There has been alot of talk over the past few years about the decline of habitat for the Monarch Butterfly thus resulting in fewer and fewer Monarch butterflies. As a gardener myself, and if you are reading this you probably are also, let’s do our part by creating our own Monarch habitat in our garden spaces.
An amazing plant that performs all summer long, Lobularia ‘Dark Knight’ is a standout new annual for 2015! In several applications such as in garden beds and combination designs, ‘Dark Knight’ added that superb splash of light I was hoping for.
Flowers add beauty to your garden, but why not bring a little more beauty to your garden with the addition of butterfly attracting perennials. Butterflies add a constant motion of color as they flutter around your landscape.
After a long cold winter it is always welcoming to see the first sights of Spring! One of my favorite early spring flowering perennials is the Lenten Rose. Bold, bright blooms that last for weeks giving your garden that touch of life you have been waiting for.
Some of you maybe wondering ‘What are the red berries that I see in the landscapes this winter’? They could be a selection of the Winterberry Holly. Bright red or intense yellow berries create a ‘pop’ of color to the otherwise drab landscape.
This month doesn’t have a lot of inside or outside gardening chores for those of us in zone 5 or 6, and it’s probably a blessing, since the holidays create busy-ness of their own. But there are a few things to keep in mind as you go about your preparations for celebrations.
November isn’t a busy month in the garden, but use the occasional nice days to finish up tasks that you may have put off.
You can still get some of those spring bulbs in the ground before it freezes. Lilies should be in by now, but things like tulips, crocus, and daffodils will be just fine. Many stores have specials on them now, so stock up and get planting! You’ll be glad you made the effort when spring arrives!
Though many of us hate to see it come, winter is on the way, but not before we enjoy the lovely, crisp autumn days of October.
Now is the time to plant those spring-blooming bulbs such as tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths. It’s easy to tuck them into spaces between perennials and at the foot of ornamental trees. The more the merrier – in spring, anyway – when they’re all in bloom!
The garden is taking a definite turn for the season in September. This can be a good thing! It’s the time for fall beauties to shine – things like mums and asters, toad lilies and goldenrod. The black-eyed Susans are in full bloom and many plants that looked tired in the hot days of August perk up in the cooler days of fall.
It’s about this time of the summer when I get tempted to rip everything out of the garden and give up for the year. Usually, we need rain and some of the plants are starting to suffer the effects of that, coupled with the heat. August is a transition from summer into fall, and it takes a bit more work to keep things looking good.
These are the salad days of summer! Guests at your 4th of July picnics and barbecues will enjoy the harvest from your fruit and vegetable gardens and you can use the cut flowers to decorate your tables, inside and out.
May was wonderful, but June is downright delightful. We’re seeing the fruits of our labors this month. Salads fresh from the garden are in order, as lettuce and spinach can be cut. Growth is lush in the flower gardens too, having been given a good start with spring rains. And now comes the warmth that really brings out the best in the perennials and warm season vegetables. Spring chores are behind us, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do.