My garden is both formal and informal and gives one a very relaxed comfortable feeling. Maintaining the garden for all seasons (spring-summer-fall-winter) is labor intensive, but worth the enjoyment and pleasure I get from gardening and giving it to others.
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| Peonies in Bloom! Jun 07, 2011 | ||
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The garden has been filled with the sweet scent of peony (paeony) blossoms for the psat week. They are very showy and a favorite of mine along with dahlias. They are very easy to care for and will bloom for years. If you have a problem with blooming .... the main reason is that the eyes of the root are planted deeper... ...see more |
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Your peonies are beautiful!! |
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The peonies look great - I especially like the last handful of photos. The one that I transplanted to my garden has buds but the flowers haven't emerged as of yet...here's hoping! |
| Potting of seedlings/cuttings & Spreading compost Apr 24, 2011 | ||
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It is a little early to be potting up my seedlings/cuttings, but I will take the risk of an unexpected frost as the lows have been in the mid 30's to low 40's. My soil mix is 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 loam. I will also store them under my deck to harden them off before planting them in the garden ..... hopefully... ...see more |
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| Unexpected Snow! Mar 22, 2011 | ||
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After a wonderful day of garden spring clean-up, Mother Nature let us know that winter was still with us for the next month or so. |
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| Spring Clean-up! Mar 21, 2011 | ||
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Last Thursday was a wonderful bright warm sunny day in the 60's and I worked on my spring clean-up ..... raking the lawn clean of twigs/branches, thatch and stray leaves that got in the floral beds. There seems to be much more thatch this year because of the snow cover from late December through early March. Yesterday was the... ...see more |
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You are getting a lot more snow out in the suburbs than we are getting here in Boston - it is coming down fast but not sticking. I can see the daffodils and tulips starting in the garden... |
| New Arrivals! Mar 10, 2011 | ||
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The 4-H Club at Ward's Berry Farm had their first spring births a few days ago .... 19-sheep and 2-goats (Mon/Tue/Wed)! The 4-H members are very excited and tending to their needs. |
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They are cute! You should bring the kids to see them. Will they all stay at Ward's? |
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Very nice, a great investment in the future: healthy livestock! |
| Opening of a Greenhouse Mar 06, 2011 | ||
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Yesterday .. It was cold outside, but toasty warm in the greenhouse. I had a fantastic day of working by myself on Saturday ..... watering, seeding nasturtiums, sweet alyssum and potting up containers, hanging pots, and individual annuals and herbs in 4" and 4 1/2" pots. The greenhouse (where I work) at Ward's Berry Farm... ...see more |
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Looks like you accomplished a lot! I just picked up some potting soil to get things started on my windowsills - hopefully they'll germinate at the optimal rate. |
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| WINTER WONDERLAND Jan 10, 2011 | ||
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Now that my garden is put to bed for the winter, I can relax and plan for the coming spring. I now have more time to to get great ideas from YourGardenShow and research my garden/botanical books and the 2011 garden catalogs. I love changing and redesigning sections of my garden each year. |
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Hi Pat, One of the gardens on the site is tagging all plants under th... (more) |
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I had seen the video last season and now that winter is upon us, I plan on doing more tagging. Thanks for the tip on tagging plants under the snow .. I hadn't thought of it. |
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Hi Pat - Very poetic name for a garden! I appreciate the information you are posting too. Thanks, Emmet |
| Sheet Composting Jan 06, 2011 | ||
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Sheet composting is the process of spreading organic matter (mulched grass/leaves/twigs) directly on your garden/floral beds. I usually start this process when there is a good amount of leaves on the ground in October/November. I have a half acre and all of the mulched grass/leaves/twigs are used in my formal and informal gardens.... ...see more |
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I do not amend my compost pile, but every few years I do spread lime on my floral, shrub and vegetable gardens to sweeten up the soil. |
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I add seaweed to my composters. I also chop up maple leaves with the mower as the are too dense and just matt down so don't compost well. I can't add them as a mulch to my garden unless they are really wel... (more) |
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Seaweed is one of the best additives for your compost pile and I should have more drive to get some, as the beaches are less than 50 miles away. Most of my leaves are maples and I only use my m... (more) |
| Pruning EVERGREENS Aug 24, 2010 | ||
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The best time to prune or trim evergreens is in the fall, as not to get re-growth. Though as for flowering shrubs, it is best to prune/trim them after blooming as not to loose next years blooms. Trimming gives you a formal look and is quicker and easier than pruning, which gives you the natural informal look. I prefer pruning... ...see more |
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Great tip, Pasquale. Sometimes you see things pruned in a way that just shouldn't be. Yours looks very natural and healthy. Have you ever tried the "Edward Scissorshands" type of formal c... (more) |
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Beautiful spring plantings. How does the garden grow later in the year? What does it look like now -- (I imagine in the snow)? |
| Installing a Rain Barrel Jun 13, 2010 | ||
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1. I Made a base (approx. 3'x3') for the rain barrel out of 2"x6"x12' pressure treated wood and cleared a level area with a few inches of stone dust to accomodate it. 2. Placed two cement blocks in the center for the Rain Barrel to rest. 3. Double check and make sure that the frame work and cement blocks are level before... ...see more |
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| Edging Flower/Shrub Beds May 12, 2010 | ||
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In edging a straight line in a flower bed always use a string line as a guide. As you slide the edge-knife (with a sharpened edge) along the line as a guide, do not press against the line as the result will not be straight. Also, if your flower/shrub bed has curves ..... use a garden hose as guide and if you want a perfect circle... ...see more |
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| New media added May 09, 2010 | |
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these are stunning... what are they? |
| More spring photos! Whole garden May 09, 2010 | ||
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Care activities:
Seeded
Watered
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