Category Archives: Uncategorized

How do you like the trees in the above photo? They are zelcovas, and someone pruned them like this a few months  ago. I guess “prune” is an understatement. The limbs are now stumps –  fuzzy stumps with emerging foliage. … Continue reading →

Here’s HerbDoc again with yet another cool gardening idea: For the past two years I have wanted to build another raised bed to adjoin the five which house my herb and old-fashioned perennial flower gardens.  Something always gets in the … Continue reading →

The North Stonington (Connecticut)  Historical Society has refurbished an old dye house that was on the grounds of the Stephen Main Homestead, a property they administer. As part of that restoration, they proposed planting a garden of dyer’s herbs. Simple, … Continue reading →

HerbDoc describes an interesting gardening technique: I know everyone is anxious to begin their spring planting, but as anyone who has seriously gardened in Rhode Island knows, it’s not safe to put out tomatoes, peppers or eggplant until Memorial Day.  … Continue reading →

It is now the end of April. The vegetable garden is coming along nicely, and there are actual flowers in the flowerbeds. But for me, the garden is never complete without hummingbirds. It took me a couple of years to … Continue reading →

I remember a little bit about zinnias from when I was a child. My mother, who was not an enthusiastic or particularly competent gardener, planted some in our back yard. I don’t recall any more than that. A couple of … Continue reading →

If you want to better understand growing roses in New England, rosarians and University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners Mike and Angie Chute have written a new book that lays it all out for you. We invited the Chutes to … Continue reading →

If you were to ask me why I enjoy pruning my roses more than any other shrub in the garden I wouldn’t have a good answer. The job is challenging and you rarely get through it without getting scratched and … Continue reading →

It seems that along with the frightening proliferation of over-mulching, there is another supposed time-saver, one which neither saves time in the long run, nor is beneficial to the garden: landscape fabric. (aka landscape cloth, weed barrier) I heard garden … Continue reading →