Garden Science
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annuals, Extending the Growing Season, Flower Seeds, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Late Autumn Garden, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Garden Maintenance, Perennials for summer, Perennials for Winter Interest, Plant Science, Pollinating Insects, Seeds, Wildlife, Winter Garden
Reining in the Tumbling Floral Chaos: Mid-Summer Garden Maintenance …
Summer’s Wild, Tumbling Jumble (Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’, Hydrangea quercifolia, Amsonia hubrichtii, Adenophora confusa, Rudbeckia hirta, Sedum, Hosta and Adiantum pedatum) While out enjoying a morning stroll around the garden, taking in a blissfully cool and misty start to my day, a few flower stalks and juniper branches caught my attention by snapping at my ankles […]
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Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Garden Seminars, garden tools, pruning, shrubs, The Seasons, Tree Care, Trees, Woody Plants
Spring Clean-Up, Part One: Pruning Winter-Damaged Branches Continues With a Tutorial on Cutting to Alternate & Opposite Buds…
Spring Clean Up Begins in My Garden with the Removal of Winter-Damaged Branches and Limbs on Woody Plants I’ve been tending other people’s gardens for more than a decade, and although I am officially eliminating maintenance from my professional services this year —making more time for design work, teaching and writing— that doesn’t mean I […]
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Cold Frame Construction, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Cooking, Early Spring Garden Plants, Extending the Growing Season, Ferncliff, Garden Science, Garden Structures, Green House Gardens, Green Living, Late Autumn Garden, New England, Planting Techniques, Root Cellar Storage, Storing Winter Vegetables, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Vermont, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
The Early Bird Catches the Arugula… And the Chard, Spinach & Lettuce too!
Arugula in the Hoophouse, January Let’s start out with a bit of honesty, shall we? The four season harvest isn’t for wimps. Winter gardening  —growing plants in temperatures below freezing to sub-zero, beneath plastic sheeting— isn’t a natural act. And although I enjoy a good game of woman vs. wild, sometimes winter gets to be […]
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Cippolini Onions, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Early Spring Garden Plants, Garden projects for kids, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Planting Techniques, Seed Kits, seed starting, Seed- Saving, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden
Here Comes the Sun, Doo’n Doo Doo: Gettin’ Started with Seed Starting…
On your mark, get set… Twenty degrees fahrenheit. Ow… That’s nippy! Yes, the outside temperature still says ‘winter’ loud-and-clear, but the good new is that the days are getting longer, and the sunlight is getting stronger. That means it’s just about time to get a jump on the growing season by starting seed indoors. At […]
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Children and Gardening, Container Gardening, Garden Rooms, Garden Science, Gifts for Gardeners, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Pets and Gardens, Poisonous Plants, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Winter
Dangerous Beauty: Poisonous Plant Information for Homes with Small Children & Pets…
Outside, Looking In: Dreamy —But Poisonous— Kalanchoe mangini Sits High Up in a Bedroom Window Like many cold-climate gardeners, now that the growing year has ended —and my outdoor garden pursuits are limited to vegetables in raised beds beneath hoop-houses— I find myself catering to a large Indoor Eden of overwintering plants. Throughout the cold […]
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Autumn, Celebrations, Corn Mazes, Farm Events, Garden Science, Halloween, Mazes and Labyrinths, New England, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Vermont
“He Who Walks Behind the Rows”… Lost in a Labyrinth of Stalks & Tassels: Exploring the Art of the Corn Maze
“He Who Walks Behind the Rows”… Clouds gather, dark and low on the horizon. The daylight is fading. You’ve been driving through miles of cornfields and back country roads. Suddenly, something  —a child?— darts across the cracked pavement and into the corn rows. Immediately, you pull over and step from the warmth of your car. […]
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annuals, Building, Cold Frame Construction, Extending the Growing Season, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Green House Gardens, Herb Gardening, The Seasons, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden, Winter Solstice
Shelter Me: Keeping the Kitchen Garden Warm and Productive as Temps Drop…
Basil and Calendula cozy up beneath a misty dome in my garden… The first frost of autumn sparkled on my lawn when I awoke Saturday morning. And although it wasn’t a true ‘killing-frost’ —the morning glories slipped right through Jack’s chilly hands— a few things were nipped here and there in my potager. Most of […]
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companion planting, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Weeds and Weeding
I Know They Are In There Somewhere! Companion Planting in the Vegetable Garden: Guest Post by John Miller of The Old School House Plantery…
Radishes and Carrots Together Again at the Market, (photo © Michaela TGE) “They”, in this instance, being carrots and parsnips. In my previous post I mentioned how farmers use plug sown onion transplants to overcome the problems associated with the slow germination time of onions. Onions are not the only vegetables that exhibit long germination […]
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Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Garden Seminars, garden tools, Great Growers and Nurseries, Perennial Garden Maintenance, Planting Techniques, pruning
Waking Up the Garden in Spring …. Free Seminar at Walker Farm in Dummerston, Vermont – Tomorrow…
Early risers: Glory of the snow blooming this month in my garden… Will you be in the Southern Vermont area this weekend? If so, please join me this Saturday morning at 9:30 for the first in a series of free gardening seminars at Walker Farm in Dummerston, Vermont. “Waking Up the Garden in Spring” covers […]
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Garden Science, Garlic, Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Is It Time Yet? Getting a Jump-Start on the Vegetable Growing Season………. {Plus a Special Anniversary Give-Away}
