leave one flower bed for the wildlife to enjoy and clean it up in the spring. As ...

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There is no doubt about it; saving seeds from your garden can save you a whole lot of money. Take purple coneflowers for example. I went out last week and snipped the seed heads off about half of my coneflowers and have been busily poking myself with the prickly barbs on the heads trying to extract some seeds. I’m not sure what I went to the trouble for. I forgot that Purple coneflower seeds need stratification in order to sprout and grow properly. Seed stratification means the seed ...

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I can hardly believe it is Bulb planting season already, where did the gardening year go so fast? I’m just getting the last of the perennials divided and re-planted! I had way too many divisions so I potted up a bunch of everything and am going to overwinter them… whatever survives, good, whatever doesn’t, oh well. Next spring a tandem truckload of soil is going to be dumped in a low corner and all the overwintered perennials will go there. I’m ...

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This spring there was a really weird bird attacking the bump-out window of our trailor at the campground. She was like clockwork. Every 15 minutes she'd be back to spring a new attack on her reflection in the window. It drove our Shih tzu crazy... he would jump up on the back of the couch and put his paws on the window trying to get at the bird. Alas... so close but yet so far. I did manage to get One really clear shot of the ... << MORE >>

Saturday, Sept. 17^th was Hosta La Vista Day for the Sussex Communities in Bloom. Not too many people showed up, but no matter, we got half of the trees on Maple Avenue planted with Hosta Pieces. If anyone is dividing their Hostas this fall and you have some pieces that you don’t know what to do with, go to Maple avenue and plant them around the trees on the bridge end of Maple Ave… you’ll need small pieces ... << MORE >>

Flower Gardening is my hobby, but it doesn't make a lot of money, not yet anyway. My vocation is computer technology which comes in very handy when developing websites and blogs for that flower gardening hobby. I have decided to do the thing I trained to do in College. Teach Computer Classes. This area is in dire need of classes that people can go to a few times to get the basics without having to register for a class for a whole year. I've found from ... << MORE >>

Last Friday driving home from work I decided to take the back way which led right by Cornhill Nurseries. It was impossible to drive by without stopping in, and hubby dearest did ask me to get something that blooms in the fall. So what was I to do? I Had to buy something. Bruce (the guy with the floppy hat) answered all my questions and helped me pick out a few things… well more than a few, BUT ... << MORE >>

I have been waiting patiently for the month of September. Not that I wish summer away, by no means, it’s just that I am anxious to get the rest of the flower beds all dug out and replanted while I still know what plants are what. When you dig something out that still has flower remnents attached, there is no mistaking or mislabeling. At least that’s the assumption. I’ve been mulling over how I am going to attack ... << MORE >>

I have been toying with the idea of making a “White” garden, the reason being is that white flowers are more fragrant because of their ‘lack’ of colour. The Veseys seed catalogue arrived in my mailbox last week and I have been immensely enjoying the planning of this white garden. My only problem is not enough cha-ching to get everything I want, so I’ll get some this year and some next. If I’m lucky I’ll be able to ... << MORE >>

We gardeners are always striving to have flowers blooming all season long. This time of year is especially challenging as everything is going to seed as nature intended, but there are many beautiful flowers that you can keep blooming well into the fall. The key to extending flower blooms is consistent dead-heading and fertilizer for blooming flowers. The flowers that are “must haves” for August are Coneflower, bee balm, butterfly bush, rudbeckia (100’s varieties), daylilies, sunflowers, coreopsis, cannas, ... << MORE >>

There are 2 bugs I really, really hate. Earwigs and spiders. I know they are great for the garden. I know they have an important place in this world. But I hate them nonetheless. Earwigs are a real nuisance this year because of all the dampness and high humidity. How they squeeze in those tiny little holes of the hummingbird feeder is a mystery to me, but there are some very dead ones floating in the newly minted ... << MORE >>

Last year in a moment of insanity, I actually wrote in one of these columns that I liked purple vetch. I take back every word. It’s gone to the purple vetches head and it’s now worn out it’s welcome. I had that front flower bed weeded so beautifully, it was a thing of beauty. But then it rained, and rained and I didn’t get the mulch down. Am I sorry? Yes I am. The chickens always come home to roost and the vetch never takes a break. I was informed 3 weeks ago my son is getting married ... << MORE >>

