For a while there in late spring, my backyard mini-meadow looked like it was hitting the reputed third-year charm.    About half of this six-by-20-foot experimental plot on my sunny back bank was in color for about three weeks in late May to mid-June.    It was splendid and by far the best performance […] The post The Mini-Meadow Flourishes… Then Flops first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   I’ve been eating dozens of bioengineered purple-fleshed fruits of the new Purple Tomato for two months now, and so far I can report that I’m not taking on any snapdragon characteristics.    I say that facetiously because this first-year variety is controversial for being the first bioengineered or “GMO” (genetically modified organism) vegetable being […] The post So How Do Those Controversial New Purple Tomatoes Grow and Taste? first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   Whether you’re trying to start new grass or whip a sad lawn back into some semblance of decency, the weeks between Labor Day and early October are the year’s best.    The warm soil, cooling temperatures, and more frequent rain add up to ideal grass-seed sprouting (usually).    It’s also the perfect time to […] The post Prime Time for All Things Lawn first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   The upstate New York seed company, Fruition Seeds, is taking a rather radical step for any business.    As of today, the producer of organic, Northeast-adapted vegetable, herb, and flower seed is shutting down its online seed sales and moving to what co-owner Petra Page-Mann terms a “gift culture.”    From now on, Fruition […] The post Fruition Seeds Stops Selling, Plans to Give Away Its Seed Instead first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   Earthworms have long been a gardener’s friend – aerating the soil with their tunneling, decomposing organic matter, and leaving behind nutritious “castings” in the process.    But there’s a new worm in town, and this one is as destructive to the soil as good ol’ earthworms are helpful.    The newcomer is commonly known […] The post Watch for Jumping Worms first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   American gardeners love their azaleas, lilacs, and hydrangeas for the spectacular spring floral shows these classic shrubs put out.    But after a year in the making, the show is over in two or three weeks. Wouldn’t it be nice if these plants could bloom longer… or better yet, bloom again in the same […] The post Why One Bloom Time Is No Longer Enough first appeared on Garden Housecalls ..read more

   It might be hot and dry, but we’re now nestled in that easy-going time frame of the gardening year that I like to call “putter time.”    It’s a period of relative calm wedged between the two seasons of soil-jockey fury – spring (when it seems like everything needs to be done all at once), and fall (when picking up after this season and setting the stage for next join forces).    I like putter time because there’s no pressure to work through a lengthy to-do list before bad weather hits, ideal timing runs out, or the whole thing threatens to cross the line from ..read more

   Way back when I was a Cub Scout leader, we started the year by having the boys discuss what the pack’s rules should be. These inkberry hollies aren’t doing a very good job of surviving in this challenging commercial seting.    The 8-year-olds’ first suggestion was, “No killing.”    I wouldn’t have thought of that, but it was definitely a good place to start.    That also happens to be a good place to start with your planting/replanting plans.    Unfortunately, we kill way too many plants.    A lot of it can be traced to a few key ..read more

   June is one of the busiest months of the year for pruning. Pruning to many people means shearing the shrubs into “green meatballs.”    It’s prime time to size-control the evergreens, trim the hedges, and thin out and cut back the flowering shrubs that bloomed earlier in spring, such as azaleas, lilacs, weigelas, and deutzias.    For most people, pruning means getting out the power shears (or chainsaw) and “whacking back the bushes” into balls and boxes.    While the resulting “green meatballs” might be quick to do and the norm in American landscapin ..read more

   If you’re like most gardeners, you’ll probably gravitate to the petunias, marigolds, zinnias, and begonias in the next few weeks because, well, that’s just what you plant every May. Mecardonia Garden Freckles in bloom.    Most of these old-favorite annual flowers still do a reliable job in filling the beds with summer-long color. But if you’re willing to try something different – or just plain tired of planting the same-old same-old every year – garden centers and greenhouses are offering way more choices than ever.    Plant breeders have made big strides lat ..read more