I HOPE YOUR LILIES ARE SAFE AND SOUND. Mine, alas, are not. They've been ravaged by Lilioceris lilii -- the scarlet-topped insect you see pictured above. More about this "Lily Leaf Beetle," and the cartwheels I'm performing in order to save my plants: Read more » Waging War on the Lily Leaf Beetle
June 17, 2013
I HOPE YOUR LILIES ARE SAFE AND SOUND. Mine, alas, are not. They've been ravaged by Lilioceris lilii -- the scarlet-topped insect you see pictured above. More about this "Lily Leaf Beetle," and the cartwheels I'm performing in order to save my plants: Read more » Garden Chores for June, 2013
May 31, 2013
IN JUNE, I like to stop and smell the roses (pictured above is climbing 'New Dawn'). Then I get down and dirty. After all, there are tomato vines to train. And weeds to smother. And spent flowers to deadhead. And potatoes to hill. And...well, just have a look at this list of essential chores: Read more » How to Smother Weeds with Newspaper
May 7, 2013
WHEN WEEDS INVADE MY PERENNIAL BEDS, I don't get mad -- I get newspaper. Newspaper-mulching, as we have discussed before, makes weeds disappear instantly. And it prevents them from re-emerging for an entire season, if not longer. I newspaper-mulched one of my weed-choked beds just this morning. Would you like to see the easy procedure? Read more » How I Plant and Grow Leeks
May 1, 2013
I LOVE LEEKS. They bring a unique, onion-y flavor to soups, stews and risottos. I find them devastatingly-delicious when braised in chicken stock and vermouth. Fortunately these Alliums are very easy grow. To achieve a white, or "blanched" stalk, I plant the seedlings this way: Read more » Your Winter-Sowing Updates
April 29, 2013
THE PERENNIALS AND HARDY ANNUALS I planted in milk-jug greenhouses last winter have finally sprouted -- and how! Probably I could furnish my entire neighborhood -- if not my whole county -- with lettuce, spinach, Brussels sprouts, hyssop, Bachelor Buttons and more. Did you winter-sow your way to summer-beauty, too? Let me know how this outdoor method of seed-germination worked out for you: Read more » Garden Chores for May
April 28, 2013
TAKE A TIP FROM THE NESTING ROBINS -- May isn't the month to snooze! Indeed, garden-work we accomplish now will determine the success we'll have for the rest of the growing season. Need a little guidance? I follow this routine: Read more » Mid-April Garden Tour
April 13, 2013
CAN YOU JOIN ME ON A BRIEF TOUR TODAY? I certainly hope so, because I'd love to show you the work I'm accomplishing in the Rose Garden (above). I'd also like you to smell the earliest of the April flowers. Grab your coat and a hat (it's surprisingly-nippy here) and follow me outside: Read more » 
