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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...
add some color to your summer

add some color to your summer

written by Lisa Briggs
Seesawing temperatures are one clue that summer is on the wane. Long-range weather forecasters predict that we can expect more moderate temperatures this weekend through the end of the month,

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late summer planting

late summer planting

written by Lisa Briggs
As summer wanes and autumn approaches, birds congregate in the trees and on overhead wires. The air is sweetly scented with ripening fruit. The light changes, becoming more golden. Everything seems ready to burst. Not in the tender, life-is-beginning way of spring, but in a more poignant manner that hints life in the garden will soon fade.

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in living color!

in living color!

written by Lisa Briggs
When you’re at the Garden Center choosing perennials, annuals and flowering shrubs for your yard, there are probably many factors that affect your decision.

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spring into summer!

spring into summer!

written by Lisa Briggs
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.

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tiny beacons of summer

tiny beacons of summer

written by Lisa Briggs
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.

read more
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