By joenesgarden, 7 months and 6 days ago

The hypericum experiment: may be a Gardening Oops.

The 2011 calendar has flipped from June to July which means it's time for another episode in my ongoing Gardening Oops – aka GOOPs – series. Even after more than thirty years of gardening, I still make mistakes and missteps. I share them here to try to prevent you from making the same faux pas and to encourage some back-and-forth dialogue. After reading this July 2011 GOOPs installment, I hope you will share your thoughts and, better yet, a GOOPs of your own.

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By joenesgarden, 1 year and 4 months ago

Connecticut’s Barberry phase-out

Japanese barberry 4-29-10 The Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association (CNLA) recently called for a voluntary ban of 25 cultivars of Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). The parent species – in photo to the right - has overtaken much of Connecticut forestland and large stands of the thorny green woody shrub appear to act as optimal host areas for Lyme-disease carrying ticks. As reported by CNLA, the 3-year phase-out includes the 25 cultivars that are most prolific at seed production. Another 18 cultivars – those at the bottom 10% for seed production – are not included in this voluntary ban. Click here to read the full CNLA report and the list of banned and permitted barberry cultivars.

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By joenesgarden, 1 year and 5 months ago

Symposium on Managing Invasive Plants

Attention homeowners, landscape pros, gardeners, and anyone else interested in managing invasive plant species in Connecticut. Note the date listed below – October 14, 2010 – when the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group presents an all day symposium on managing invasive plants.

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By joenesgarden, 2 years ago

Make a difference. Plant natives.

Bringing Nature Home-inside Garden as if life depended on it!  Doug Tallamy wrote these words in my copy of his book, Bringing Nature Home.  No, I'm not a special friend or acquaintance, he wrote similar, if not identical words inside all the books he signed that day.  On the other hand, though, I am special.   I'm a gardener with extraordinary power … I can choose to plant whatever I want.  You are also extraordinary, as you have exactly the same power as I.  And if we, as gardeners, do just a little of what Tallamy suggests – increase the number of native plants growing in each of our gardens– we, individually and together, may be able to make a significant difference in the nature of our future.

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