Yes, I am growing an orange tree — actually a “hardy orange” and it’s a bush — outdoors here, where winter temperatures regularly plummet below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Why? For a few reasons, some obvious and some not so obvious (until you see the plant). If all this seems obfuscatory, it’s clear in my latest blog post.
Potted herbs gracing windowsills with a backdrop of snow are enticing scenes for garden catalogs, but the idea doesn’t usually pan out in practice. Except in the case of two woody plants — rosemary and bay laurel. Read why in my latest blog post.
Grow bananas here in NY’s Hudson Valley! I tried many years ago, with mixed results which, if you must know, read about in my latest blog post (my name dot com slash blog). Now I’ve come upon some candidates with more solid prognosis for success, one in particular and all with one caveat. As usual, if you’re interested, it’s all detailed in that latest blog post (my name dot com slash blog).
Puffs of “smoke” follow me was I walk around the farmden. This very mysterious-looking conjuring up goodness for me soil has a firm basis. I’m not going to divulge anything here. If you’re interested in garden gnomes and gremlins, do NOT read my latest blog post.
Digging up a tree, roots and all, even a small tree, is no small task when done by hand. But there are easier and harder ways to do it. Trees are getting bigger, but, with experience, it’s getting easier for me, all documented, of course in my latest blog post.
If you’ve gardened at the same location for many years, as I have, you may have thought either your plants were getting better at fending off cold or that winters are getting milder. If you thought the latter, you’re right. And to prove it, the USDA has just released an updated version of Plant Hardiness Zones. In this blog post, we dive into the map, some of its (and any such map’s) limitations), and other things affecting winter plant survival. If you want to read my blog, it’s here:
Apical dominance! A most useful technique that brings into play pinching, cutting, and bending. Is this about gardening, though? Read the about apical dominance and it’s many applications in my latest blog post.
Cool, even cold, fall weather brings out the reds, pinks, and whites in flowering kale, perhaps even the flavor. Kale flowers? Best now? Check out the ins and the outs of this plant in my latest blog post, here.
A book is a way to cram lifetimes of gardening experiences in a diversity of environments into a few hours. And some gardening books also make for good reading and/or inspiring visuals. In my latest blog post I make some recommendations for some gardening books. They’re also nice for gifts. Read the post here.
You’ve raked up this season’s autumn leaves. I hope you didn’t treat them like garbage because they can bring all sorts of goodness to your soil. So much so that I gather up those bags that others put out for pickup — that is, unless the leaf goblin gets there before me. Read about autumn leaves and the goblin in my latest blog post.
