April 2010 « Get in the Garden

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
What to Know About Attracting Native Bees May 8, 2013
I’ve been doing a lot of research about attracting native bees to get ready for my appearance at BeesWeek at the Albuquerque Film and Media Experience week-long festival in New Mexico this June 3 – 9. There’s a lot to learn! So I wanted to gather together some of the best resources to help you […]
Carole Sevilla Brown
American Fringe Tree Chionanthus Virginicus Flowering Tree for Urban Gardens May 7, 2013
American Fringe Tree Chionanthus virginicus has long been a favorite of mine for small space and urban gardens. It is a stunner in bloom – not much compares, and the summer and fall foliage is attractive enough to be worth incorporating it into a formal landscape design. I am happy to have seen this native […]
Karyl Seppala
The Tatting of the Lacewing May 3, 2013
Observation in the garden comes easily to me. I meditate each day as I walk around the property, camera in pocket, noting any subtle nuances from other times that I’ve walked the same path. You’d be surprised that just a hint of a different color on something can attract my attention, no matter how small. […]
Loret T. Setters

Product Review: Allsop Write+Erase Plant Tags

After responding to offer from Allsop Inc. to use and review one of their garden products for free, I chose and received a box of Write + Erase Plant Tags in the mail. Upon opening the mailing envelope I immediately liked the gift box packaging. Not only is it attractive, it’s easily re-used to store [...]

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Did you ever stop to taste a carrot?

Not just eat it, but taste it?

You can’t taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie.

~Astrid Alauda

Pollination. It’s how plants produce fruit. Well, partly. Plant reproduction is a cycle. When a seed is sown it [...]

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Wordless Wednesday:Inspiring

The richness I achieve comes from Nature,

the source of my inspiration.

~Claude monet

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Bad Weather, Good Lesson

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing,

wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating;

there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

~John Ruskin

Finally, things feel as though they are back in order. A week of [...]

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Garden Grounds

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea;

but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.

~Abraham Lincoln

Many gardeners wake to greet each day with a hot cup of coffee. If you are among those numbers, good news! You can enjoy your coffee twice [...]

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Where The Wildlife Goes

“If you talk to the animals
They will talk to you
and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them,
You will not know them,
And what you do not know
You will fear.
What one fears one destroys.”
- Chief Dan George

I am a gardener not a wildlife expert. Yesterday, when our [...]

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Earth Day 2010

I thank you God for this most amazing day,

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees,

and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural,

which is infinite, which is yes.

~e.e. cummings

Earth Day 2010. A day to celebrate our planet and reflect on ways [...]

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Wordless Wednesday:Spring Speaks

The fountain is my speech.

The tulips are my speech.

The grass and trees are my speech.

~George T. Delacorte

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Much Ado About Mulch

No two gardens are the same.

No two days are the same in one garden.

~Hugh Johnson

After a season of building the garden soil and months nurturing tender green seedlings from early indoor-sown seeds, it’s time again to plant in the spring garden. Size and [...]

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Weeds Are Revealing

A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill

except for learning how to grow in rows.

~Doug Larson

Organic gardening is a process of learning to work in cooperation with your soil and plants. In time and with patient observation, we can learn to [...]

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