The Bruce Company Blog

written by Lisa Briggs
Gardeners are experiencing this spring at a frenzied pace. There seem to be enormous questions that need answers every single day.

written by Lisa Briggs
The cool spring held spring flowering trees in check, but this week’s heat is pushing plants hard, all at once. Every yard in my neighborhood reminds me of a technicolor Munchkinland when Dorothy steps out of that fallen house.

written by Lisa Briggs
April’s crazy temperature swings have had gardeners racing from the urge to get tomatoes in the ground and the scrambling to dig up floating row covers from the back of the garage. I don’t believe that there is any group of folks more obsessed with the weather than gardeners. Including meteorologists!

written by Lisa Briggs
There are many commonly-planted trees, shrubs and perennials that are slow to emerge in the spring, especially after this spring’s roller coaster. I like to think of these plants as teenagers, lolling about in the garden bed late on a Saturday morning, while the rest of the family members in our borders are up and flaunting spring color.

written by Lisa Briggs
The past few warmer days gave us hope that spring would be early this year, but the week’s end is taking a nosedive. Clearly Old Man Winter is delivering a one-two punch.

written by Lisa Briggs
Every spring, gardeners hold their collective breath as we wait for the first green shoots pushing through the warming soil. To be a perennial gardener in this climate requires great faith in your choices.

written by Lisa Briggs
There are good reasons to grow vegetables from seed, the biggest being that there are so many more choices when you’re buying seeds.

written by Lisa Briggs
Elmer Fudd knew what he was talking about. Despite their adorable faces, bunnies can do an awful lot of damage to your yard. A couple of rabbits can strip the bark from young trees or decimate an entire vegetable garden overnight.

written by Lisa Briggs
Remember March 1st? Mild temps. A little sun. Definitely lamb weather! And despite a few cold and windy days, the month so far has held to that gentle, lamb-like vibe. It will be interesting to see if the old saying is true this year!

written by Lisa Briggs
Butterfly gardens can be any size, from a small window box to a large border in your landscape. And they can be as simple or complex as you’d like, from a massed drift of coneflowers to a constantly blooming border of host plants and nectar-rich perennials.