Organic Insect Control
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Frogs and Toads, Organic Insect Control
A Surprise Visit from the Gray Treefrog: Musical Chameleon of the Native Forest
Wait… Is That Lichen on My Chair? Luckily, I Spotted This Tiny Member of the Arboreal Choir (Hyla versicolor), in the Nick of Time! If you live in North America, chances are you’re more familiar with the springtime song of gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor), than you are with the colors and patterns of this amphibian’s […]
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Begonias, cactus, Conservatory, Container Gardening, Decorating Ideas, Exotic Plants, Garden projects for kids, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Green House Gardens, Home, House Plants, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Insects/Entomology, orchids, Organic Insect Control, Plant Spotlight, Poisonous Plants, Secret Garden Room, Succulents, Succulents in Containers
Out With The Old & In With The New: Creating A Lush & Lively Indoor Oasis …
Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: A Scene from My Wintertime Oasis. Clockwise from back:Â Cycas revoluta, Agave geminifolia & Kalanchoe ‘Manginii’ I kicked my Christmas tree out yesterday (p.s. Sorry Mr. Balsam, I will miss your sweet fragrance, but you were growing stale and it was time for a fresh start). Of course no sooner did I […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Color in the Garden, Container Gardening, Decorating the Garden, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Inspirational Gardens, Organic Insect Control, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, Pots and Pottery, pruning, scree gardens, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Texture
Un-Flower Pots: Designing & Caring for Spectacular Succulent Container Gardens
Beautiful Container Gardens are all about Color, Form and Texture. Great Designers Work with both Contrasts and Harmonies to Create Stunning Results. Hanging basket available at Walker Farm. Saturday morning I spent the better part of an hour and a half listening to enthusiastic oohs and ahhs at Walker Farm’s Succulent Container Gardening & Hanging […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Native Plants, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Wildflowers and Meadows
Birds, Bees & Butterflies in the Garden: A Seminar on Attracting Winged Beauty! Brattleboro Garden Club in Vermont
I’ll be presenting a free gardening seminar with slide show & discussion: “Gardening to Attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies” Please note that the Brattleboro Garden Club has changed the time of this event to 6 pm. Thank you! This event is sponsored by the Brattleboro Garden Club and will take place Monday, March 14th at […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, Extending the Growing Season, flowering shrubs, Garden Visits, Gardening Inspiration, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Inspirational Gardens, New England, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Summer flowering shrubs, Tropical Plants, Wind Breaks
On Magic Wings: A Visit to the Beautiful Butterfly Conservatory & Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden…
Postman (Heliconius melpomene) – Native to Central and South America Spring may be fast approaching, but yesterday’s cold and wintry temperatures left me craving a bit of warmth, moisture and color. I love visiting conservatories at this time of year, and fortunately, I live near several, wonderful gardens-beneath-glass. One of my favorite wintertime ‘vacation’ spots […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Container Gardening, Cooking, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Deer, Flower Seeds, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers, Front Yard Gardens, Fruit for home gardens, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Journals, Garden Maintenance, Garden Paths, Garden Rooms, Home, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, seed starting, Seeds, soil science, strawberries, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Dreaming of Springtime’s Sweet Veggies: Planning a Lush, Welcoming Potager…
A tumbling jumble of nasturtiums creates a warm welcome for people and pollinators alike Sweet seats! In June, the potager becomes my outdoor living/dining room Wide pathways and mounded-earth beds give me plenty of room to work and maneuver about with carts and wheelbarrows Winter is a wonderful season —I’m still having fun snowshoeing and […]
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Conservatory, Container Gardening, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Rooms, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Studio Garden, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, The Seasons, Tropical Plants, Winter, Woody Plants
Indoor Eden: Trouble in Paradise… Aphids & Scale Attack the Studio Oasis!
Pots in the Studio – Kalanchoe ‘Tessa’ (About to Bloom) Shares Space with Other Succulents (Mustard pot: Crassula ovata ‘Minimus’, Senecio macroglossus ‘Variegata’. Green pot: Kalanchoe mangini and Crassula ovata) By now, it should be fairly obvious that I take as much pleasure in my garden during the winter months as I do during the […]
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Garden Journals, Garden Maintenance, garden tools, Gifts for Gardeners, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Planting Techniques, Record Keeping, Seed Kits, Seed- Saving, Seeds, The Seasons, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
Marking Time’s Passage in the Garden: Beautiful & Practical Journals…
Keeping a permanent record of your garden is one of the keys to horticultural success! I keep records for both my vegetable plot and my ornamental gardens December 2010. It’s hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close, isn’t it? While flipping through my garden journal last week, I couldn’t help but […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Dragonflies, Nature, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, The Seasons
I Spy a Beautiful, Scarlet-Red Dragonfly! Meet the Autumn Meadowhawk…
An Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly (Odonate sympetrum vicinum) Rests in the October Sun Look, it’s a red dragonfly! Actually, to be specific, this dragonfly is commonly known as an Autumn Meadowhawk (Odonate sympetrum vicinum). I got so excited when I saw this beautiful creature lighting beside me on a lichen-covered stone the other day, that I […]
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companion planting, Cooking, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Garden Rooms, Garlic, Herb Gardening, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, Potatoes, Secret Gardens, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
August Abundance: Notes from the Kitchen Garden…
My Summertime Kitchen Mid August is always a busy month in the kitchen garden. Abundant cucumbers, summer squash, beans, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and onions must be harvested and put up —frozen, dried, pickled and/or canned— at the peak of freshness. Late summer chores in the potager include watering —especially during this extended dry spell we […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Caterpillars, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Photographers
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Insect Enemy Number One: Tomato Hornworm Wanted Dead or Alive!
