Horticulture

Bare root season begins as the year ends for a simple reason. That is when deciduous plants are dormant. They are unaware of the otherwise distressful process of relocation. This is also why winter is the season for dormant pruning. Such pruning would be...

Home gardens are becoming shadier. Modern homes are taller to fit closer together. Modern fences are taller to compensate. Densely evergreen trees and large shrubbery compensate more. Taller homes and fences, and denser vegetation, shade more of their smaller modern parcels. Not much sunlight...

All cacti are succulents. However, not all succulents are cacti. Actually, cacti are a very unique family. Their distinctive spines and thorns are very specialized leaves and stems. Such specialized leaves can not photosynthesize without green chlorophyll. Therefore, cacti rely on their succulent green...

Gardening is fun. Furthermore, gardens are pretty. Some gardens also produce fruits and vegetables. Not very long ago, production of fruits and vegetables was more of a priority for more gardens. Some big gardens generated firewood and a bit of forage for livestock. Contemporary...

Maya Angelou likely enjoyed gardening. She said, “In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” That is how the healthiest of ecosystems, including home gardens, function. Vegetable gardens are generally diverse. However, each group of a particular vegetable is rather homogenous. Crop rotation...

All weeds are plants. Not all plants are weeds. Weeds are a specifiable subset of plants. Specifically, weeds are plants that grow wildly where they are undesirable. Similarly, dirt is likely soil, although it could be anything that is dirty. Soil is not merely...

Spring is when most rodents are most active. Although they do not hibernate locally, they are a bit less active through winter.  Their activity increases with warming spring weather. Their progeny increases their population. Assorted fresh vegetation that sustains them is most abundant. Their activity...

Spring bloom is the most colorful color in the garden here. It is not the only color, though. Some deciduous foliage will provide color at the opposite end of the year. Bark can add a bit of color, particularly while deciduous trees defoliate for...

Few trees that inhabit home gardens begin their residency as nature intended them to. Most are exotic, from other ecosystems, regions and climates. Almost all initially grew in nurseries, with their roots confined to cans of soilless media. Most rely on pruning and binding...

Landscape design and gardening trends change like every other sort of fashion. Several fads of the past were quite practical and justifiable. Many were not. Whether justifiable or not, many merely became old fashioned. Some evolved into a more contemporary style. Others were not...