WARNING: It’s too early to plant your garden. You are still in planning mode. Recently, when I did the garden talk in Bellville, I made it clear that it is still very early to start turning the soil or planting a raised bed outside. Over 100 years of weather records reveal that mid-May is a […]
Eric Larson, correspondent
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Time to put shovels in the ground
If you can take notes on a topic, you won’t have to decide on a new workable plan tomorrow. When I make the same mistake over and over, I feel foolish. If we can keep a journal for the year and record experiences, it can be a start for planning the garden next year. Records […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: How to get started planting
Clearing the ground is an essential part of any new or old garden. Our new plants will needspace for the roots to grow. If you can get rid of the sod in the area, you’re closer to planting. When someone hires me as a landscape designer, normally I make a new bed. One of the […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Details must be considered before beginning to dig
We have started a new season as we come into March. I have enjoyed getting outside and working in the garden when I can bend over and do the planting. I was at a birthday party ten years ago for my grandson and his other grandpa, talking about the growing season. The other grandpa asked […]
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A Stroll Through The Garden: The beauty & benefits of Bromeliads
Last week a new friend and a reader of my column asked what she could do about the flu. During the COVID-19 epidemic, I remembered being told about an unusual herbal remedy. I experienced the combination of Quercetin and Bromelain to help combat all kinds of problems in the respiratory system. My new friend and […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Chanca Piedra is an herbal remedy for gall & kidney stones
A few years ago, I woke up with severe stomach pain. I could barely function. My first reaction was to ask the doctor what was happening in my stomach. She said that “I was looking at gallbladder disease. All that pain you are suffering is something that you are going to have to endure until […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Snowdrops & Groundhog Day are connected
A few weeks ago, a friend from Loudonville asked what my favorite early flowering plant was? Answering that question is like answering the question, “Who is my favorite child?” Honestly, I love all the early bloomers because they proclaim the promises of spring. On Feb. 2, 2025, we all celebrated Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil predicted […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Calamondin offers a big impact on small fruit
Last week, while I was going to town, a neighbor and friend from church asked me what I knew was an orange-like small tree that begins with C. He knew that I understood plants. I said, “Calamondin.” I was right. My new friend owns a calamondin tree that grew a bumper fruit crop this season. […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Winter Aconite, Davey Crockett & the Bar
ASHLAND — Last week, after being inside hibernating for too long, I was starting to look forward to some sunshine. On Inauguration Day, I saw some sunshine out the window, and it gave me some hope that the sun still existed, but it was cold. While on the radio program the week before, the radio […]
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A Stroll Through the Garden: Mind your wood ash
I hope all of you survived this last week’s cold and snow after New Year’s. A reader from the butcher shop in Jeromesville, asked an unusual question years ago. Concern filled her inquiry about throwing wood ash in her garden. She wondered whether the practice of spreading wood ash in the garden was something a […]