Looking Back at 2014 and Resolutions for the 2015 Garden

Pansies grown from seed in 2014,

It seems everyone is already nostalgic on this New Year's Eve. One of the highlights of my year was my garden, where I sought refuge when life became too chaotic. The garden not only was a place for me to focus excess energy, but also a way to socialize with others. I ended up sharing 256 photos of my garden on my personal Facebook account (where my friends graciously humored my collection of photos of flowers). I also had the opportunity to be interviewed for the Back to My Garden podcast, which was awesome! As usual, I made more friends at garden centers and signed up for one of my town's garden clubs (apparently there are three). The front garden became my conversation piece as dog walkers and joggers went by. I shared (literally) the fruits of my labor, where people in the neighborhood were given pears from the trees or tomatoes from the grow beds. 

So many tulips! I hope they return this year.

This blog in itself headed into a new direction. Instead of only focusing on my personal perspectives of gardening, I used my journalism training and prior experience to make this blog a reporting platform for all things gardening. Beginning in February, I began attending local lectures and workshops to write up for Frau Zinnie. I covered a total of 26 gardening events in 2014, a number I hope to double in 2015. I love learning about gardening, and I love sharing what I learn with you. I also added a new page that lists all my reviews in one place. It's a short list right now, but one I plan on expanding in 2015.

One of the several hellebores added to the garden this year.

As for production, the garden produced the following food: 22 pounds of tomatoes, 3 pounds of beans, 1 pound of garlic and 57.5 pounds of pears. Just imagine what the totals would have been if I planted the garlic in a better location or if the squirrel hadn't stolen so many pears! (The totals were also reported to Go Grow It, a twitter handle where gardeners were encouraged to report their food pound totals with the aim of reaching a collective 5,000 pounds.)

The female butterfly I raised thanks to my friend, Diane St. John.

As for the garden itself, it held up pretty well, despite a drier than normal summer. I battled one main garden pest, the groundhog, that I learned to live with as the season went on. New paths were created in the front garden with mulch that took me until autumn frost to move from the driveway to its permanent home. There were lots of toads and butterflies in the garden, and the return of monarchs as well (and thanks to a friend I was able to raise one to release). I finally managed to photograph the hummingbirds on one sunny afternoon as well as the elusive Carolina wren, which proves that the key to attracting wildlife to your garden is by not using chemicals.

The first garden bed I chiseled out of the lawn in 2009.

Overall, the garden put on its best color show to date. It has grown dramatically from the first growing season in 2009, where the property consisted of only lawn. Not even a shrub. Looking back at one of my only photos from 2009 (at right), I can't believe how far it has come. Instead of lush green weeds (don't be fooled, it was never a pretty lawn), there are six trees, a garden path and two arbors, just to name a few changes. And thankfully I realized how tacky red mulch is. (Dyed? Yuck. No thank you anymore!) Some of those plants didn't make it (like the lilies that were decimated by the red lily beetle and the coreopsis that just doesn't like my garden, no matter where I try to plant it). Other plants, like the silver lamb's ear, have become a running theme in the front garden. Now the front garden is larger, and it's my (often out of control) oasis. 

So, as for gardening plans (or resolutions), here's what I hope 2015 will bring:

Alyssum in the fall.

1. Plant more alyssum. I've put post-it notes all over to remind myself to order more seeds to grow in the garden. This plant was a workhorse this year, acting as an understudy for all the dramatic flowers, gracefully subsiding in the heat of the summer and returning with full vengeance in the fall. Alyssum, where have you been all my life?

2. Grow more food. I challenge you to, also. Just imagine if we all used our parcels of land to grow just one food crop. It doesn't have to be a vegetable. Think of all the blueberries, basil or garlic you can grow. Find things that you love and are expensive to purchase at the farm stand or grocery store. 

3. Create a garden for the house rabbits. When the groundhog took out my first attempt this year of a garden for rabbits, I didn't put up a fight. This year, I plan to grow more herbs and vegetables to feed the needy little adorable beasties that live in our home. 

4. Provide better support for the black raspberries. Luckily, Pinterest is a wealth of inspiration.

5. Harvest and dry my own herbs this year for cooking. I have lovely oregano - I shouldn't be wasting it!

"The Fairy" may look dainty, but she has long thorns.

6. Move my rambling version of "The Fairy" rose away from the walkway so the mailman won't be attacked.

7. Find out why my rhododendrons are not blooming (is it that blasted black walnut or the moisture-sapping maple from the neighbor's yard?). If I can't fix it, I think it's time to say goodbye and plant something that will be happy. Life is too short to struggle with plants that are Debbie Downers. (That goes for you too, mountain laurel.)

8. Don't start as many pansies from seed. This will be a hard promise to keep. But I need to keep it in check because they take up too much room when I really need to be starting other plants under my grow lights.

