Even though I’ve been a gardener for a long time, it’s only been in the last five years or so that I’ve invested in tools for my feet. A few things got me thinking about shoes ...
Blog
Freeze tomatoes and peppers, but leave the stinkbugs outdoors
The last gasps of the growing season yield an onslaught of tomatoes and peppers and these are vegetables that don’t keep very well without some type of preservation. After ...
Harvest, houseplants, composting and lawns top of mind in fall
If you haven’t already, start bringing in houseplants that spent the summer outdoors. Temperatures have fallen into the 50s some nights, and that’s the indicator that houseplants ...
Favorite shrub companions for the perennial garden
Noted horticulturist and author Stephanie Cohen blew into town a couple of weeks ago to talk about companion shrubs for her favorite plants, perennials. Shrubs provide the ...
What’s that plant, insect or disease? There’s an app for that!
You know how it is. You’re on a walk and you see a plant and wonder what it is. Or, one of the plants in the garden starts to look really bad. Is it an insect, ...
Dahlias perk up the late-summer garden
Dahlias have never been a favorite of mine, mainly because they always seemed persnickety — prone to mildew, rot and spider mites to name a few challenges. But this year, ...
Be on the lookout for risky trees
Fresh from a meeting of 400 member of Garden Writers Association in Pittsburgh, I thought I’d share what I learned in a class, Recognizing At-Risk Trees by Bob Polomski, a ...
Hibiscus sawfly appears in Indiana gardens
In some Hoosier gardens, hibiscus leaves look like green lace. Don’t blame the damage on Japanese beetles. The real culprit is the hibiscus sawfly larva, which has an appetite ...
Fall coverups for the garden
If you’re considering planting a fall crop of lettuce, spinach, broccoli and other cool-season vegetables, now is the time. Some plants already growing in the garden, such as ...
Fall Master Gardener classes begin in September
Two Master Gardener programs will be conducted this fall in Marion County with 18 three-hour sessions in each program. This popular program is for adults who would like to learn ...