Holiday Trees Nothing enhances a festive mood like the scent of fresh evergreens. Follow these tips to make the most of your holiday greenery: Choose a Christmas tree that has firm needles that don’t fall from branches when handling the tree. Individual needles should bend rather than snap if you pinch them between your fingers. […]
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To choose the perfect poinsettia: Pick a plant with small, tightly clustered buds in the center. Look for crisp, bright, undamaged foliage. Avoid plants displayed in drafty or crowded areas. To keep the poinsettia blooming: When surface soil is dry to the touch, water thoroughly. Discard excess water in the saucer. To prolong color, keep […]
· Amaryllis bulbs may be started now. If they are established bulbs in old pots, two inches of soil should be removed from the surface and replaced with a good, rich mixture. · Make sure the pots of forcing bulbs are full of roots before moving into sunlight, and make sure they are watered adequately […]
Rake and compost large leaves from oak and maple trees. Smaller leaves from ash, honey locust, and birch trees may be chopped with a mulching mower when dry and left on your lawn. Spread clean straw, marsh hay or oak leaves over tender perennials, newly planted bulbs and strawberries before temperatures drop into the teens […]
From What makes a “winter” garden special? Or perhaps the question should be: what makes an ordinary garden a special winter garden? Quite simply, the fact that a garden appears at a time when everything else in the winter landscape is dull, plain and brown is outstanding alone.