Jul 26
Why aren’t they blooming? Why are they pink when I want blue? When do I prune? Well, the link below from Proven Winners tells all including when to have patience. Now of course, plants don’t always read gardening books so if you have hydrangeas that are not behaving give them more light, water, …
Mar 12
Okay, you can’t begin planting, but don’t let the snow stop you from planning your garden. Instead, use these frosty days to to take stock of your landscape. Since you have to be inside anyway, start with the windows you look out most. What would you like to see? A lot of people have windows …
Mar 08
Landscaping in some cases is tax deductible according to the IRS and many financial experts including information found on Forbes’ websites and on the Huffington Post site (see the article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-steber/home-improvement-tax-tips_b_3491632.html). I hasten to add always check with your own accountant or advisor before you pursue the following deductions. You can often take the …
Mar 03
My feelings in an earlier blog about loving winter and gardening did not – unsurprisingly – get universally agreement. To help those having a hard time, I offer the following: Coldframe Magic Fresh-picked spinach from your garden for dinner. Sound impossible? Here’s how you do it: Purchase, or if you’re much more talented than I, build …
Feb 18
I LOVE WINTER! I know that’s a sin in some circles, but in winter, all my gardens are perfect – no weeds, no bugs, just a white wonder. I can also walk my woods without fear of Lyme disease, which I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had it. Seed and nursery catalogs …
Jan 31
This linkis to a new group in the Berkshires who have restored Mepal Manor, a Berkshire Cottage and Italian-style villa in New Marlborough, and are bringing a new kind of residential help to the Berkshires for people with substance abuse issues. I am thrilled to be working on the landscape design aspect of this …
Jun 07
Azalea ‘Karen’ is one of my favorites…the name is a coincidence……This wonderful shrub lasts a long time, thrives in our Berkshire winters, and is maintenance free. The magenta flowers jump out, particularly against white plants such as Dicentra Alba (white bleeding heart). I also love it, because the way it feels like an impressionist painting. …
May 22
Low maintenance, natural looking, and color. For low maintenance we filled the area with perennials, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees. We also took down a a very sickly spruce that was block the view of the garden from a terrace.
Apr 11
We don’t have to separate veggies or fruits from flowers. Blueberries like soil that is really acid or low pH, and that’s just what hydrangeas with blue flowers love…so I love putting them together. Read my article in the spring issue of edible Berkshires and learn so many wonderful tips and so much more. Enjoy!
Mar 22
Gardeners woke up and groaned throughout the northeast on this first day of spring. Just when we were celebrating the emergence of daffodils leaves, winter aconite flowers, snow drops, and a chance to do the glorious job of spring cleaning. It snowed. I was scheduled to do apple tree pruning. I drowned my sorrows on …