Mid-Atlantic Gardening

Time 2021-10-30 15:11:27

Web Name: Mid-Atlantic Gardening

WebSite: http://www.midatlanticgardening.com

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description:Helping people in the Mid-Atlantic region realize their gardening potential

Mid-Atlantic Gardening Helping people in the Mid-Atlantic region realize their gardening potential

Do You Remember?

Do you remember subscribing to a gardening blog a few years ago? One that caters to the Mid-Atlantic gardening region? Yeah me, too. And I even remember spending hours every day writing the blog posts.

Well, life happens and I happened to skip a few months (or years). Ive been thinking that I may write smaller posts that involve more discussion from the readersafter all, none of us are as smart as all of us, right? Soooo

MULCH

Sounds pretty mundane, huh? But what kind should you use? Pine bark nuggets? Double shredded hardwood? Dyed mulch? Cypress? Its easy to be overwhelmed by all of the choices out there. Ill give you my two cents if you promise to give me yours

What mulch do I use? Double shredded hardwood mulch. Why? Earthworms.

Photo by EcoWatch

Earthworms are the entire reason that I garden. I love digging a hole and seeing them squirming all around with their little wet, shiny selves. I love to know that they love eating my soil. And turning it into poop. That the plants love. That I love. Sound weird? Probably.

One thing that my co-workers and I noticed after using brown dyed mulch was the lack of earthworm activity. Like none. Zip. Nada. Areas that were full of earthworms the season before were void of them now. Did we happen to catch all of the earthworms on a bad day? Perhaps. But we decided to go back to plain old double shredded hardwood mulch. And guess what happened? Earthworms, thats what happened.

So tell mewhat has your experience been with the mulch you use?

February 4, 2017StaceyPermalink 10 Comments

Hello old and new readers alike!

Wow! I am amazed by the continued influx of New Subscriber e-mails I receive on a daily basis. I havent posted in nearly a year and I am quite embarrassed by my lack of posting.

Life is busy with two little people, a husband (who, quite honestly, takes care of himself), work, writing for Virginia Gardener magazine and working at a clients home on a weekly basis. We are hoping to move to our homestead within the next 7-8 months so there is the never ending to-do list to ready our current home for sale. I knowexcuses, excuses.

Perhaps some of you would like to shoot me some ideas as to what you would like to see me write about. Do you have a burning gardening question? An insect that just wont leave your plants alone? A replacement plant that you are looking for? IdeasI need lots of them! I hope to hear from all of you soon!

Stacey

September 3, 2013StaceyPermalink 8 Comments

Cleaning Up The Fall Garden

Brrrrits chilly outside. The wind has been blowing briskly today and thankfully, most of the leaves have finally fallen. Fellow horticulturists and I have discussed how the leaves seem to be hanging on longer this year. Perhaps its because we had a decent summer of rainfall, even though the temperatures were at or near 100 degrees for nearly a month. Regardless of the reason, Im delighted that the leaves have finally dropped so that I can get on with cleaning up the fall garden.

My black eyed Susans are mere sticks with dried seed heads, my Solomons Seal has withered to the ground and all that remains of my hostas are a few translucent leaves. Its time to take my handy Felcos to the dried seed heads and my fingers to the remains of the Solomons Seal and hostas. My evergreen perennials like Ajuga, Christmas fern and Heucheras will be fine with little or no maintenance until spring. Thank goodness.

This Heuchera will not require any maintenance until spring when theyll appreciate a nice haircut

Many gardeners fret over their perennials in the fall. Do I cut them back half way, all the way or not at all? Thankfully, Mother Nature has managed to go about her business for thousands of years without our doting over her. If you dont cut back your perennials, whats the worst that can happen? Theyll look untidy and unkempt but thats really the only concern. If you cut back a perennial that is dormant in the winter before all of the leaves turn brown and wither away, you can pretty much rest assured that it will be fine as it wouldnt have any leaves for photosynthesis during the winter anyway.

There are a few perennials that appreciate a bit more thought being put into their care. Heres a partial list:

Ornamental grasses these are best left untouched until February or early March here in Virginia. Theyll offer cover for birds and the snow looks magnificent against the seedheads.Hibiscus of course, Im talking about the perennial types like the Disco Belle series, Kopper King and all of the wonderful hybrids. The bare stalks, while not particularly attractive, are best left intact until the following spring.Balloon flowers The brown, dried foliage of Platycodon is highly susceptible to Botrytis, a deadly fungus. You can eliminate the worry completely by taking a few moments to swipe your hand across the dormant plants to remove the plants remains.

Other tasks to complete in cleaning up the fall garden include removing piled up leaves, putting away terra cotta pots that may crack in the winter weather and assessing areas that may need improvement at a later date. Perhaps that includes filling in with new perennials, adding a blooming shrub in the the spring or tucking in a few bulbs or annuals.

I love gardening but I am also thankful to live in Virginia where we have four seasons (usually). I look forward to the respite that winter offers but I also look forward to the anticipation of spring. Seed catalogs have already started filling my mailbox and its exciting to think of what next spring may bring. Have you already cleaned up your garden for the fall or do you still have chores to complete? Drop me a line in the comment section below.  If you enjoy being part of the Mid-Atlantic Gardening community, join our e-mail list (upper right hand corner of this page), become a fan on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Happy gardening!

November 24, 2012StaceyPermalink Leave a comment

Oops!

I just want to apologize to my readers for the website being down for the past few days. I let the domain name expireI kept thinking that I had a few more days before I had to renew. I was wrong!

As a result, Ive been unable to receive e-mails and I was in the middle of some good chats with some of you about your gardening issues. Please re-send your e-mailsI promise you wont receive that weird message about Daemonwhoever he is. And no, that wasnt a picture of me with the backpack on.

TAGS:Mid Atlantic Gardening 

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