Mid-Atlantic Regional Report

Enjoy Months of Blueberries

"Taste one," the grower urged as I eyed a cluster of plump blueberries recently. The plant was labeled 'Aurora'. I plucked what looked like the bluest, ripest of the bunch and popped it into my mouth, which puckered immediately. "Tart?" asked the...
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Resources

Green Guide
The Good Earth

Apply for NGA Youth Garden Grants
Fund Your Outdoor Classroom Science Project
Tend Your Rhodies
Don't Transport Firewood
Enjoy Autumn-Friendly Shrubs and Perennials

Landscaping with Perennials, Grasses, Tropicals

Perennials ... you gotta love 'em. Plant them once and they bloom year after year, albeit for two to four weeks compared to summer-long annuals. There's something reassuring, though, about late-blooming, blue-flowering plumbago ( Ceratostigma...
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Resources

Using Organic Fungicides
Morris Arboretum Landscape Design Series

Enjoy County and State Fairs
Replace Washers and Damaged Hose Connections
Deadhead Tattered Seed Heads
Prune Summer Phlox for Continued Bloom
Sow Seeds for Fall Greens

Living Sculpture For the Young and Young at Heart

At first glance, the spray-painted grass and heaps of wet soil looked more messy than artsy. Three-and-a-half hours later, about 30 smiling people sat relaxed in the mounds and curves of a grassy, soft-looking living sculpture. They'd built Alexandre...
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Resources

Phlox paniculata 'Nora Leigh'
Good Bug, Bad Bug

Learn a Beneficial a Month
Keep Peony Foliage
Shear Spent Dianthus Flowers
Clip Back Sprawling Geraniums
Remove Dead Poppy Foliage

Mind Your Mantids

With its bulgy eyes sprouting antennae and six gangly legs, a praying mantid may frighten and fascinate. We're finding a lot of young, green mantids in city and suburban gardens. These nymphs won't hurt us, but small insects such as fruit flies and...
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Resources

Balfour's Touch-Me-Not Impatiens
Lost Ladybug Project

Remove Overgrown Autumn Clematis
Pull and Fluff the Mulch
Experiment with Edible Flowers
Prune and Share Herbs
Cut Back Browning Poppies and Bleeding Heart

Raising Up Vegetables

One disadvantage of being a "professional gardener" is it's hard to relax around an unkempt garden. My fingers twitch, resisting the urge to pull every weed and move daylilies from shade to sun. No judgment here, just instinct. So garden tours can be...
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Resources

Deer & Rabbit Repellent
Supertunia

Wondering About Disgusting Spots on Mulch?
Check Soil Moisture After Rain
Deadhead Repeater Daylilies
Take Advantage of Plant Sales
Plant More Beets, Beans, Squash

Who Who Whooo's There?

Weeding under a viburnum, Angela was startled by something in the branches. She looked up to see a small, fluffy, gray-and-white great horned owl perched with eyes closed. For the next hour while we oohed, aahed, and took photos, the owl slowly turned...
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Resources

Take a Walk
Kid-Friendly Plants

Water Once, Twice, Thrice
Fertilize Heavy Feeders
Wear Sunscreen and Protective Clothing
Limit Sun Time and Drink Liberally
Pruning Hollies

Early Summer's Sensual Specialties

Come smell the 'Abraham Darby', I insisted. Often we get so caught up in garden chores that we need and appreciate a reminder to "stop and smell the roses." These large peach, pink, and yellow blooms are subtle charmers. No bright red calls for...
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Resources

All About Roses
Local Farmers' Markets Open Regionwide

Deadhead and Feed Iris
Tidy Hydrangeas
Check Watering Systems
Prune and Fertilize Old Roses and Climbers
Continue Veggie Planting

Gifts of the Garden Isle

Winged, quarter-size, pink and white flowers drip from 3- to 4-foot stems. "It's a begonia BUSH," smiled Beth Judy as we left Hilo Hattie's near the Lihu'e airport in Kaua'i, Hawaii. Fiery orange crocosmia and blue and white puffball hydrangeas are wild...
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Resources

Greenphone.com
Dramm Touch N Flow Sunrise 30-inch Rain Wand

Heed Pesticide Recalls
Remove Dead Dianthus Flowers
Pull Back Mulch
Hydrate Water-Absorbing Crystals in Containers
Stake Tall Plants

Spring's Charms and Chores

Airy, blue flowers float above creamy white-edged, heart-shaped brunnera leaves. Twin white bells dangle from the arching stems and white-margined leaves of variegated Solomon's seal. Delicate, lilac 'Lilafee' fairy wings dance over wavy epimedium...
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Resources

Daffodil Photo Database
Home Depot Canada Going Enviro-Friendly

Beware the Brown Recluse Spider
Avoid Buying Weedy Perennials
Save Money, Grow Your Own
Remove Garlic Mustard
Prune After Bloom

Sustainable Roses?

At first blush, "organic roses" seems an oxymoron. Unfortunately and with good reason, many people associate growing roses with chemicals, fungicide, powdery mildew, black spot, thrips, and aphids. But times are changing and so are roses. There's a...
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Resources

Renee's Garden
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds

Plant to Attract Ladybugs
Deal With the Deer
Loosen Fibrous Roots
Cut Back Ornamental Grasses and Trim Liriope
Divide Ornamental Grasses

Spring Blooms

Opening the cottage gate, I sniffed the night air, then inhaled deeply. Yes, it was the sweet scent of star magnolia in bloom. When untouched by a late freeze, Magnolia stellata bursts into an early spring flurry of white flowers. I snipped about a...
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Resources

Growing Vegetables
Angela's Garden Gloves

Check Your Tree Branches
Prune Young Early-Flowering Trees
Keep After Invasive Weeds
Clean, Sharpen, Replace Tools
Celebrate Arbor Day

Mid-Atlantic Regional Report

Enjoy Months of Blueberries

Resources

Reminders

Landscaping with Perennials, Grasses, Tropicals

Resources

Reminders

Living Sculpture For the Young and Young at Heart

Resources

Reminders

Mind Your Mantids

Resources

Reminders

Raising Up Vegetables

Resources

Reminders

Who Who Whooo's There?

Resources

Reminders

Early Summer's Sensual Specialties

Resources

Reminders

Gifts of the Garden Isle

Resources

Reminders

Spring's Charms and Chores

Resources

Reminders

Sustainable Roses?

Resources

Reminders

Spring Blooms

Resources

Reminders