A reader reached out to share her question with me about her beautiful forsythia hedge surrounding a birdbath in her garden. As she cleaned the bird bath, she poured the diluted bleach water onto the forsythia, not realizing the impact it would have. Unfortunately, bleach doesn’t agree with forsythia, even if it does keep the […]
Eric Larson
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Witch Hazel is an enchanting scent on a sunny day
Have you been out in your garden yet to smell the flowers? That may seem a strange question, after all, much of the snow has just recently melted. Still, I hope to bring you ideas you may never have considered trying in your own backyard. As I discuss the beautiful plant Witch Hazel, I hope […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Woodpeckers are on my barn
Starting in late fall, I feed the woodpeckers suet cakes. A while ago, I was at Home Depot picking up a shovel for a job when I heard someone asking how to fix a woodpecker that was leaving holes in their barn. One of my readers was standing at Home Depot and asked if we […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Design a delectable diet for Baltimore Orioles
One of my readers asked me, “How can I encourage a Baltimore Oriole to come into myyard?” You can get a Baltimore Oriole or Icterus galbula to notice your feeders in an easy way with the feeders that you might find at various stores that have sections that specialize in feeding birds. The challenge is […]
Posted inLife and Culture
A Stroll Through the Garden: Sweet potatoes are a staple at holiday meals
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 […]
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 inOutdoor
A Stroll Through the Garden: English Ivy and its challenges
A while ago, a reader and a business associate asked me to identify a plant that hadclimbed up a tree and was in bloom that year. I recently got a similar e-mail about English Ivy in the yard of one of my readers. This first business associate had a side yard that had several types […]
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: Greenhouse Whitefly infestation
I got an e-mail from one of my readers a few years ago. This gardener near Mohican State Park endured a terrible summer, because of the damage done to her zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes. From what I can see on the pictures I agree with the reader. This is a picture of whitefly problems on […]