How and When to Fertilize Blueberry Bushes

Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.

Oak trees conjure up images of Robin Hood and mystical Oak forests. Britain has made good use of Oak trees down the centuries. ‘From little acorns great Oak trees grow’

Hay fever and Asthma attacks can be brought on by Scented Plants as well as pollen or Fungal Spores. Histamin problems can also be exacerbated by scent and smells in the garden.

For something a bit different this book on botanic art covers some of the unusual colours from black flowers, plants and seaweed like strange green, blue and puce pink.

One thing is sure the climate in your garden will change. You already know one week will be different to the next and I can’t remember when two months or any years were the identical to others. In many areas you can get 3 or 4 seasons in one day (or in Scotland one hour!).

Snowdrops are officially called Galanthus. This snowdrop is Galanthus elwessii with larger than normal blooms and a honey scent the other main species are Nivalis and Plicatus. The snowdrop is very hardy, grows in most soils and prefers partial shade.

When it comes totrailing houseplants, people always go for the most usual ones like pothos and philodendrons, not realizing that they are missing out on some species that are not really popular. Here’s one such list of 8 Cool Indoor Vines People Usually Don’t Grow, but you can try if you’re looking for alternatives.

Lee’s tips for growing pawpaw or American persimmon couldn’t make it sound more appealing, or simple:“Plant it, water it, and keep weeds and deer away for a couple of years, and then do nothing,” he says. No fancy pruning (like those apples crave), no particular pests–and a big, juicy harvest. More details on how to choose which variety to grow are included in the highlights from the April 29, 2013 edition of my public-radio show and podcast, transcribed below. To hear the entire interview, use the streaming player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).growing ame

BROWN PATCHES of lawn and garden widen daily, and the “grass” is now a minefield of yellow-jacket nests. Ouch! But the hummingbirds dance around me while I weed, and the tadpoles have suddenly hatched into dozens of tiny frogs (boing, boing, boing!) and an older frog poses on a begonia leaf…and I’m grateful to be here, anyhow, if a little tired and crispy.My Gratitude List, in PodcastLISTEN TO my Dog Days Gratitude List on the latest podcast I do each week with Robin Hood Radio, WHDD in Sharon, Connecticut, the smallest NPR station in the nation.

EXPLODING Eremurus, why vulnerability is good for us, and the answer to why bird poop is white—all, and more, in the latest collections of links I’ve loved lately while staring into my computer screen (which I alternately do between long gazes out the window). Five links worth exploring:

SO WHAT IF IT’S A COUPLE OF MONTHS OLD–positively ancient in internet times. Watching this short film of a murmuration, or gathering, of starlings lent perspective and poetry to the start of a new day.

‘HALLELUJAH, the garden saved me,” I said, and also, “What’s not to love about a frog?” Those Margaret-isms are among the snippets from my recent appearance on “The Leonard Lopate Show” on WNYC, the New York NPR affiliate I have listened to daily my entire adult life, and a fun Q&A interview in the latest issue of “Folk” magazine. Listen to the Lopate segment, and read the “Folk” piece by Andrew Ritchie (pdf format, page 18 onward).