Mid-Atlantic Regional Report

Farmers' Market Feast

Among the dozen speckled, brown-and-tan, fresh-laid eggs were two cracked ones. I grimaced -- and hesitated. The farmer dropped the price to $2. "They'll be fine if you eat them in a day or two," he said. I nodded, adding them to the Farmers' Market's...
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Resources

HortScience Online
Nature As Inspiration

Destroy Veggies Killed by Late Blight
Apply to Longwood's Graduate Program
Save Ripe Seeds
Rake Out Rose of Sharon Seedheads
Prune Away Branches in Your Path

Horticulture Experts Choose Gold Medal Winners

Perennials, shrubs and trees can be pricey. They are valuable investments in our properties, our future, and the environment. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society helps make our choices wiser through its annual Gold Medal Program. A panel of...
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Resources

Small Hand Rake
Beautyberry

Rake Out Leaves from Under Shrubs and Around Perennials
Use Leaves To Suppress Weeds
Use Leaves to Top a New Spring Bed
Remember Spring-Flowering Bulbs
Do NOT Cut Back Lavender, Grasses, Butterfly Bush Now

Is It Lunch?

Mary dug deep, about 2 feet, to unearth the seven-pound pokeweed root. We'd been breaking the top off for years while weeding, so it was a hefty 4 or 5 inches around. Mary is tenacious. She grabbed the shovel and chipped away at the soil until, like a...
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Resources

Deer Solution
Pennsylvania Community Forest Conference, Oct. 22, 23

Build a Cold Frame
Dispose of Used Flame Weeder Canisters Properly
Don't Fret As Conifers Shed
Notice and Record WOW Color and Plant Combos
Leave Root Veggies Underground

Roosting High ... and Low

These next few weeks, while most of us are eating supper, a knowing group of nature phenomenon fans will be looking skyward. Make that smokestack level. With binoculars in hand. They'll watch in awe as hundreds and hundreds of chimney swifts circle,...
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Resources

Mailbox Tool Niche
Seeds and Seedpods

Look at Old Stuff with New Eyes
And the Bench Could Go Where?
Make Next Season's Gardening Easier
Clean Bird Feeders
Save Seeds and Seed Pods

More Pheromones, Fewer Pesticides

It was nearly 1 p.m. I'd skipped breakfast to drive north to Adams County for a nursery tour. The "Honeycrisp" sign made my stomach grumble for the warm, cinnamony, brown-sugar topping on apple crisp. Anticipating a yummy dessert, I turned right....
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Resources

Hardy Begonia

Prepare Houseplants to Bring Indoors
Sow Grass Seed
Toss the Undesirables
Protect Young Trees
Take Advantage of PA's Solar Energy Rebates

Wag More, Bark Less

The circular blue sticker on the car's back window caught my attention for its simplicity. "Wag More, Bark Less." Pollyannaish? Perhaps. But life's short. And as a neighbor on Johnson Street said recently, "Why let good music go to waste? Let's dance."...
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Resources

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
Orion Magazine: Nature/Culture/Place

Look Out for Late Blight
Order Spring- and Summer-Blooming Bulbs Now
Plan a Leaf Pile
Plant More Crucifers
Empty Water Barrels

Playground of Branches and Trunks

"Let me take your picture," urged mothers and dads, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. "Hold still. Look at the camera," adults called to their kids -- among dozens of children climbing on, swinging from, toddling through Totally Terrific...
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Resources

Razzle Dazzle Dwarf Crapemyrtles
PAGrows

Enjoy Pick-Your-Own Farms and Orchards
Re-edge Garden Beds
Encourage Pollinators; Get a Mason Bee House
Stop Pruning and Fertilizing Roses
Fix Leaky Hoses

Beauties and the Beast

Most anyone who spots the spiny, ouchy Solanum pyracanthum can't resist a closer look. The "What's THAT!" bright orange spikes and veins on wavy blue-green leaves catch the eye from across a courtyard. That is, yards and yards away. The...
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Resources

Wand-Type Flame Weeder

Plan Fall Tree Planting for Summer Air Conditioning
Dead Head Salvia, Sage, Tithonia, Phlox
Enjoy ... and Scope Your Garden For Change
Savor Your Basil, Oregano, Tarragon, Marjoram...
Harvest in the Cool Morning and Evening

Mingling Herbs and Cultures

"Who here enjoys a Mojito?" A blond woman in the group waves her hand. I pass the 4-inch nursery pot of dark green "mojito mint" in her direction. Mojito mint ( Mentha x villosa ), which hails from Cuba, is the herbal component of the popular cocktail...
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Resources

American Garden Award
Construction/Paint Buckets

Shear Dead Flowers and Stems
Tidy Bed Edges Especially Along Walkways
Stop Pushing It Away; Prune It
Give Container Plants a Mid-Summer Boost
Weed After a Rain

Wit, Whimsy & Art

Watching small yellow squashes plump up behind their lemony bright blossoms brings a smile. Harvesting string beans at just the right time for tenderness is an art AND science. Training cucumbers and peas up their trellises is a lesson in patience and...
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Resources

GROWING GREEN at the National Arboretum
Gardening Hand Creams

Check Out State and County Fairs
Look Up for Storm-Damaged Trees
Control Slug Damage
Rake Away Dead Rose Leaves
Prune Off Dead Roses

Surprising, Sustainable Sedums

Most of us don't worry about our plants flying away under the tempest of a helicopter's whirling blades. Philadelphia's PECO headquarter's green roof with helipad isn't your typical garden. Its perennials live in extremes of wind, sun, and heat....
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Resources

Everythingabout.net
Three Summer Weekends of Free Admission to National Parks and Monuments

Tuck Miscellaneous Plants in Beds and Pots
Keep Recycling Nursery Pots
Keep a Flower Press To Go
Deadhead Flowers
Counter Mulch Creep

Mid-Atlantic Regional Report

Farmers' Market Feast

Resources

Reminders

Horticulture Experts Choose Gold Medal Winners

Resources

Reminders

Is It Lunch?

Resources

Reminders

Roosting High ... and Low

Resources

Reminders

More Pheromones, Fewer Pesticides

Resources

Reminders

Wag More, Bark Less

Resources

Reminders

Playground of Branches and Trunks

Resources

Reminders

Beauties and the Beast

Resources

Reminders

Mingling Herbs and Cultures

Resources

Reminders

Wit, Whimsy & Art

Resources

Reminders

Surprising, Sustainable Sedums

Resources

Reminders