9.  Try something new. Pumpkins? Corn? I think I might have the perfect experimental spot in the backyard to play with.

10. Make better use of interspersing my edible plants with my ornamentals in the front garden.

That's just a jumping off point, but I hope to make Frau Zinnie even better in 2015. Of course, thank you to my husband who copy edits my work and writes snazzier headlines than I can. (It helps being married to a great editor.)

Most importantly, thank you for following my blog this year.  Onward to 2015!

Homeowners, Gardeners Must Be Smarter Than The Average Bear

Black bear - Photo Courtesy of the National Park Service.

GLASTONBURY, Conn. - Berries and grasses just can't compare to junk food like trash, birdseed, corn ... and even small livestock.

That is, if you are a black bear.

"They are like giant raccoons - they will eat whatever the can get," said Scott Reinhardt, seasonal Furbearer Technician for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, who tags, relocates and hazes nuisance bears. He is also a teacher for the Connecticut Audubon Society, where he recently lectured.

Black bears can be lured to homeowners' trash cans by the smell. To discourage this, Reinhardt said to keep trash bags in a container with a tight lid and store it in the garage or shed. Using a few capfuls of ammonia or bleach on top of trash bags can help mask the smell of food. Reinhardt said homeowners could put the trash out the morning of the collection as well.

But, if you store your trash cans inside, make sure it's a sturdy structure.

"We get thousands of calls every year of a bear tore through my shed, a bear went through my screen door, a bear went through my bird feeders or beehives - it happens all the time and it will happen more [as] they get pretty comfortable," Reinhardt said.

"They typically don't want to be around us," he said. But "they will come right up to your house if they are used to people enough."

Connecticut Landscape Suitable for Black Bears
Black bears love wooded and swamp areas, especially filled with mountain laurel. "They make the dens in laurel," he said. They can also use brush piles (such as the 400 pound male bear Reinhardt responded to in Goshen, Conn.) or in a rock cave (which is the least likely of the three, despite all the children's tales).

In the 1980s, black bears began to migrate into Connecticut from New York and Massachusetts. They are typically found in the northwestern section of the state.

"Bears are trying to survive in a much smaller area," said Reinhardt. "We're encroaching on their natural habitats."

Reinhardt is part of the team at the DEEP that ear tags both male and female bears, and collars females. (Their necks are smaller than their heads which makes collaring possible. This isn't possible with male black bears.)

"Tags help with sighting reports and nuisance reports," Reinhardt said. "It builds a resume for problem bears." Purple is the color often used for nuisance bears.

Be a Smart Homeowner
For Connecticut residents, waiting to fill bird feeders until after the first snowfall is a good way to deter black bears from dining in your garden. In areas where bear activity is high, bird feeders should be removed (or remain empty) from March through November to discourage bears from visiting (this is when they are typically the most active).

"Bears are pretty shy by nature - their first instinct is to run - like us," he said. "If it has a way out, it will take it." Typically black bears will climb trees to avoid threats.

While walking outside, keep dogs on a leash to avoid them running off after the bear. Keep rabbits in the home and not in outside hutches where bears will try to eat them.

"If you come out on your front porch and there is a bear going through your garbage, banging pots and pans is not going to help. It's like ringing the dinner bell. It's just ambient noise," said Reinhardt. "The bears really don't recognize it as you are directing it at them. It's like a car horn or traffic - they don't hear it. If you clap your hands and say, 'Hey bear! Get out of here!' - they're gone."

A loud noise, like a boat horn, will also spook bears and cause them to leave, said Reinhardt.

If gardeners are wary of being outdoors where black bears can be present, Reinhardt suggests carrying pepper spray* for "peace of mind."

"Lots of people like to have it when they are gardening - they feel safer having it because if a bear is coming up while they're digging up turnips in the yard and they're not looking ... they feel safer just being able to grab it and spray," he said.

"But if you are going to use pepper spray, you need to practice with it because it's not straight forward and there's lots of room for error," he said. "It sends out a cloud of hot pepper spray, and it can come back to you if you spray it into the wind ... you will mace yourself."

Reinhardt said pepper spray is an initial deterrent but not a solution. "If you spray, you want to get out of there as fast as possible," he said.

Most importantly, do not deliberately feed bears. This will make them less afraid of people and more likely to encourage problem behavior.

"If you give a bear a sandwich, he'll want a glass of milk," joked Reinhardt.

The DEEP encourages state residents to report bear sightings in Connecticut by using the Black Bear Sighting Report Form or by calling 860-424-3333. To view reported sightings in Connecticut by town, click here.

To learn more about black bears, click here.

* Pepper spray is illegal to have in most national parks because it is considered a weapon.

