In a perfect world, we’d all have an ideal spot for our veggie gardens with deep, rich soil, protection from strong winds, and at least 8 to 10 hours of sunlight per day. I don’t know about you, but that certainly doesn’t describe my own garden, and each year, nearby trees cast more and more shade over several of my veggie beds. Yet, with a little planning and proper crop selection, I’ve learned that there are plenty of vegetables for shade and that a low light site can produce as generously as one with full sun.
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3 small trees for the landscape
Bigger isn’t always better. It might be a cliche, but it’s one that certainly applies to trees. Though mature oaks and maples are gorgeous, sometimes there isn’t room for a sixty-foot tall hardwood in the garden. If you’re looking for a few small trees for your landscape, here are three great choices.
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Viburnum pruning: Early summer is time to prune spring-blooming shrubs
As soon as their flowers fade, it’s time for azalea, rhododendron, chokecherry, lilac, weigela, forsythia, and viburnum pruning. These spring-blooming shrubs produce their flowers on the previous year’s growth. Pruning them too late in the season could mean accidentally removing next year’s developing flower buds. If you are unsure of when to prune a particular flowering shrub, a good rule of thumb is always to prune immediately after flowering.
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Container garden ideas: Inspiration to put together your pots
Looking for container garden ideas? We thought we’d take this opportunity to show you a few of our favorite container combos. Jessica’s are shady superstars, Niki’s include touchable textures, and Tara’s pots feature a combo of food and flowers. We’ve also included some links to even more inspiration for sun and shade.
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Drying oregano: Step-by-step instructions
Today is oregano drying day at the Walliser house. Every May I head out to the garden to harvest fresh oregano sprigs. The timing is crucial because if I cut them too early, the flavor isn’t quite up to snuff, but if I cut them too late, four-lined plant bug damage has marred the beautiful foliage and the flower buds have already developed. Early to mid-May seems to be the perfect time for drying oregano.
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Four lined plant bugs: Tips for identification and organic controls
Many gardeners across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and southern Canada will start to notice damage from four lined plant bugs (Poecilocapsus lineatus) in mid to late spring. Appearing as tiny, round, sunken pockmarks on the foliage of such plants as forsythia, viburniums, Shasta daisies, lavender, oregano, geraniums, sage, mums, basil, peonies, mint, and many others, the damage is as distinctive as the insect itself.
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