Fall wrap-up: A checklist
/The growing season is winding down but it’s not over ‘til it’s over. If you take care of garden chores now you’ll be securely tucked away when the snow flies — and ready for new adventures next spring.
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The growing season is winding down but it’s not over ‘til it’s over. If you take care of garden chores now you’ll be securely tucked away when the snow flies — and ready for new adventures next spring.
Read MoreSince Halloween is coming, it’s timely to consider some of the evil-doers of the plant kingdom. Many are defending themselves against predators. Others are just plain toxic for no known evolutionary reason.
Read MoreApples are woven into the early history of the young American nation. Johnny Appleseed ring a bell? Orchards are open now for the fall harvest. Bet you can’t eat just one.
Read MoreHalloween will be here before you know it. The essential decoration is, of course, the jack-o-lantern. Turn an ordinary cucurbit into a spooky masterwork. It’s easy with stencils, the greatest cheat going for the artistically inept.
Read MoreSometimes you arrive at great garden effects by design. Sometimes you fumble your way there in a series of steps and missteps. Whatever the means, enjoy every bright moment and claim it as your own.
Read MoreIf it’s fall, there must be mums — and resistance is futile. A few pots of cheery chrysanthemums can brighten any doorstep. Celebrations of this seasonal favorite are coming right up.
Read MoreYou can get a real jump on next season by planting while warm soil temperatures linger. Autumn also is the correct season to get peonies, Oriental poppies and spring-flowering bulbs in the ground. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
Read MoreMonarch butterflies are headed south in an impressive feat of insect migration. Especially along our beaches, you can often catch hundreds in the act on a sunny fall afternoon. Here’s how to help them on their way.
Read MoreMany plants that self-sow make a nuisance of themselves but every once in a while, you strike gold — or in this case, jewels. The rogue seedlings I noticed in my patio turned out to be Jewels of Opar, the name itself conjuring up adventure and derring-do.
Read MoreIt took me by surprise that we’ve fetched up on Labor Day weekend. Don’t give up on the garden just because summer is nearly over. With the right plants, there’s a whole season of bloom ahead
Read MorePokeweed can mount a stealth takeover of your shrub borders or lawn margins. Birds love the poisonous berries and eat them without harm, but you may not want an 8-foot weed crowding your hedge. I didn’t.
Read MoreThe bug music of August features the katydids, singing nightly from their perches with a call-and-response refrain. These critters are loud! I don’t believe their argument over Katy’s guilt has ever been settled…
Read MoreA mainstay of the perennial garden, tall border phlox are in their prime now. They are the most spectacular of the bunch, but the phlox clan also includes other worthy specimens. Let’s round them up.
Read MoreIf you notice butterflies at all, you already know the most common species in New Jersey, the cabbage white. I never knew how much information they broadcast on their wings until I looked into it. Or how far they have traveled from their native lands.
Read MoreThe nose-tingling fragrance of lavender is one of summer’s sweetest smells. Lavender can be a short-lived plant but it’s easy to grow your own in a hot, sunny spot. Read on for tips on keeping it happy.
Read MoreGot toad? If you do, you have a formidable partner in controlling the bugs, slugs and other pests that beset the garden. They’re harmless to humans — and kind of cute, too.
Read MoreIf you have a garden, you deal with weeds. So why don’t you have a hoe? Get up off your knees, gardeners! A hoe is the best friend your back ever had.
Read MoreRoll out the welcome mat for wildlife and your garden will be a constant source of interest and entertainment. Butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators will thank you. Squirrels, deer and woodchucks will test your ingenuity. It’s all good.
Read MoreIf you associate bulb flowers with springtime, you’re not wrong. An often overlooked group includes summer-flowering plants that grow from bulbs, corms and tubers. Check out these beauties, ideal for container gardens.
Read MoreThere are weeds and then there are really obnoxious weeds. Garlic mustard, an invasive import, will mount a hostile takeover of woodlands and gardens if it has an opening. Counter-measures are in order.
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