A Container Veggie Garden

Now is the time to plant crops for bountiful harvests this summer and fall. Even small-space gardeners can grow enough nutritious produce to prepare a few meals, supplement your diet, and save some bucks. With a little planning and attention, container gardens can produce like mini farms.

Almost any vessel can be used as a container, but it must have drainage holes that allow water to freely flow through the pot. Most veggies only need about 6 inches of soil depth.... more

Hardscapes in the Garden

Gardens are magical places. The shape of the landscape (or cityscape) and the plants set the mood and provide interest. But it is often the hardscapes that separate great gardens from good ones. Benches, arbors, patios, and other features define the space, frame the best views, and provide places for reflection in the garden.

For those who are handy, hardscapes can be built out of almost anything. Wood, bamboo, stone, steel, concrete, and other conventional materials are popular and readily available. However, the construction (or contracting) of outdoor features is only limited by your imagination and skill level. Be creative and match the materials with your garden environment.... more

Containers of Colorful Flowers and Foliage

In spring, growing container gardens is easy. Vibrant bulbs and cold-hardy annuals grow easily in the mild, wet weather. Summer is a different story. With baking heat and unpredictable storms, container plants can be stressed by drought, sun, wind, insect pests, and other challenging conditions.... more

Attracting Winged Beauties Into Your Garden

Part of the beauty of an organic garden is watching birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and bees foraging among the flowers — dipping in for a drink of sweet nectar, loading up with golden pollen, and plucking at tender seeds and berries. But growing organically isn't the only way to ensure visits from.... >>more

Get Outdoor Furniture Primed for the Season

As you prepare to celebrate another season outdoors, take steps to get your furniture in tiptop shape for a new summer of fun.... >>more

Kitchen Cupboard Cleaners

We Americans are clean freaks! Look under any sink and you'll see an arsenal of cleaning products for every room and piece of furniture in the house. Household cleaners are loaded with chemicals, some strong enough that they come with warnings. Now, open your pantry. See that bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda?... >>more

Fresh Shrimp Scampi

This is a family favorite. We always keep the freezer stocked with shrimp so that in a pinch, when time is at a premium, or those unexpected guests pop in, we can have a flavorful dinner or appetizer in no time... >>more

Send Your Ideas!

Do you have any tips to share? Are there topics you'd like me to address?
E-mail me at celebrating_seasons@garden.org

May 2008
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Gabby Gardeners

Question: Last year Japanese beetles took over my garden. Are there any organic controls?

Answer:Start with your lawn; that's where the next round of beetles will come from. They start as grubs, feeding on the roots of your turf. As they mature they transform from a grub into the green metallic-shelled beetle. Dusting your lawn with products containing "milky spore" (Bacillus popillae-Dutky) will help eliminate the grubs, but it must be used for two to three years to build up enough bacteria in the soil to kill large numbers of grubs. The grubs swallow the spores while feeding; within one to three weeks the grubs die. As they decompose, they release millions of new spores back into the soil. Once introduced into the soil, milky spore can last 15 to 20 years. Milky spore will not affect humans or animals, nor will it contaminate well water.

Certain beneficial nematodes are also effective in controlling grubs. Nematodes are microscopic parasitic roundworms. The two nematodes that are most effective against Japanese beetle grubs are Steinernema glaseri and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. Nematodes may be purchased in lawn and garden shops or through mail-order catalogs.

For the adult beetles, handpicking is the easiest and most effective organic control. Make it a point to walk the garden with a bucket of soapy water. Pick off beetles and drop them into the bucket. I have even bent the branches of some plants over the bucket to shake them free!

Question: How can I keep neighborhood cats from doing their "business" in the flower gardens around my house? Any suggestions?

Answer: It helps to think like a cat. What is it that they really want from the garden? They are looking for a litterbox — and exposed soil is just the answer. I don't have cats, but people who do have had success by scattering citrus rinds around the garden. Also there are repellents on the market that are made from citrus oils that claim to help keep cats away. Planting rue (a strongly scented plant with bitter leaves) is a good deterrent, as cats don't like the smell. Spraying cats with water helps— but that means you have to catch them in the act. Cats don't like snakes, sometimes laying a fake one in an area that you want the cat to stay away from works. And too, I've been told that coffee grinds spread on top of the soil will deter them. Finally, you can lay chickenwire fencing over the soil. The plants will grow right through it, but cats won't be able to dig.

Question:I have beautiful gardens in the spring and summer, but by fall the color fades fast. Any suggestions for plants that provide good fall color?

Answer: There are so many plants that provide an explosion of color in the fall —and now is the time to plant them. Here are a few of my tried and true favorites: Perennials: autumn crocus, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, 'Autumn Joy' sedum, salvia,ornamental grasses, hardy mums, asters, Japanese anemone, sunflower, Russian Sage.Annuals: bachelor's button, viola, pansy, snapdragon, petunia, diascia, calendula, larkspur, nierembergia, lobelia, and flowering kale and cabbage.

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1100 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403
802-863-5251

Pruning Brambles

There's been a recent surge of interest in growing small fruits in the landscape. That's a good thing because many small fruits, such as blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, are not only delicious harvested fresh from the garden, they are also easy to grow. Plus, these fruits work well in the landscape — you can create an edible fence with brambles, use blueberries as foundation plants, grow a strawberry ground cover, and adorn a trellis with grapes.... >>more

Edible of the Month: Strawberry

Strawberries are one of the first fruits to mature in spring and one of the easiest to grow. While most varieties produce the second year after planting, day neutral varieties will produce a fall crop from a spring planting. Strawberry plants are small enough to fit in their own bed or among other flowers and... >>more

Quintessential Rhubarb

I first met rhubarb at my grandmother's table, served as a sweet-tart sauce over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. In her elegant dining room the table was set with a burgundy satin tablecloth and cut crystal ice cream bowls. Dessert arrived on a silver tray. Like many things both culinary and cultivated, my grandmother had... >>more