Category: Uncategorized

…National Pesticide Safety Month. Let’s review some key points of safe pesticide use. 

Socrates said, “ The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms”

So let’s define a pesticide.
A simple definition is any substance used to control, deter, incapacitate, kill, or otherwise discourage organisms harmful to plants, animals or humans can be classified as a pesticide. A fuller definition can be found here. Germane to our discussion, herbicides make up 80% of all pesticide use.… Continue reading this article “February is…”

If you have watched the news at all in the last two weeks, you know that there was a huge underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean on January 15, 2022, that spewed ash and gases into the atmosphere. It blew with such force that the sound of the eruption was heard in Alaska thousands of miles away and the atmospheric pressure wave it set off has traveled around the earth as many as ten times according to satellite and ground-based sensors.… Continue reading this article “Volcanoes and climate: How will the eruption in Tonga affect our gardens?”

I love plants! I love gardens! I love nature! So why not bring it all inside the house? Who can resist those beautiful Calatheas (Prayer Plants) they sell at Home Depot? House plants afford us the opportunity to garden indoors when it’s hostile outside and they beautify a room like nothing else. There is an incredible selection of tropical, subtropical and succulent plants that we can cultivate indoors. Unfortunately house plants fade…waaa (sad). They lose leaves, they endure pests, they wilt, eventually they die.… Continue reading this article “House Plant Basics”

In this People and Plants blog post we’re taking a look at the German botanist Adam Lonicer.

Adam Lonicer, also known as Lonitzer, Lonicerum, Lonicerus, or Loniceri, was born on October 10, 1528 in Marburg, Germany. He studied in Marburg and Mainz before becoming professor of mathematics at the Lutheran University of Marburg. In 1554 he received his medical degree and he later pursued a medical career as the city physician of Frankfurt.… Continue reading this article “People and Plants”

This week is the end of 2021 and the start of the new year. What a year 2021 has been! Without even talking about politics, COVID-19, sports, or the economy, it was certainly one to remember from the standpoint of weather and climate. No matter where you live, you probably saw some extreme weather during the past 12 months.

Exploding flower bed fireworks, Eric Kilby via Commons Wikimedia.

Extreme weather in 2021

In the United States, the map below shows just the 2021 billion-dollar disasters through October 8.… Continue reading this article “Wishes for a beautiful, safe, and productive 2022 for you and your gardens!”

Auntie Mame was on to something when she told her orphaned nephew Patrick to “Haul out the Holly, Put up the Tree Before My Spirit Falls Again” (I just sang this in a concert with my community chorus.  I’ve been hauling out the holly since August, so I’m done.) 

Plants play a big part in our holiday traditions this time of year.  When it comes to decorating for the holidays, needless to say I prefer a simpler, natural approach.… Continue reading this article “Haul out the Holly…and a cactus…and a parasite: A review of holiday plants and their traditions”

Very large and old trees don’t often attain size and splendor free of defect and disease. A mature tree may have accumulated some damage, injury or disease along its path to grandeur.… Continue reading this article “Pruning Mature Shade Trees”

Welcome to the first People and Plants GP blog post. These posts, which will be on a random basis, will take a behind the scenes look at the namesake people behind many plant names. This first one will be about Andrew Jackson Downing.

Andrew Jackson Downing was born October 30/31, 1815 in Newburgh, New York to Samuel Downing and Eunice (née Bridge) Downing. His father was originally a wheelwright but later became a nurseryman. After he finished his schooling Andrew worked in his father’s nursery and was soon bitten by “the plant bug”.… Continue reading this article “People and Plants”

Linda’s post last week about “drought-resistant” plants made me think about drought and how different types of drought affect gardeners in different ways. In her article, she defined drought as “an unusual lack of rainfall”. This is one of four different kinds of drought that climatologists talk about, and I thought it might be interesting for you to hear about how the four (or maybe five) types of drought differ and how they affect gardeners in diverse ways.… Continue reading this article ““How dry I am “: Four types of drought and how they can affect gardeners and gardens”

This month I continue the series on pruning with a look at pruning established landscape trees.  These are trees in the prime of life, growing well, starting to shade the garden beneath them and expanding their canopies. Various reasons can prompt the call for tree care professionals.

What reasons would we have to prune a healthy vigorous mid-aged tree? For those we have to examine what may have happened in the past. The fact that a tree is growing well does not always mean it was “selected” well.… Continue reading this article “Pruning established trees”