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celebrate the dog days

The brightest of the stars in the Big Dog constellation is Sirius, the Dog Star. In the mid-summer, it can be seen rising and setting with the sun. This conjunction caused the ancients to believe that Sirius’ brightness added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch...

all about hydrangeas

Soon it will be July, and one of our favorite shrubs will be in glorious bloom. Can you guess? I recently came across a Garden Center pricebook from 1982 and there was one hydrangea variety available! Five years later we had three. Fast forward to 2025 and we started...

ladies and gents, meet the beetles

It’s June and by the end of the month, many a gardeners’ most hated day of the entire summer will be here - the annual emergence of the dreaded Japanese Beetles. We’re hoping that this year’s cooler spring means that our Plant Information Desk will not be surprised by...

mid summer dreams

Early summer is an especially nice time to start a garden journal. Your what-to-do-in-the-garden-today lists have shortened and everything is just so achingly beautiful. Jot down plants that you’ve seen and are interested in adding to your own garden, annual container...

the seasons go round and round

Although June often ushers in a gentler garden, it looks like the kaleidoscopic colors of May might linger with us a bit longer. My peonies are just beginning to bloom and the hardy geraniums are not even yet showing flower buds. Spring temperatures see-sawed up and...

jumpin’ jack flash

Are they fireflies, glowworms or lightning bugs? It doesn’t really matter what you call them because one of our favorite sights of summer are those yellow-green orbs flashing against the backdrop of the garden at dusk. Fireflies are not flies. Nor are lightning bugs,...

why grow your own veggies?

It seems as though the pace of setting up for spring is faster every year, but this season is especially frenzied. The yoyo temperatures had all of us itching to start gardening in March, even though those chilly nights held back a lot of our plant deliveries and...

gardeners start your engines!

May is many a gardener’s favorite month, and this year even more so! The seesaw spring had spring flowers developing in fits and starts, but the warm temps late last week pushed many plants hard, all at once. My drive into work each morning is a little reminiscent of...

patience is a virtue

Gardeners are not the kind of folks who enjoy being cooped up in the house all winter. When the weather finally breaks, and plants begin to emerge from dormancy, it’s understandable that we are eager to greet every new shoot and admire every swelling bud. But, we can...

no april showers bring…

April of 2025 wasn’t particularly shower-ful, but the flowers are bursting into bloom despite the dry weather. And Monday’s unsettled weather has us scrambling to get plants under cover and protected from the storm that never was. I don’t believe that there is any...
some beauty is fleeting

some beauty is fleeting

written by
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.

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we’ve got high hopes

we’ve got high hopes

written by Lisa Briggs
The days with warmer temperatures these last few weeks have given hope that spring would be early this year. And then they take a nosedive. Clearly Old Man Winter is unwilling to let go!

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dance of the butterflies

dance of the butterflies

written by Lisa Briggs
Learn About Butterflies Day was last week and the day always reminds us that the battle between strength and fragility is not better illustrated more clearly than by a butterfly.

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spring of deception

spring of deception

written by Lisa Briggs
As winter recedes, each sign of spring seems more symbolic than the last. And this year’s seesawing temperature swings have made all of us more than a little crazy.

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be our palentine

be our palentine

written by Lisa Briggs
Valentine’s Day, as well as the more inclusive Pal- and Galentine’s days, are next week and everyone at the Bruce Company wishes you and all of those you love a great day!

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