with Teri Knight
Click below to listen to my Garden Bite podcast:
For most of the country this winter has been erratic to say the least. Temperatures all over the place, storms that caused chaos. While we seem to be over the worst of it, now is a time you can get out and do some damage control and some light pruning on summer/fall blooming shrubs.
From temps dipping down to 30 below zero in December to 55 degrees in March, no snow to heavy snow… the Winter of 2025/26 has been one … [Continue reading]
Nothing gets gardeners more agitated in winter than double digit below temperatures with a puny layer of snow that doesn’t provide much insulation.
And/or rabbits having to eat. You remember my pet wild rabbit, Eve? Yes, her…
She has chowed down my Diervilla ‘Kodiak Orange’ shrubs I planted in early May of 2024. So much for rabbit resistant. I get it though, this winter has been brutal on people, pets, plants and pipes too. Yes, mine froze and burst. Sorry, I got sidetracked there.
Not only have Eve and her … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my review: A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven
As we plan and prepare planting our seasonal containers, I was given the opportunity to review Sarah Raven’s book “A Year Full of Pots”. It is a tome of information and amazing photos for each season of the year.
From her Sussex property, she starts with spring and takes us through winter. Calling her containers the “bubbles in champagne, the cherries on the cake” on a property .
After decades of perfecting her container … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to today’s Garden Bite: Don’t scratch that Garden Itch Yet:
I KNOW you’re itching to get out and start Spring Cleanup. Please, DON’T. I’ve been cringing as I watch people out raking and cutting back perennials. UGH…
This affects the insects and critters that have been sheltering in your “debris”. I know, a 74 degree day seems like it should mean “Go Time”. If this were May or even late April it would be, but this is early March 2024 and that means we can still … [Continue reading]
Click on the link below to listen to today’s Garden Bite: Debunking NASA study on air-cleaning plants
Over 30 years ago, in 1989, NASA scientist Bill Wolverton claimed that household plants could provide a “promising” solution to indoor air pollution.
Including the American Lung Association. In part they said that This NASA study showed that plants did clean the air in a closed, limited environment or … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my Garden Bite podcast: Prepping the landscape for winter
To rake or not or not to rake? Another question I get all the time is what to do with your perennials? What are the advantages/disadvantages to leaving them be?
To assist wildlife, the answer is simple. Leave the leaves. They provide shelter for local wildlife including bees, beetles, butterflies, moths and more. This from the Xerces Society: At the end of summer, mated queen bumble bees burrow only an inch or two into the … [Continue reading]
Click below to listen to my show/podcast: Aster yellows or mites? A special Garden Bite
What is that weird growth? The fear that creeps in when you see some weird growth on an otherwise beautiful coneflower is real!
My first thought was Aster Yellows, a dreaded disease spread by aster leafhoppers. The disease severely deforms plants and is incurable. It mostly affects plants in the aster family, but all plants are susceptible. When I became a Master Gardener (a while ago) it was drilled into us that you … [Continue reading]
Good Morning!
I’m trying something new. I bought this fabric 8 ft. raised bed late last season on sale.
Since I’ve had issues with roots in the wood raised bed (no barrier underneath), I wanted to try this. It took 1/2 cu. yd of soil.
I used an old 6 ft. tabletop for it to sit on. Shoring it up with pieces of 2×4’s. I also placed dried grasses on the backside after I took these photos!
I planted some herbs in one pocket. Plan is to move tomatoes out … [Continue reading]
Good morning on a cloudy, drizzly Saturday! May 6th, 2023
I started planting seeds I received from All America Selections on April 1st. Here’s a link to that Garden Bite. PS, Coast of Maine stinks. Just so ya know.
Then….
I used a lighter mix when transplanting.
Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Garden Bite closes a chapter
In March of 2007 I started this 2 minute radio program after being approached by a local media distribution company. My background in radio and television along with becoming a Master Gardener in 2003 cemented my desire to create this show.
I have loved producing a space for home gardeners who yearn to learn without feeling judged. Providing a fun, inclusive atmosphere and sharing my “nibbles of knowledge on all things in the … [Continue reading]