How to Grow and Care for Weigela Shrubs

Happy Monday GPODers!

Whether you call them woodchucks, whistle pigs, ground pigs, or groundhogs, these large ground squirrels can be a real nuisance in your yard and garden. “Groundhogs eat whatever is available and most nutritious,” says Sheldon Owen, PhD, wildlife extension specialist at West Virginia University. “They consume large quantities of herbaceous vegetation, especially fruits and vegetables. But they’ll also eat clover, bark, and landscape plants.”

Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), where he promotes gardening for the greater good. PHS supports healthier neighborhoods through horticulture by cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting and maintaining street trees, partnering with community gardeners to share resources and conserve productive open space, and demonstrating ecologically sound gardening practices in public gardens throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Andrew’s extensive public gardening career includes time spent at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer, and 27 years at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. His Fine Gardening articles have covered topics like autumn-flowering trees, shrubs for shade, and selecting trees for structure. In this episode, he discusses the evolution of his home garden, the lessons learned from the many gardens his hands have touched, and the potential for making our shared landscapes more sustainable and inclusive.

How to Establish a Monarch Waystation in Your Garden Help monarch butterflies by providing essential nectar and host plants in your own Monarch Waystation. The amazing monarch butterfly journey

How to Make a Marigold Garland Make any celebration special with a string of colorful marigold blooms. Follow these simple steps to make a beautiful marigold garland! How to make a marigold garland

Spinach is a cool weather favorite, with leaves that sprout up and grow rapidly in both spring and fall. It has a relatively short growing season, but its yield is impressive—if it has the right companion plants by its side to help it thrive.

The weather has turned dry over much of the state. Muscadines are coming to harvest as planting begins for some fall crops. Strawberry growers are still scrambling to make arrangements for the rapidly approaching planting season. See details below.

The arrival of autumn is the perfect time to get plants in the ground. Early-season rainstorms and cooling temperatures can help plants establish roots, meaning your outdoor fall to-do list isn't limited to just raking leaves.

Have you thought about how your garden micro-climate affects how well your plants grow?

How Can I Get a Stump to Rot Quickly? If you've got a stump to remove in a hard-to-reach spot, we have tips to help it decompose quickly. How to rot a stump quickly

A Goldfinch perching on teasel

Strawberry growers are scrambling to find disease-free plants. Late-season disease and insect pressure is picking up, and muscadines and other fall crops are nearing harvest. See details below.