On special this week in our perennial department is the entire selection of Dianthus. Garden dianthus are commonly called pinks, because the edges of the petals are often notched as if cut with a pinking shears. We also have some…
I am fortunate to have some woodland around my neighborhood, and though there are a fair number of invasive plants taking over, there are still some lovely wildflowers to be found. I have walked these paths several times before, so I have learned where to find some of the good stuff.
Flowering Cherry Trees have gorgeous spring flowers… they are one of the first trees to bloom and people come from all over the country to see the cherries in bloom in Washington. Plant one yourself for your own Cherry Blossom…
Early April is still chilly (off and on, this weekend is going to be a warm one) and it still makes sense to be planting cool season vegetables and flowers. That includes broccoli, lettuce, and pansies.
If you can sit still on our first warm Saturday, and you are a hard-core plant collector who dreams about new and unusual plants, consider attending the lecture at Behnke’s at Beltsville presented by by Oregon nurseryman Sean Hogan at 10AM, sponsored by the Four Seasons Garden Club.
For vegetable gardeners, one way to make vegetable gardening cheaper is to start your own plants from seed, rather than buying pre-started plants. Depending on the plant, some seeds may be planted directly in the garden, while others are best started ahead of time in pots.
March is the month when we go from a few thousand woody plants (shrubs, trees) on hand to tens of thousands. The first trucks of new woodies are due this week, and after that it’s more or less daily shipments for the next three or four weeks. Perennials—remember, the plants that more or less die back to the ground and come back the next year if everything goes right, lag a bit behind woody plants.
Branches may have torn completely off of the plant, or may be broken but still attached. Any obviously broken branches that are still attached should be removed from the plant. They should be cut back to undamaged wood on the larger branch to which they are attached, or back to the trunk.
In spring, during the nesting season, birds feed heavily on insects. But during winter, whatever insects are around are dormant and only certain birds hunt for them. Woodpeckers and nuthatches clamber around on the trunks of trees, looking for insects (or their eggs) hiding under the bark, while wrens hunt through the logs in the woodpile.
For answers to your gardening questions, try HGIC, more properly known as the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center. The Cooperative Extension Service was born from the land grant college system, as a way for universities to…
Let’s say you just received a poinsettia as a gift, or bought a couple for decoration around the house, and you don’t know much about them. How should you take care of it. Or them.
What are the keys to a long-lasting Christmas tree this season if you are planning on enjoying a cut tree instead of an artificial tree? Well, think of a Christmas tree as sort of a large cut flower. Different types…