The Hornworm (Manduca sexta) – Image â“’ Tim Geiss at Poltergeiss Wanted Dead or Alive: Manduca quinquemaculata (and also Manduca sexta) aka The Hornworm. Although he looks almost clownish in Tim Geiss’ photo (above), this garden pest is no laughing matter. The hornworm feeds on tomato plants and their relatives (other nightshades of the Solanaceae family; including peppers, tomatillos, eggplants, […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Ferncliff, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Organic Disease Control, Organic Insect Control, Reflections, Sculpture and Features, stonework, Tea Gardens, Water Bowl, Water Gardens
Inspiration: The Japanese Tea Garden… Water Bowls Reflect Quiet & Calm
Image â“’ Linda Younker from Gardening with Stone by Jan Whitner Calm, cool and serene; even the tiniest pool of water can create a quiet, contemplative mood in the garden. In summer’s sweltering, mid-day heat, a few stolen moments in a shady oasis can refresh and rejuvenate the spirit. Whether constructed from hypertufa, carved from […]
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companion planting, Cooking, Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Homemade Remedies: Anti-Fungal, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Sweet Summertime Risotto with Zucchini, Basil & Golden Peppers & Cultural Notes and Tips from the Kitchen Garden…
Summertime Risotto â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE Endless summer. Between the deep green leaves in my kitchen garden, zucchini plants offer up their tender, young fruit and bell peppers glisten in the morning sun. Green and purple basil plants —pinched to form bushy mounds— brush my ankles, scenting the air as I walk along the […]
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Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Chinese Proverb: The Best Fertilizer is The Gardener’s Shadow…
The Gardener and Her Shadow Delivering Fish Emulsion to Cippolini Onions… Photo â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE Morning Chores After the Rain Storm. Photo â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE High winds, driving rain, thunder and lighting; a violent band of storms shook me wide awake last night and when I heard hail on the tin […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Birds, Container Garden Fruits, Fragrance, Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Indoor Gardening, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, strawberries, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Ruby-Red, Fragrant Fraises des Bois: Life’s Sweetest Little Luxuries…
Fraises des Bois, or alpine strawberries, offer a continuous supply of summertime fruit – Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE Oh the magic of Fraises des Bois! To me, they look as if they belong at the center of a tiny table in an enchanted forest; one set just for leprechauns, fairies, nymphs and elves. Alpine […]
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Insects/Entomology, Native Plants, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Viburnum, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Native Plant Seminar Discussions: Viburnum Beetle Alert…
Healthy Viburnum trilobum foliage and flower buds Over the weekend, I presented a talk on native plants for ornamental landscape use to a fantastic group of New England gardeners, and some very good questions were raised about alien pests and diseases of North American native plants. One of the gardeners participating in the workshop mentioned […]
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Books, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Organic Manifesto: Maria Rodale’s Unflinching Look at the Perilous State of Farming in America & A Call to Action…
Maria Rodale’s Organic Manifesto, (available at Barnes & Noble today) Last year, when a friend of mine insisted that I rent and watch “King Corn”, I put my name on a long waiting list, even though I am not one to get overly excited about documentaries. I’d heard about the film of course, and after […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Insects/Entomology, Nature, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Vegetable Gardening
Hello Friend – WAIT – Whose Team Are You On Anyway?
It’s easy to recognize this friend as an adult. A ladybug rests upon Peperomia. Photo © Michaela at TGE Hello friend… or foe? In all of life it’s important to know your friends from your enemies, but as gardeners this issue is especially important. We are conditioned to think of bugs as destructive, ‘icky’ and […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Birds, Black Plants, Cooking, Dark Plants, Garden Design, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Vegetable Gardening, Virginia Wyoming Pottery, Winter Garden
The Gothic Gourmet: Black Beauties and Dark Delights of the Potager…
Pasilla Bajio (the little raisin) – from White Flower Farm Imagine gleaming, glossy, black peppers, shiny as patent leather shoes. Picture dark red, tell-tale-heart tomatoes and ebony eggplant polished to a satiny patina. Now visualize amethyst hued basil, purple kohlrabi and blue-black cabbage. Intrigued? Welcome to the slightly sinister, and delightfully decadent world of gothic-gourmet […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Books, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening
A New Year’s Resolution for Gardeners: Making Informed Choices About Gardening Practices and Products to Support a Healthy, Natural Environment…
We  ♥ Mother Earth The new year often brings about a desire for change and personal reckoning. We make promises, resolutions and plans to better ourselves and the world around us. Over the past couple of years, many people have committed to building environmentally conscious, self-sufficient lives. As a result, gardening, particularly vegetable gardening, has […]
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Books, Garden Design, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening
Cozying up by the Fire: Kitchen – Gardening Guide Books to Give or Get…
My favorite place to read: beside a glowing fire… The photograph above was taken last night from a favorite old chair, where I will be spending my leisure hours reading during the months of January and February. And although a few calendar weeks remain until winter officially begins in the northern hemisphere, I have already started […]
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