Winter bug wars
/If you're getting restless after being trapped inside by snow and frigid temperatures, I've got an idea for you. Get out there on milder winter days and hunt down some of the pests lying in wait to attack your garden.
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If you're getting restless after being trapped inside by snow and frigid temperatures, I've got an idea for you. Get out there on milder winter days and hunt down some of the pests lying in wait to attack your garden.
Read MoreIf you have berried bushes, you might catch cedar waxwings mobbing them in a feeding frenzy. While they have some very civilized habits, these handsome birds sometimes overdo it when they party hearty.
Read MoreWell, here we are in full blizzard mode. The adult me isn't so pleased, but snowfall does take me back to the far away land of childhood. Sledding! Snowmen! No school!
Read MorePrepare to welcome the New Year with a bit of revelry and a modest serving of optimism. There are some things you can do to improve the odds as you ring out the old and ring in the new. Who are we to question the wisdom of the ages?
Read MoreI think we'd be perfectly prepared for Christmas -- if it didn't come so early every year. Ready or not, it it's nearly here, bells a-jingle, candlelit and full of warm good wishes. Have a merry. Make it shine.
Read MoreHolly has a venerable history but you can't talk about modern hybrids without focusing on New Jersey. We not only have the top breeder in Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University, but we also host the American Holly Society. Here's the backstory.
Read MoreHang a wreath on the door and declare your place open for holiday merry-making. It's easy to turn a plain, undecorated wreath into a one-of-a-kind creation with material culled from your own backyard. The personal touch makes it your own.
Read MoreWe love evergreens in winter for color in the landscape and sparkle in the living room as Christmas trees. But too many of them grow into forest giants, overwhelming the average home. The "little people" of the evergreen set, dwarfs and miniatures, fit in more easily.
Read MoreIt's time to call it a wrap in the garden, but a little care with late fall chores will pay big dividends next spring. Thanksgiving is dead ahead and often the long weekend is an ideal opportunity to tidy up and tuck things away.
Read MoreSucculents include many sculptural little plants that inspire a certain affection -- and don't ask for much. They are at home on "living walls," in dishy mixed plantings and on tables as party favors. If there's a modern plant craze, this is it.
Read MoreJust like daffodils or tulips, garlic bulbs are planted in the fall. Tuck some in now to enjoy mild garlic scapes, a gourmet treat, next May and June. Come July, you'll have pungent home-grown cloves in abundance..
Read MoreWhat could be scarier than a plant pest capable of wiping out the centuries-old vineyards of France? Sacre bleu! A plant mystery presented to me one day led me on an investigation that revealed this threat to life as we know it.
Read MoreParting is such sweet sorrow but you don't have to say goodbye to all of your tender plants. Some can be overwintered as houseplants. Some can be kept on as dormant bulbs or tubers.
Read MoreChrysanthemums are practically synonymous with fall. Their bold colors and nose-tingling scent make them familiar -- and popular. They're inexpensive, too. How can we resist? Mostly, we don't.
Read MoreStand by for the annual fall foliage extravaganza. Gorgeous from afar when the hills blaze red and gold, a daunting prospect up close when fallen leaves carpet your lawn. Don't fret -- try some new strategies.
Read MoreI like baseball but pay no attention until we hit the playoffs - too many games! Since post-season play begins in the coming week, here's the skinny on traditional wooden bats. And another reason to fight the emerald ash borer.
Read MoreSo, summer is officially over and you've still got loads of green tomatoes on your plants. If you want those puppies to ripen before frost, you need to use some creative persuasion. Try these tactics.
Read MoreCrocuses blooming in fall? That's out of step with this flower's reputation as an early sign of spring. The autumn-blooming kinds include the source of the world's priciest spice - saffron, i.e., the long, reddish stamens in the heart of the flower.
Read MoreCrickets are chirping their hearts out as summer wanes, looking for love. The noisy ones that mostly stay outside are fine. The silent camel crickets that invade houses are another story. This is one scary bug.
Read MoreLove them or hate them, lawns are here to stay. New Jersey has a nationally prominent role in designing better lawn grass strains for temperate climates around the world. Rutgers University researchers have produced 440 new varieties in the past 20 years, aiming for lower maintenance and greater durability.
Read MoreThe icons above take you to my Twitter feed, Pinterest boards and Facebook page. News of interest to gardeners has moved to my Facebook page, Valerie's Garden Diary. There you'll find posts about events and developments in the Garden State, as well as items about plants and backyard wildlife culled from the web. If you "like" my page, these posts will show up in your Facebook news feed. It's a public page -- no need to request "friend" status.
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