One of my readers asked me recently when a person should dig up her sweet potato vines and harvest her sweet tubers. Despite its name sweet potato is not a true potato. Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) is related to field bindweed. This nutritious tuber is a wonderful addition to any Christmas meal. The orange flesh […]
A Stroll Through the Garden
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden with Blue Fountain Bamboo
One of my readers found out that I liked bamboo and other adventuresome plants. The question was about my experience with Blue Fountain Bamboo (Fragesia nitida). Blue Fountain bamboo for me was a prima donna. I had to tend to every need and desire for years, or it would shrivel up and die. Because I […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Here’s how to protect your strawberry plants before winter
A reader recently asked whether there was anything special she needed to do during the winter months for her new strawberries to do well. There is in fact some special care that you need to take before the full brunt of winter claims its position. We are a little late this year, but we need […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Designing your landscape for wildlife
A few years ago, I had an unusual request from one of my clients. My client asked me to design a landscape that would be sensitive to wildlife and attract certain birds to her yard. At the time, it was an idea just finding an audience that would entertain it. In the last Master Gardener […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Understanding anti-transpirants
Several years ago, I had a reader ask, “Why should I use an anti-transpirant?” As landscapers, we would use this product to reduce water vapor escaping from the plant. Anti-transpirants or anti-desiccants are compounds that are applied to the leaves of plants to reduce transpiration. They consist of a colorless film sprayed onto a leaf […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Studying Nostoc algae, or the green glob
A few years ago, in July, I was at a reception where this young man was getting ready to head into basic training. One of my friends from church came up to me at this point and asked me about this green stuff — almost like green Jello — on their driveway. She said, “We […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Jack-O-Lantern Mushrooms can have a toxic nature
ASHLAND — A few weeks ago I got an email from one of my readers about a mushroom in his yard. They were beautiful little gold mushrooms growing right out of the ground. I am not a mushroom expert, but do seek expertise when available. A reader and a member of the Ohio Mushroom Society […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Bouncing bronze birch borer from your dirt patch
I got a call a few years ago from one of my readers. His Paper Bark Birch was in severe decline. From what I could see, this two-foot-diameter tree was dying. I explained the dire situation of the tree to the homeowner. He decided to take down the tree. The way the trees die from […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: These bulbs bring color in winter & spring
Now is the time to really get started with several bulbs that need vernalization, or in other words, experience some of the cold temperatures that winter brings. The main reason you start now is that the bulbs need to set roots. The roots set best with soil temperatures at 55 degrees F and above. October […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Ferns and shade gardening
It seems that the end of the season is coming up, and we are writing this column during theAshland County Fair. My ferns are some of the last plants that turn brown. My friend asked,“Are there native Ohio Ferns that I could plant in my shade garden.” Shade gardening is a real challenge on a […]