joene's garden: joene's garden

By joenesgarden, 7 months and 26 days ago

Keep gardens neat looking with deadheading

As a garden coach and personal gardener most of my springtime gardening work is done in clients' gardens. Gardening at home happens in tidbits of time. Fortunately, I only need tidbits of time to keep up with deadheading. Many clients and gardening friends have questions about deadheading – gardeners' term for removing of spent flowers. But careful attention to how a perennial flowers offers clues to how to deadhead. You don't want to cut down all green growth since perennials use the greenery to produce energy to survive. But unless you plan to harvest seeds from a specific perennial, allowing it to go to seed is simply taxing the plant's energy for no good gardening reason. So I expend a fair portion of my home gardening time removing spent blossoms. Beside ensuring perennials don't waste good energy on seed production, deadheading keeps the gardens looking fresh and allows currently blooming flowers to take center stage.

Keep reading →

Related posts

Share this post

By joenesgarden, 1 year and 7 months ago

June Blooms

Cool days and nights and overcast skies marked the first half of June in south central Connecticut. Nearly daily rain of some amount interspersed with heavy downpours and strong thunderstorms kept soils consistently wet. Pansies, loving the cool temperatures, still bloom. Ferns and mosses thrive in the nearly constant moisture. The peonies were glorious, but short-lived – just as the biggest blossoms opened wide rains pelted them down. The last of my peony blossoms will go by this week, but later blooming iris are coming on strong along with many other happy blossoms to show on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2010.

Keep reading →

Related posts

Share this post

By joenesgarden, 1 year and 8 months ago

Eyes on Iris

iris pallida-Aureo-variegata2 What's best about May in Connecticut? The warming weather, the bright sunshine, more daylight, trees in full leaf, fantastic spring flowers, and IRIS … it's the one flower I cannot get enough of.

Keep reading →

Related posts

Share this post

By joenesgarden, 1 year and 9 months ago

Making cut flowers last

narcissi in mason jar With gardens producing more and more delicious looking blooms, the temptation is to cut some of these beauties to enjoy indoors.  Unfortunately, too many suffer fear of flower arranging and miss opportunities to enjoy flowers during moments when they cannot get outdoors.  Bringing flowers in is one of the best parts of gardening.  It gives the gardener, and everyone else who passes by the mason jar of daffodils or the bouquet of peonies, the chance to wonder at the mystery – and often the scent - of each unique flower. 

Keep reading →

Related posts

Share this post

By joenesgarden, 2 years and 6 months ago

Bloom Day – July 2009

The rain has slowed, the sun is warm, but at mid-July we are still having rather cool (50 degree) nights.  Here's what is blooming in my Connecticut gardens.

Keep reading →

Related posts

Share this post

← Previous 01 02 Next →

PHOTOS POSTED HERE ARE NOT FOR REPRODUCTION, unless of course you ask for and receive permission from joenesgarden.
Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker

Enter your email address to receive joene's garden updates

RSS joenesgarden feed

Enjoy today … we are not promised tomorrow.

Follow Me on Pinterest

Garden Coaching, Design, Care

Garden Column

Gardening Gang

Gardening Links

Gardening Reads

Links-CT Fresh Foods

My Favorite Photographer

Non-Gardening Blogs

Professional Affiliations

Meta

Search

Tags

Favorite sites

Subscribe

Categories

Bloggers

Archives

Latest posts

Latest comments

  • Misjudged collaboration causes an NWF GOOPs:
    • joenesgarden: Debbie, NWF's GOOPs certainly seemed to be an eye opener for many NWF collaborators. Only time will tell whether NWF's reputation is sullied.
    • Debbie/GardenofPossibilities: Joene, What a good example of a major GOOPs. As Laurrie noted, it's unbelievable that NWF never mentioned the groundswell of outrage as a factor in the decision to end the partnership. I guess regadless of how/why it happened, most people are pleased it's over. BTW, thanks for the shout-out.
    • joenesgarden: Laurrie, The NWF's GOOPs may direct more followers to local wildlife-protecting and environmental organizations. This would be a good thing.
    • Laurrie: Talk about a gardening oops, this was a monster one. Absolute debacle. It's interesting that when they rescinded the partnership they blamed it on the lawsuits and gave no credit to the groundswell of public outrage. Never mentioned that at all. Unbelievable. My OOPS is on my blog today and...
  • Connecticut’s new planting zones:
    • joenesgarden: Jean, I think all seasoned gardeners understand zone map recommendations are no substitute for knowing your property, as your experience with temperature extremes in your Maine garden illustrates. I'm honored you named me as one of your Versatile Bloggers. I would participate if not for the sharing rules ... thanks anyway. I hope...
    • Jean: Joene, I was just looking at the new hardiness zones for Maine, and it brought home your point about knowing your own garden conditions. On the new map, my town has been moved from the boundary of zones 4b and 5a firmly into 5b. But the low temperature for zone 5b is -15F, and I...
    • joenesgarden: Debbie, I think the map is useful for new gardeners just beginning to understand what hardiness zones mean. It will also be very helpful to gardeners facing a move and garden and landscape designers who work in many different locations.
    • Debbie/GardenofPossibilities: Joene, I love the new interactive map. I'm still a zone 6b but 7a is creeping close.

Most commented posts

Array