Remember that moment of triumph when your seedlings’ first little leaves popped up? Good times. Then, a few days later, you wander past your seed tray and hear, “Where’s the sun, buddy?” Don’t worry, you aren’t hearing tiny voices. That’s just your guilty conscience! This is called etiolation. The good news? In most cases, it’s…
If you’re new to daylily gardening or simply want better results, February is the quiet advantage no one warns you about, but let me tell you this: strong blooms don’t happen by accident. They start with cold fingers, and great gardens happen because of February sweat. Just imagine the look on your neighbor’s face when…
Your fruit trees are your friends who need a pro stylist but insist they can do it themselves. Of course, they can’t. By late February, their branches look like a jumbled collection of poor decisions and vertical ambition. You need to intervene. Or not, if you own a jetpack and prefer compote that tastes like…
Look closely at the detritus currently occupying your yard: tangled, brown, leggy. Left to their own devices, certain tenants of your garden believe they are popular enough to drag that look into summer. The audacity of nature. Besides, they’re wrong. They require a rigorous lesson in sophistication before springtime. Time to sharpen your pedagogical approach….
Ancient civilizations probably didn’t obsess over hosta crowns, and thankfully, we don’t have to either. What matters is knowing how winter conditions affect your plants and what simple February tasks help hostas emerge strong in spring. I’ve learned through years of growing hostas in cold, wet winters that a few simple February checks make the…
February knocks, you do not open the shed doors. Ignore the siren song of the garden tools. Drop the clippers, don the slippers! Although the stalks of your loving perennials may look tattered, crunchy brown layers blanket the roots and protect the next generation of blossoms. Relax, the garden’s fine. These are the plants I…