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  • Celebrity wildlife gardening, part II May 23, 2013
    Yesterday I began telling the story of how I came to be the garden designer for a celebrity’s wildlife garden. I was as surprised as anyone in the summer of 2012 when my phone rang and on the other end was an internationally known actress and activist who had heard of my ecological garden design […]
    Jesse Elwert
  • Raccoons In The Wildlife Garden May 22, 2013
    I’ve been observing a special visitor to my wildlife garden lately, one that my two Plott Hounds get especially excited about–the raccoons that have taken up residence in the abandoned house next to my property. My Plott hounds are quite adept at helping me spot birds in the wildlife garden, but these raccoons are just […]
    Carole Sevilla Brown
  • Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly May 20, 2013
    Butterfly season is finally here in my beautiful wildlife garden !  This week my brother and I finished releasing our winter batch of butterflies that have been hibernating inside their chrysalises since last fall.  All of them were swallowtail species – Zebra, Eastern Black, Spicebush, Pipevine and Eastern Tiger.  They have been emerging almost daily […]
    Judy Burris
  • Being Green in the Wildlife Garden May 17, 2013
    As I do every morning, I was walking around the property enjoying nature at its best.  I took my normal route past the Rusty Lyonia, Pawpaws and Dwarf Oaks, among others and headed down the bank of the pond into the section that dries up during Florida dry season.  I checked two small temporary pools […]
    Loret T. Setters
  • Silver Dune Lupines of California’s Central Coast May 16, 2013
    An Amtrak train announces its arrival at Grand Avenue Station.  The familiar whistle tells us it is 7:10 am.  At the same time, I can hear the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing in. I take a walk on the Boardwalk.. it is early… fog is drifting in from the Ocean in large sweeps.  Silver […]
    Kathy Vilim
  • Progress in My Wildlife Garden May 15, 2013
    You may remember that at the end of last summer I worked with my nephew Lucas to rip out my entire wildlife garden because too many invasive plants had taken over. I had to make some choices about what plants could stay, and which ones had to go. In some cases, the invasive plants were […]
    Carole Sevilla Brown
  • Weird Weather and Winter Weeds May 13, 2013
    “I plowed the peas under,” said one of my farmer friends glumly at the market. “They weren’t doing anything but turning yellow.” The farmers in stalls on either side nodded. One does rabbits commercially, and has a garden rather than a farm, but she added “Lost all the broccoli too.” More nods all around. Unfortunate […]
    Ursula Vernon
  • Pondering New Residents in the Garden May 10, 2013
    Just when I think my home wildlife experiences can’t get any better, THEY DO!!!! What a week it was with the pond.  Four new entries on my wildlife life list.  Okay, aside from my Audubon checklist booklet, I don’t have a formal list that I write on. I pretty much keep track via my blog […]
    Loret T. Setters
  • Tried and True Native Perennials for Sun – SE Edition May 9, 2013
    The southeastern region of the US is blessed with some exceptional growing conditions, and the native plants that have always made it their home are rich in diversity. With a region that encompasses mountain tops and coastal plains, a variety of plants exists to satisfy every condition you could have in a garden. Yet we […]
    Ellen Honeycutt

#GardenChat

Vegetable gardening: 101

I walked in the season’s first snowflakes today. Their visit was fleeting, just a hint of what’s to come by week’s end. I wish they’d stayed, the day was otherwise quite gloomy. That aside, it was a chance for one last visit to the garden for kale and the rest of the parsley. The blonde [...]

Weekend Update

Another busy weekend in the indoor garden. A Saturday check of the plants revealed herb roots peeking out of the sage and basil pots, lavender sprouting (The envelope said 21 days for germination, it’s been one week.), and FRAGRANCE! The scent of Thai basil was lingering in the air as I entered and, for a [...]

Firsts

‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Annie Dillard

Happy day-after-Thanksgiving!  Black Friday shopping lust is in full swing for many…all the more reason to stay home, sip tea and spend time in the indoor garden. It was a day of “firsts” for the garden today. I [...]

What's Growing On?

"Silver Fir Tree" tomatoes re-potted up to their bottom leaves.

The new pots are three times larger.

Healthy okra roots have outgrown their pots,too.

Dark green Tatsoi and Kailaan.

Unfurling radicchio leaves.

Stevia seedlings and heirloom Italian red onions.

The first true leaf of heirloom White Egg Eggplant.

Wong Bok repotted from [...]

Seeds for Thought

“Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”

E.B. White

With 2010 seed selections becoming available it’s not too soon to begin planning the summer garden. If you’re considering planting a garden for the first time (or know someone who is and need gift ideas), this list of  easy-to grow vegetables will [...]

Thankful

“Train up a child the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

I had the pleasure of potting up pepper plants on Saturday with our 12 yr. old son. I have to confess it was great fun just observing him as [...]

Get Your Fill(ing)

This year was difficult for growing in New England. Late tomato blight appeared very early in the season and wiped out tomato crops along the Eastern United States. Daily, heavy rains followed in August that left many fields underwater and crops succumbing to various viruses and fungi. Pumpkins were among the late crops affected. Less [...]

How's It Growin'?

A lot has changed in the indoor garden this past week. I see something new everyday.

The stevia cuttings have small roots now.

The radicchio has red-tinged leaves.

The onion seedlings are ready to transplant.

The okra is developing a second set of leaves, the peppers their first.

Sage seedlings show their characteristic [...]

My Garden favorites: Perennials and Bulbs

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

~Claude Monet

Choosing “favorites” is next to impossible when it comes to a cottage garden. Each plant, leaf, bloom plays a pivotal role in the gardener’s expression.  Independently each is lovely, but united in profusion they are breathtaking! That being noted, my “favorites” are [...]

My Garden Favorites: Heirloom Vegetables

How timely that the first of the 2010 garden catalogs appeared in the mailbox today. I’ve been busy choosing my favorite heirloom vegetable performers of the year and making final selections of varieties to grow next season. I hope to include a few heirloom flowers and ornamentals as well.

With July’s non-stop rain and August’s cooler [...]