Well, the new, larger birdbath in my backyard is working. Yesterday evening, I saw two dragonflies! Don’t you find something a little bit magical about them? Dragonflies – Millions of Years Old Dragonflies are an ancient family of insects. They were around 300 million years ago! They were much bigger then, though, with a wingspan … Read more
DIVIDE IRISES EVERY FEW YEARS Here we are in late July. If your irises are like mine, they are beginning to go dormant with the summer heat and have yellow foliage. Now is the time to consider dividing. Iris plants are a popular garden flower, but every few years, they need to be divided and … Read more
It’s Mid-Summer. I just finished feeding my tomatoes, so what should I do with my indoor plants now? Let’s Put “Light” on Summer Plant Care In summer, light changes at a slightly different angle than just a few months ago. That means I need to double-check my light levels. In my house, once the trees … Read more
GARDENING AND YOUR HEALTH It’s mid-July, and it’s hot, humid, and dry. Summer weather can adversely affect gardeners who work outside caring for their plants. To understand how to reduce or minimize heat stress or heat-related illnesses, we must first understand what causes heat stress and when it is most likely to occur. Heat stress … Read more
Most people know what Annuals are—plants that grow from seed to flowers that set seed again but do not survive the winter. Most people know what Perennials are—plants that grow to maturity in one season and die down in the winter but do come back the following spring. There are even Biennials—plants that grow from … Read more
HERE ARE SOME SMART & LOGICAL WATER-SAVING TIPS It is now early to mid-July, and we all know what that means in Virginia regarding the heat and dryness. Here are some smart, logical water-saving tips to practice to keep all our plants happy and thriving: WATER INFREQUENTLY, SLOWLY, DEEPLY, AND THOROUGHLY This will encourage deeper … Read more
Why I Love Herbs I love herbs! I love the fact that deer and rabbits are put off by their strong scents. This means I can tuck a few in my flower or vegetable gardens and let them go to work by emitting their fragrances and deterring some critter damage. So, I use herbs a … Read more
WHAT GARDENERS CAN DO AND SHOULD DO THIS MONTH Here we are in July, the “DOG DAYS OF SUMMER!” You may be asking yourself, why summer is called the dog days of summer? Good question! This year, July 3rd through August 11th are the official dog days of summer. This period of time is in … Read more
We know gardening is creative. We visualize how those purple petunias will look with those yellow marigolds, how that pretty pink beebalm will look with that white Angelonia, or how that huge fluffy Boston fern will look by the front door. But how would you classify your gardening style? Mad Scientist Gardener Some of us, … Read more
WHAT TO DO ABOUT CONTROLLING THE DAMAGE Now that we are in late June, all of us have done a lot of new planting of shrubs, trees, annuals, vegetables, and perennials. In doing all this planting, what we did was to lay out the best smorgasbord of food for various insects. The BIG question is … Read more
