If one must grow roses, these are the varieties to grow
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not a big fan of roses. But I can’t help myself. The garden is awash in golden-yellow, crimson-red, soft pink, apricot-pink and plain…
Full of vinegar: Lee’s natural homemade weedkiller
Oriental poppies, now in bloom with large, floppy, flaming-red blossoms, are worth oohing and aahing about. Likewise for snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum), with small gray-green leaves and small white flowers, except that too few…
Juneberries, Nanking cherries now ripe and abundant
I’m not saying where my juneberries – now ripe – are, except to say that they are not here on my farmden. If you don’t know juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), you’ll wish you did….
How Japanese barberry bushes could lead to more deer ticks & mice
Uh-oh! I was pulling an odd weed here and there in my heath bed and came upon a seedling of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunburgii). Should I start checking myself for deer ticks? Are…
Nice weather for ducks and mushrooms
Wouldn’t you know it: I write about the extended dry spell one week, and the next week – which is now – the rain comes and doesn’t let up. Not that all this…
How to know when you’ve watered enough
Yes, little water has dropped from the sky this spring here in the Hudson Valley (as of this writing, at the end of May, at least – all of which could have changed…
New beetle threatens lilies & fritillarias
The turds on my crown imperial plants were unwelcome, but no surprise. I’d been forewarned that the red lily beetle (Lilioceris lilii) was in the area. Finally, it found my garden and my…
Open Days program to feature Twin Brook Farm
“Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam…” No, I don’t want buffalo on my farmden, but others beg to differ. And you can visit them (bison, actually), on May 30 at…
Another vine mess
Anyone appalled at the apparent brutality with which I approached my grape and kiwi vines a few weeks ago, pruning shears, saw and lopper in hand, would have been further shocked today. But no…
The grim pruner
Deb gets a little nervous every time I go into the garage for some pruning tools this time of year – not because she’s afraid that I might hurt myself, but for what I…
