By joenesgarden, 2 hours and 18 minutes ago

Implements of Gardening

garden bag-1 A week until it's officially spring, when a gardener's fancy turns not to love but to tools … which handy old standby to replace and which enticing new gadget to try.  Every gardener needs a basic spade or two, a garden fork, loppers, pruners, limb saw, and a couple of rakes … and every gardener has their own list of must-haves.  On top of my must have list is the invaluable Hori Hori knife … the nasty looking weapon leaning against my garden bag.  It has a heavy steel blade that cuts through roots, acts as a trowel, pries up rocks, digs out weeds, and generally becomes an extension of my hand during gardening season … at least it has for about the last 20 years.  When not in hand it's either in the back pocket of my jeans or sitting ready in it's own pocket of my garden bag.

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By joenesgarden, 3 days ago

Home to signs of spring

A few days in Lake Placid, New York shows ice still covers many streams,

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By joenesgarden, 13 days ago

Generosity Abounds - Gardening OOPs for March

Today, being the first day of March, is GOOPS day at joene's garden.  GOOPS stands for gardening OOPs.  I fess up one of the many gardening mistakes I've made over the years, hoping that my admission will help prevent other gardeners from doing the same.  Then I encourage you to share a GOOPs as well.

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By joenesgarden, 26 days ago

Foliage fashionistas

Coleus, dressed in orangey reds, or deep maroons and bright greens, or solid limey green; any way you look at this group of plants you must admit they are foliage fashionistas  There are varieties for sun, shade, and anything in between.  Some are tall, others short, and the amazing range of colors from the ever increasing varieties allows just about anyone to use them in gardens and containers – I do both.  Coleus are easy to start from cuttings or seed – I do both.  Plus, they make good houseplants for all the northern gardeners – like me – who crave color during winter months.  Coleus adorn my kitchen windowsill (bright light but no direct sun) most of the year.  In late summer, I load fresh cuttings into vases of water and wait for them to root.  From rooted cuttings they become small potted plants.  Some years they adorn window sills all around the house, other years I manage to save just a few – usually depending on how I'm able to control aphids – but most often you will find my sills holding a coleus collection.

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By joenesgarden, 1 month and 5 days ago

February Survival

reds of decayFebruary is my least favored month of the year.  I have a zillion reasons to be thankful and upbeat … and I never forget any one of them … but this does not prevent my February mood from turning blah … or even, at times, downright surly.  In spite of annual efforts to stave off  these February blahs, they settle in as surely as the sun sets and tides wane.  The month's dangle-a-shiny-object moments like Groundhog Day, the Super Bowl (even if ambivalent about American football, there's usually one or two amusing commercials), Mardi Gras, or Valentine's Day do not alter the fact that I simply don't like this month.   The nicest thing I can say about February is it's short.

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