Garden fairies here. We are garden fairies, and we are reporting in that we have completed the removal of nearly all the leaves from all the trees. Except for the oak trees. We'll be working on them all winter, removing a few leaves at a time. We are garden fairies. That is our custom. We have to say "nearly all" in regards to the other leaves because Seedy and Soddy have reported that a few leaves on the crabapple tree have refused to come off. They have tried to coax them off, … [Read more...] about Garden Fairies Report on Leaf Removal
Ready for Winter? What to do in the garden
Ready for winter? In your garden? I think I am, and even if I wasn't we got a good amount of rain overnight so it's too wet to do much in the garden today. It's an inside day. But if it was an outside day, I'd be... what would I be doing in my garden? Not much, I suppose. The leaves that fell on the garden beds aren't too deep. They can stay to rot and become humus eventually. I mowed the lawn a bit shorter a few days ago so it's also looking ready for winter now. What … [Read more...] about Ready for Winter? What to do in the garden
From the North Pole!
I shall presume you have some knowledge of The Halloween Hare, how he tells secrets about gardeners to the Christmas Cottontail so when the Christmas Cottontail visits with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, he knows whether to plant seeds and bulbs for spring flowers in your garden or sit outside while Santa distributes a few gifts inside. If not, well, of course, it isn't too late to start learning so your spring isn't ruined. That's right your spring. The Christmas Cottontail would never … [Read more...] about From the North Pole!
An Easy and Dramatic Houseplant
One of the easiest and most dramatic houseplants to grow and keep alive is the Bird of Paradise plant, Strelitzia sp. It's also easy for people to recognize, especially when it's in flower, like the one pictured is. Yes, that picture was taken outside, thanks for noticing that. I took it back in 2008 and I'm guessing it was at the local zoo, but I can't swear to that. Oh wait, yes, I can swear to that because I included it in a post I wrote back in 2008 titled When a Gardener Goes to … [Read more...] about An Easy and Dramatic Houseplant
Christmas Roses and Lenten Roses
If you have a hellebore blooming now, or sometime over the winter, chances are it is Helleborus niger, commonly called the Christmas Rose because it usually blooms in the wintertime. Though honestly, I don't think you'll find a Christmas Rose that is the straight species. Most on the market today are hybrids of some kind and have white or soft pink flowers. My Christmas Rose started blooming a few weeks ago, and due to the sturdy nature of the blooms, those flowers will hang around all … [Read more...] about Christmas Roses and Lenten Roses
A Pansy to Greet Me
As the weather cools down, the pansies perk up. And that's when I always think about how I should have planted more of them when I had the chance to buy them a few months ago. But I never plant as many pansies and violas in the fall as I do in the spring. The main reason is that when they are for sale early in the fall, it's usually still fairly warm. And pansies and violas don't like "fairly warm." They much prefer "fairly cool." But by the time we get to "fairly cool" … [Read more...] about A Pansy to Greet Me
