Shutterstock.com / By markus spiske
21.07.2023 - 22:31 / awaytogarden.com
I MENTIONED IT IN MY resolutions (the ones I made extra-early, when I started fall cleanup weeks ago): It’s time to rethink some of the ways I mow. For me, part of the revised plans are aesthetic (that’s the evolving view out the upstairs window, above), but wildlife appeal and less work also figure in, since longer “lawn” may flower and set seed and of course requires less frequent attention. Fall is a good time for some tips for the last mowings of the season—and an overall approach to season-long organic lawncare, including some do-it-now reminders about your mower blade, a soil test and more.recap: why i’m leaving one area longer‘MOW MORE CREATIVELY,’ I wrote in my recent resolutions. A dry summer reminded me of this, when rather than risk the steep hilly part above the house burning off, I just let it grow from high summer on. Insects and birds were happy I did–more pollen, more seeds, more habitat–and I enjoyed the change in texture and color, too, as I will all winter. (That’s the area in the top photo, seen through the window screen. You can see the immediate back yard is traditional short lawn grass, and uphill is coarser, including the start of an island of uncut grass below the tall ornamental grasses up the hill, encircling it, and also in the photo below.)
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) was part of the jumble up there when I got here, and I used to let it flourish, mowing just once in late April or early May. Eventually woody things started to take over, so I started mowing it short, like lawn, to eradicate them, until this dry summer. Up popped the bluestem again, and I’m going to mow around the densest stands of this bunchgrass to cultivate it again.
You might add some grasses or flowering
Shutterstock.com / By markus spiske
The harvest video was on Hudson Valley Seed’s Instagram account, and one of that New York-based organic seed company’s co-founders, K Greene, talked with me about growing shallots and their more commonly grown cousin, garlic. He also shared some other ideas for succession sowing of edibles whose planting time still lies ahead—whether for fall harvest or to over-winter and enjoying in the year ahead. Read along as you listen to the Aug. 7, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) o
How to Grow and Care for Braeburn Apple Trees Malus x domestica ‘Braeburn’
Propagating wandering jew plants is very easy and makes a cost-effective way to expand your collection.
Are you confused about How Often to Water Mint? Well, don’t worry! This guide will help you to keep it thriving!
Of all the questions I get asked as a gardening expert, “How often should I water my garden?” easily cracks the top 10. It can be difficult to get watering frequency, watering amounts, and even watering methods just right. But doing so is critical to your success, as they influence everything from the flavor and storage capacity of the food you grow to the size and timing of blooms on perennial plants. There are plenty of tools and techniques to help you get a handle on how often you should water and how you can deliver the right amount of water when and where your plants need it. If you’ve ever wondered ‘How often should I water my garden?’ we’ve got the answers! Keep reading to learn when and how long to water.
While romantics look to mid-February as a time to impress their favorite Valentine with chocolates and flowers, experienced gardeners know now is time to show their plants love through careful pruning! In a recent blog, Kerrie Roach discussed fruit tree pruning. Here, I will concentrate on ornamental landscape plants. While it is time to prune many plants, as usual, there is an exception to the rule. Do not prune plants that flower from late winter to mid-May, such as azalea, forsythia, and weigela, in winter. Gardenias also fall into this category but don’t bloom until June. Pruning now removes flower blooms resulting in a sparse spring floral display. Wait until after these plants complete flowering this spring to prune. For an extensive list of the optimal pruning times for individual plants, visit HGIC 1053 Pruning Shrubs.
For small seedlings that have stems too small to grab with your hand, try using a pair of channel-lock pliers. They are adjustable, so you can grab a long section of stem with the teeth. Use gentle tugs to loosen before pulling out of the soil.
Icon of the southwest, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) is one of the best known species of cacti in the United States.Reaching up to 26 feet in height and 12 feet wide, this slow
I HAVE TO HAND IT to extra-early and extra-late garden performers for knowing to do their thing when it’s really needed—just when the gardener may be giving up hope. Today’s star: Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon,’ just beginning to turn brilliant butterscotch seven months after flowering, then sporting chartreuse foliage since; the butterscotch phase will last till around Christmas, when the leaves will drop).
IHAVE READ (AND WRITTEN) ABOUT HOW YOU CAN “read your lawn weeds,” about how what’s invading your lawn (moss? plantain? dandelions?) reveals issues with the underlying soil, the light conditions, and so on. But now Andre the Doodler brings new meaning to the phrase “read your lawn weeds” with his latest graphic utterance.
He visited my public-radio show and podcast to talk shrubs: what’s new, what’s coming next, and what’s going out of favor and why. There’s a tension between what we gardeners need to make great season-long gardens, and the fact that we mostly shop only in spring—meaning we mostly buy things that look good then.We covered why he’s excited about plants like a beautyberry with flashy foliage, not just fruit (to help satisfy the “looks good in spring” thing); new barberries that don’t seed and become invasive; a dream of better viburnums that resist the leaf beetle; new native Hydrangea arborescens varieties in different colors of flowers (like ‘Incrediball Blush,’ above; an Aronia that covers the ground, and lots more.Read along as you listen to the April 15, 2019 edition of my public-radio