What to Do in March? LOTS
Gardeners are starting to get busy, and if you’re not sure what to do this month, just check out our To Do List for March, combining the wisdom of experts on staff at Behnkes and at the University of Maryland…
Rainscape Training to be given March 9 and 10 (2012)
Montgomery County helps its property owners become more Bay-friendly in lots of ways – including educating its residents and providing MONEY for needed improvements. And coming up soon is some excellent training in what they’re calling “rainscapes,” to be held…
Mistakes Gardeners Make
Having moved just last month, I’m thinking a lot about my new garden and I’m determined NOT to repeat these mistakes that I made in my last garden. 1. Neglecting to take “before” photos is something I’ve regretted a gazillion…
Notes from a Winter Pruning Workshop
I traveled to Arlington, VA last weekend for the winter pruning instruction given by Kirsten Conrad Buhls, Extension Agent, and her well-trained Tree Stewards. It was kinda cold for note-taking, but thankfully there were hand-outs. Pruning Tips…
November To-Do in the Garden is Ready
Find all the November To-Do Tips from experts at Behnkes and the University of Maryland. Your garden advice can’t get any more local than that.
What to do in the Garden in October
October’s THE best month for feeding your lawn, planting your spring-blooming bulbs. It’s also ONE of the best months for planting shrubs, trees, perennials – well, the list goes on coz it’s a busy month for gardeners in our region. …
Fall is the Time to Plant. Seriously.
You may see the slogan “Fall is for Planting” on banners in garden centers or in advertising this time of the year. It dates back to a nursery industry marketing campaign started in the early 1980’s. What we garden folks…
All about Gardening in Containers
To be honest, container gardens are more work than in-ground gardens, the exception being potted succulents, like my sedum collection that happily bakes in the sun with no supplemental watering. But sometimes we grow plants despite the trouble they cause…
Climate Change in the Garden
There’s been lots of news lately about the effects of climate change on our gardens and oddly, it’s usually presented as good news to gardeners. They’re shown rejoicing over the warm-climate plants they can now grow, like crape myrtles in…
Composting Basics
Organic gardening experts are constantly telling us to improve our soils with organic matter, but what kind? Fully decayed organic matter — compost — is, in the words of one* of my favorite gardening books, “the creme de la creme,…
Introduction to “Pests” and their Prevention and Treatment
One of the hottest, most emotionally charged topics in the gardening world is the use of pesticides, the umbrella term for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and the like (“cide” meaning “killing”). Washington Post writer Joel Lerner recently noted that there are…
How to Mulch around Trees – and Why
Why you might mulch around trees Existing trees don’t really need mulch, but there are three good reasons to mulch one anyway: Aesthetics – it serves as sort of a frame around the base of the tree. It’s tidy. Weed…