Marie's Gardening Blog May 2008 Archive

Summer is heating up and with heat comes humidity. If you think you can’t stand high humidity, think of how your plants feel. They can’t grab a lemonade ... Read More

Who can resist smelling a peony blossom? For all their charms, peonies are remarkably easy to grow. They don't like to be disturbed by division and will keep ... Read More

Bill posted this question in the About Gardening Forum: "...my sister recently gave me a few tomato plants. The plants she has at her home always seem ... Read More

Yes, I confess, I hate to mulch. My thought has always been, if you need a lot of mulch, you don’t have enough plants. Of course I know ... Read More

There are some flavors that just scream summer and fresh basil is one of them. But to have fresh basil this summer, you have to plant it now! ... Read More

It's Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer in the U.S., and that means it's time to move outside. A cool drink, a slight breeze and a comfortable place ... Read More

I've gone a bit overboard this year with my containers, but nothing like Elke did. She and her husband took an old junkyard boat and first made it a ... Read More

Most of our vegetables gardens have started producing at least some early crops, but many of us are still awaiting that vegetable gardening prize - the first ripe tomato. ... Read More

Leslie emailed me: “Something is leaving tan, wiggly paths on tomato & bell pepper leaves. Any ideas? If your plant leaves look like someone was doodling squiggly lines, you have leaf ... Read More

Your plants may look good enough to eat, but choose your snacks with caution. Some plants, like poison ivy and poison hemlock, come with warnings. These 5 plants ... Read More

I posted this strawberry pot step-by-step last July and received a lot of nice letters, so I’m hoping I’ll be seeing strawberry pots in many of the gardens I visit ... Read More

It's always a treat to see a hummingbird make its way through your garden. You can't help but stop what you're doing to watch their constant darting motion. ... Read More

Hopefully your garden is beginning to reward you with enough beautiful blooms to cut a few and bring them indoors. About.com's Anne-Marie Barton has an excellent short video demonstrating ... Read More

Usually I find tropical plants a bit out of place in anything less than a Zone 9 garden, but cannas seem to blend in better than most of the drama ... Read More

I got this question while I was shopping for fertilizer the other day. Someone had read that she needed dormant oil for her apple tree and she wanted to ... Read More

White is actually a pretty tricky color to design with, in the garden. White washes out in bright sun, but positively glows in partial shade. The garden ... Read More

Darlene Fry sent in this very appropriate photo, in response to my asking what items you recycle in your garden. I don’t think Darlene had compost tea in mind, ... Read More

I always wish I had a brick or gray house whenever I start to pick out plants for my front yard. Landscaping plants should enhance the house and my ... Read More

Container gardening offers limitless possibilities and several advantages over conventional gardening. In container gardens you can control the soil quality, follow the sun, raise your garden to a good ... Read More

Hostas are shade plants, right? Well, yes and no. We think of hostas as shade perennials, but there are some hostas that need a dose of sunshine to ... Read More

Phormium is a spiky, spectacular, sword-leafed evergreen perennial that makes a striking garden focal point or specimen plant. Some are small enough to use in containers, others can reach ... Read More

Here’s another question I’ve gotten from more than one reader: can you use vinegar as a herbicide? The short answer is - yes. There are some ifs, ands ... Read More

Diseased trees are real heart breakers. By the time you notice symptoms, it’s probably too late to treat the tree. Insects infesting trees are a little easier to ... Read More

Repotting plants is not hard to do, but it can be a little scary to uproot and move a plant that seems fine where it is. Still, every plant ... Read More

While we have our pruners out this spring, it's a good time to take a look at those shrubs we planted to give ourselves some privacy. Personally, I like ... Read More

We haven’t posted any reader’s photos recently and I think it’s about time we started bragging again, don’t you? How about sending in photos of some of the ... Read More

There are few tools we rely on more than our hand pruners, but most of us don't really take very good care of them. Keeping your hand pruners clean ... Read More

Yes, onions. Where would we be without onions to cook with? There’s no substitution. And still onions get very little respect. Probably because they go about ... Read More

May is probably the most hectic month in the garden. Despite all the good intentions, there are now gardening tasks demanding to be done. And if April showers ... Read More