Changing lifestyle habits is horrendously hard. I know because I live with a chip monster. By day she is a healthy eating dynamo who chides me on buying and consuming red meat and anything with high cholesterol content… by night, she consumes every chip in the house. Indeed, the chip monster lives here and last evening I was telling her about a happy accident I just had regarding artichokes - she  also ... << MORE >>

I need Pots for my plants. Big pots, small pots, any pots at all will do. I’m digging up all the flower beds and I’m out of big pots for the perennial divisions for which I am donating a good number to the Communities in Bloom Plant Sale on May 14^th. If you have any pots at all that you don’t want, drop them off at my place at 14 Aiton Road… just chuck them by ... << MORE >>

Gardening is so much more than just flowers and vegetables. As you’ve noticed, the whole gardening experience is what I love. Digging in the dirt, listening to the birds singing in the trees, watching butterflies flit around from flower to flower, watching for and exterminating bad bugs… yeah, that’s what gardening is all about to me. Now, I never professed to be much of a vegetable gardener, but this year I think ...

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There does come a time in the spring when the weather breaks and Spring actually does arrive. I hope by the time this article appears that will have happened. This week has been grueling doing work outside in the cold and rain but on the plus side, there are tons of bird species at the feeders providing lots of entertainment for my morning coffee. I have to attempt to divide and conquer a few more perennials before it’s too late, ...

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This is where we now get to have fun. I have dispatched with the heavy winter garments and have dug out my gardening gloves. The rakes and shovels are now by the shed door instead of on their wall hooks. The potting soil is on standby, and my seeds are all planted with some already sprouting! I’m sooo excited…. I know, I know, it doesn’t take much, but spring is my absolute ...

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My driveway flower bed was full of sand and gravel but the Lilies and Maltese Cross were already poking through in spite of that. I went out on the weekend to rake away all the debris and there was a LOT of it. I’ve noticed a few people out and about raking the snow off their gardens to make it melt faster but I myself am not in that much ... << MORE >>

I have writers block. I have it bad. Now, I’m not sure what’s causing it, but I think the 11 feet of snow we’ve received over the last 3 months has something to do with it. I cannot even tell where my flower beds are… in fact I cannot see over the snow banks into my yard and even if I could, there’s nary a thing poking above the snow. I also think there are squirrels in my attic. The noise of something’s little toenails clicking across the ceiling and up the wall has me a wee bit ... << MORE >>

Even when you follow all the “Rules”, sometimes things just don’t work out… and sometimes when you break all the rules, things work out better.

Well, I’ve pretty much killed the cyclamen I bought before Christmas. I followed all the rules. It was down to two leaves and they didn’t look good. Did I give it too much water, too much heat, not enough light? I read my rules and checked them twice. The poor cyclamen withered some more. So, I made a drastic move… I brought it out into the warm kitchen (very ... << MORE >>

While Mother Nature insists on covering everything with white and making it too cold to even want to go outside, there are still things you can do to enjoy “gardening”. I’ve put together my own short list of activities to keep myself tuned to gardening. I find I’m a little more prepared in the spring when it’s time to break out the gardening spades if I take the time to enjoy this activity.

When the wind is howling and the snow is blowing, create a “garden book”. You may want to buy a Scrapbook ... << MORE >>

The End of my Ivy that is. I have lamented my lack of genius when it comes to houseplants, but the real problem is not my green thumb but the house itself. it is too dark and there are not enough spots to place my houseplants where they will get enough light. I put my Ivy on the top of the china cabinet, but heat rises and the plant dries out too quickly... it's above my sight line ... << MORE >>

Holy cow, Christmas can be a racket. One of these years I'm going to be a scrooge and not buy anyone anything. Do ya hear that kids?? Nada! I love Christmas in spite of the commercialism. It's that yearly reminder that God gave us the miracle of a baby named Jesus who would later in His life tell us how to get to heaven. So simple and so beautiful. Makes me less of a ...

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Tis the season to drag home every one of those beautiful "Christmas Plants" that you can get your hands on. I try hard to resist but it is impossible because although I can make any outdoor plant thrive, I am not so great at keeping houseplants alive. I buy them with an apology... they KNOW at the check out that they will probably not survive the winter. This year, however, I've resolved to keep ...

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I did NOT get out in my garden digging last weekend… that freezing cold wind drove me back inside to do other chores so I have to try it again. November is a tricky month for gardening… some days are sparkly diamonds and some days are stone cold so you have to pick and choose. Between rain days and ‘freeze your fingers off’ days, I’ve been mulling over whether to cut back my potentillas ...

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