Carol Michel has come a long way since I first interviewed her shortly after she won the 2009 Mouse and Trowel Award for MayDreamsGardens.com, voted the best blog by readers from ...
Summertime blues are here early
Three clematis and larkspur are showing their summer blues. I don’t know how many years I sowed seed for annual blue larkspur (Consolida ajacis), but I could never get it going. ...
Rain-enhanced plant growth invites insects
There seems to be a lot to be on the lookout for this spring. For instance, I noticed finches sitting on the branches of the ‘Goldflame’ honeysuckle vine, pecking at the flower ...
Dogwood anthracnose can be a killer
The other day while gazing out my front window, I noticed the leaves on one of the two flowering dogwood trees looked very small. I darted out of the house to get a ...
Campaign promotes selling, planting native plants
The Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society and The Nature Conservancy have partnered to encourage gardeners to grow native plants. One of the ways it does this is by promoting ...
Mother’s Day converges with prime time for warm-season plants
One of the things about working at a garden center around Mother’s Day is you are busy. Really busy. It’s all about the plants. First, Mother’s Day is considered ...
Let kids get their hands dirty
Young girl watering the vegtable garden with a hose. (C) Fotolia The first time I grew vegetables, the harvest was more than the bounty. That was the summer my then ...
Spring rush challenges gardeners. Is your community having a garden tour?
It’s been spring at the speed of light. Just like magical gardens, lots of plants are blooming at the same time, rather than staggering their show over several weeks. Don’t ...
Science is a big part of a well-maintained lawn
We’re moving into the gardening season, so let’s talk about the lawn. For a lot of people, that’s what gardening season is: Mowing the lawn, fertilizing it, watering it, worrying ...
Sometimes you just need to rant. And rave.
A Rant Trees are coming down all along the White River levee on Indianapolis’ north side. It’s a sad, unsettling scene. Under direction of the Army Corps of Engineers, the trees ...