Author Archives: dirtynailz

Here’s Herbdoc with some tips on buying vegetables: Denise’s recent blog entry on organic gardening struck a chord with me.  I too follow organic practices and in my vegetable and herb gardens which tend to be interspersed with annuals and … Continue reading →

This is incredible, but true: there is no canned pumpkin on the shelves at any of our neighborhood stores. That’s right. With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, if you want pumpkin, you have to buy a whole pumpkin “in … Continue reading →

As our growing season winds down, I am still evaluating the performances of this year’s ornamentals and vegetables. Here are two more results from my garden. Asters:     I had some single aster seeds hanging around and tossed them … Continue reading →

Here’s another guest post from our friend and fellow Master Gardener, Denise: I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to live in a number of regions of the United States. I love Rhode Island, but honestly, I am … Continue reading →

When Rhode Island Master Gardener, Paula Bartnick, announced that she and her husband were moving to Florida, I asked her to let me know what the gardening was like there, and how she was adapting to her new and MUCH … Continue reading →

Recently, I spent a glorious September Saturday visiting Planting Fields, a 400-acre estate on the North Shore of Long Island, NY. The house and grounds are excellent examples of what is known as the “Gold Coast era.” In other words, … Continue reading →

It seems that whenever we start talking – or writing – about wildlife in and around the garden, our fellow gardeners always have their own stories to tell. Here’s a guest post from our good friend and Master Gardener, Denise, … Continue reading →

In keeping with this week’s unintended theme of wild things, here’s HerbDoc with a rant about deer: As someone who lives not far from the Great Swamp, a state- protected area in southern Rhode Island, I’m constantly invaded by deer.  … Continue reading →

I was eating lunch at a local seafood shack the other day, and noticed an orchid languishing on the window ledge. Orchid lover that I am, I picked up the pot to take a closer look. There were two brown, … Continue reading →

In a recent post, Herbdoc mentioned how her Purpletop Verbena (Verbena Bonariensis) attracts butterflies. I’ve been touting the virtues of this plant for years. These include: It’s a pollinator magnet – loved by bees, butterflies and hummingbirds It’s tallish, but … Continue reading →