Seeing Red
Isn’t this a beautiful garden? It will certainly attract the attention of your friends and neighbors.
However if you are hoping to help pollinators like bees it will fall flat.
Bees will not give this garden a second glance.
Why?
Read More»What Winter?
I have noticed that it is getting dark later and on some days the temps are such that I only need a light coat. Spring is coming…sigh. But where was winter? Where were the freezing temperatures and colossal snowstorms that had school children crossing their fingers and meteorologists throwing around words like “bombogenesis”?
In years past, my brother and I would gleefully trade stories of the drifts in front of the doors that forced us to just stay inside for a while. Despite the crazy weather in the rest of the country New England, or at least Massachusetts, has gotten off easy. Up until February 12, 2019 we had received only a little over 2” FOR THE WHOLE WINTER.
Now it’s not that I love snow – although the first storm or two are pretty – it’s just that I have things to do!
Read More»Flower Show Season
It’s that time of year again. We winter weary gardeners can get a tease of spring and scratch the gardening itch with great area Flower Shows.
I am fortunate to be speaking at the Connecticut Flower Show on February 22.
I will have two talks: “Beauty and the Bees” which will discuss better ways of designing with pollinators in mind, and “Power Couples” where I will share some of my favorite perennial parings for gardens and containers.
I am also thrilled to be returning to the Philadelphia International Flower Show and will be speaking on perennials on March 7th.
Both of these shows are great and definitely bucket list worthy trips. If you are able to attend either, or both, I highly recommend it!
The Good Witch
One of my all-time favorite plants for the late winter/early spring garden is witch hazel (Hamamelis).
This is an easy going, low-maintenance shrub or small tree that is at home in any garden. The best part about witch hazel is that between January and March it covers itself with beautiful, dainty four-petaled strap-shaped flowers. I have planted one in the back garden where I can see it from every window. On those days when I feel that winter will just not end I glance outside and see the branches covered in yellow; I have hope.
Forget forsythia, as a harbinger of spring, witch hazel cannot be beat.
Read More»Spotted Lanternfly
Spotted Lanternfly
Sounds like something a character out of a Dr. Seuss book might bring home as a pet, right?
Problem is, it is not fictional or friendly.
Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), is neither a fly nor a moth but rather an invasive planthoppper that is native to Asia.
It was first discovered in Pennsylvania in September 2014. It has since been reported in Delaware and New York and recently in Connecticut. The adults and immatures of this species damage host plants by feeding on sap from stems, leaves, and the trunks of trees. Sap from the wounds where feeding has taken place can cause sooty mold and also attract bees, wasps and other insects that are attracted to the sugary sap. One of the favorite hosts for Spotted Lanternfly is Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) although it has been found on over 70 species of plants.
While the Spotted Lanternfly has not yet been spotted in Massachusetts it poses a significant threat to our state’s landscape. For more information, including identification, visit the UMass Center for Agriculture website. Report any suspicious findings to the Massachusetts Department Of Agricultural Resources via the Invasive Pest Reporting Form.
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