Herbs and vegetables acclimating to conditions in the great outdoors before planting. A process known as “hardening off”… Well here we are in early April, and it’s finally almost-but not-quite-growing-season. What, you say, is she talking about? Why, haven’t you heard of almost-but-not-quite-growing-season? You see, this is the time of year when people start to […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Birds, Blueberries - growing tips, Cooking, flowering shrubs, Fruit for home gardens, Garden Design, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Ground Covers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, pruning, Recipes, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, Vaccinium, Vegetable Gardening, Woody Plants
A Rhapsody in Blue: Selecting and Planting Vaccinium corymbosum, (Highbush Blueberry), Plus a Favorite Recipe for Blueberry-Lemon Bread…
A Rhapsody in Blue What would you say if I told you that I know of an amazing cold-hardy shrub, with creamy, bell-like spring flowers, glossy green leaves, brilliant fall foliage, colorful winter stems and an attractive, well-rounded form? Interested yet? It may come as a surprise that the shrub I am describing is none […]
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Aletha Soule, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Children - gardening with, Cutting Garden, flowering shrubs, Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Forced Flowers, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden projects for kids, Garden Science, Home, Indoor Table Arrangements, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Nature, North American Trees, Plant hunting, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs/Trees for Forced Flowers, The Seasons, Winter Garden, Woody Plants
Welcome, Soft Harbinger of Spring: Oh Come to Me, My Sweet Willow…
Salix discolor: North American native pussy willow © 2010 Michaela at TGE Salix discolor, North American native pussy willow – Pitcher by Aletha Soulé. Photo © Michaela TGE Welcome! Oh welcome sweet, silver-tipped harbinger of springtime. Is there anything that makes a heart race faster than the sight of the first pussy willow catkins in […]
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annuals, Books, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Seed Kits, Seeds, Winter Garden
Think Spring: It’s Time to Start Sowing Early Kitchen Garden Seeds …
The kitchen garden at Ferncliff, late May 2009 … It’s always exciting when the first boxes of vegetable, herb and flower seed begin to arrive in the mail. I know, I know. I am a bit like a little kid – but I have to check the mail every day to see if there is […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Books, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening
A New Year’s Resolution for Gardeners: Making Informed Choices About Gardening Practices and Products to Support a Healthy, Natural Environment…
We  ♥ Mother Earth The new year often brings about a desire for change and personal reckoning. We make promises, resolutions and plans to better ourselves and the world around us. Over the past couple of years, many people have committed to building environmentally conscious, self-sufficient lives. As a result, gardening, particularly vegetable gardening, has […]
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Apples, Garden Design, Garden Science, Gardening Inspiration, Orchards / Orchard Keeping, soil science, Trees
In a Golden Orchard, Dreaming …
A 100-hundred-year-old orchard in Vermont, with restoration pruning The un-restored lower section of the same orchard … Lovely place for an afternoon stroll, isn’t it? Yesterday I found myself with an extra hour of time around sunset, and I decided to go for a walk in this old apple grove surrounded by golden fields near […]
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annuals, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Rich, Beautiful, Dreamy Dirt…
A nice delicious bowl of…. dirt? Has someone been making mud-pies? Sometimes I think I got into gardening because I never grew up. Yes, I know, that is a silly photo. But I couldn’t help myself. All the cooking blogs and magazines showcase gorgeous, slightly-off center bowls filled with the most mouthwatering food. So I […]
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annuals, Cold Frame Construction, Garden Design, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Gardening Beyond the Harvest Moon: Extending the Growing Season with Hoop-House Cold Frames…
September’s Harvest Moon It may seem a little premature to be writing about cold frames and frost on a beautiful late summer day, (sunny with daytime temps in the 70’s here in Vermont). But the gorgeous Harvest Moon this past weekend served as a reminder that we are nearing the end of the growing season […]
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Garden Gloves, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Native Plants, Weeds and Weeding
The Zen of Weeding…
I often recycle my old wicker laundry baskets for weeding chores. Not only are they inexpensive, lightweight and easy to move in and out of tight spots, but once they begin to fall apart, I can just break them up and add them to the compost pile! As I sat down to write this article, I […]
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Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, pruning
Pruning Lilacs: Now is the Time, and Here are the Keys to Keep This Old-Time Favorite Looking It’s Best…
Syringa vulgaris, “Mme. Lemoine”, double, white Of the many questions I am asked by gardeners during consultations, seminars and social gatherings, the most frequently posed is: “When should I prune my lilac?”, often quickly followed by, “How do I prune my lilac?”. These are both very good questions because the well-timed, correct pruning of this […]
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Composting, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Composting Basics, for Beginners…
Compost Love Learning to make your own compost is one of the most economical and effective ways to build fertile, organic garden soil. Fortunately, it is also one of the simplest garden skills to learn. Plants grown in compost-supplemented soil tend to be stronger, healthier and more disease resistant. Organic garden compost adds valuable nutrients […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, companion planting, Garden Science, Organic Disease Control, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, Vegetable Gardening
Companion Planting in the Organic Vegetable Garden
Chives and thyme in the potager Companion planting is a very old-world, organic gardening method. Unfortunately, much companion planting knowledge has fallen out of use and favor in modern times due to a focus on efficiency. Of course on large farms efficiency is very important, but in a home garden I prefer to concentrate as […]
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