Gardener's Gift Guide 2014

Need something special for the gardener in your life? Unless they've left a not-so subtle hint that they want a new piece of garden equipment, the standard choices can be a little monotonous.

I've compiled a list of unique gifts for every gardener on your list - women, men ... even children.

Used with permission from Georgianna Lane.

2015 Flower Photo Calendar  - $11.00/$19.00
If you haven't discovered the magical world of Georgianna Lane photography yet, this is the perfect excuse to visit. These 12 individual calendar pages (available in 4x6 or 5x7 sizes) can be used on a memo board or easel for display. The pages are also suitable for framing.

Used with permission from One Lane Road.

Vegetable Garden Men's/Unisex T-shirt - $26.00
Need something for the male gardener in your life? How about this super soft cotton t-shirt that is screen-printed by hand from One Lane Road. Available in multiple sizes, this t-shirt, along with other garden-inspired designs in the shop, are original illustrations. Holiday delivery is estimated for all orders placed by Dec. 7.

Crystalline Koi - $80.00 each
Another option for the man in your life are the many selections offered from Fish in the Garden. Friendly representatives from this Maine company are always present at the garden shows I attend in late winter. They also bring their schools of fish to accent the display gardens at the shows. The koi look really nice around water features in gardens, too.

Used with permission from The Forest Sleeps.

Bunny Garden Markers - $6.00 each
These garden markers made out of recycled spoons and embellished with rabbits is a whimsical way to keep track of what's growing in your herb garden. The spoons are hand-stamped by shop owner Linda. There is also a Buy 2 Get 1 Free Special on the markers. (If you are into fairies, there's a style for that, too!)

Used with permission from Metal Garden Art.

Celestial Moon Steel Garden Stake - $9.95
This original design is one of the many decorative garden stakes offered at Metal Garden Art. The stake will weather naturally to a rust color but can be coated in clear lacquer to protect it.

Used with permission from Precious Meshes.

Little Bird Nest Earrings - $64.00
These adorable earrings are also perfect for any bird lovers on your holiday shopping list. The nests are handmade with crochet wire that are woven together, just as a bird will gather little bits of nature to make its nest. The bird nest jewelry is also available as necklaces and rings as well. (I purchased one of her necklaces in 2008 and I still receive many compliments every time I wear it.) Emily of Precious Meshes is also offering Frau Zinnie followers a 10 percent discount: use code precious10 to activate. Order by Dec. 10 to guarantee Christmas delivery.

Used with permission from Juicy Crafts.

Cotton Bandana - $11.50
These bandanas are handmade and perfect for keeping hair out of your face when gardening. They are machine washable and come in a variety of different fabrics to choose from. If you buy three or more headbands, use discount code JUICY15off to receive 15 percent off your order. I own several and they come in handy not only when I'm gardening, but when I'm at work, too.

Used with permission from Just Hatched.

Wooden Leaf Puzzle - $42.00
Show a child how great gardening can be by introducing them to nature with this puzzle from Just Hatched. Handmade from birch and sanded smooth by hand, these puzzles are made with nontoxic paint and a natural beeswax polish.

Walk-in Greenhouse - $135.50
If you have a gardener who always wants a jump on the growing season, this greenhouse from Territorial Seed may be just what he or she is looking for. It measures 6 feet 3 inches deep, 4 feet 1 inch wide and 6 feet 3 inches high.

Windowsill Herb Collection, used with permission from Smart Seeds. Click to enlarge.

Assorted Seed Offerings from Smart Seeds - Prices Vary
If you are looking for unusual seeds to grow in 2015, check out Smart Seeds. Using resources on six continents, you will find options not available in commercial catalogs. According to shop owner Mia, the three most popular items purchased in the shop include the Glass Gem Corn, the Rainbow Carrot Mix and the Windowsill Herb Collection. Passionflower seeds and the Butterfly Garden Collection are also popular choices. I'm definitely going to try the non-GMO Blauwschokkers Purple Podded Peas next year!

Happy shopping!

Five Annuals I Would Grow Again

"Yellow Cosmos" turns white as the flower ages.

I grow a lot of flowers, so when something grabs my attention, I view it as a keeper. Here are my top five flower picks that I will be growing again in 2015.

Seeds of Change - "Yellow Cosmos"
I have to be honest: I complained a lot about this plant throughout the growing season. It took forever to grow, it didn't like partial sun (only full sun), and it looked a little ugly without flowers. But then it bloomed in early fall when everything else was dying back ... and now I want to grow it again. The pale yellow flowers graced multiple stems that were 3 to 4 feet tall, and as the flowers aged, they turned white from the inside out. (It was so cool.) Seeds of Change unfortunately won't be offering them for sale in 2015 but will be in 2016. I saved some of my own seeds so here's hoping they are viable!

"Frances' Choice" marigold is large and in charge.

Seeds of Change - "Frances' Choice" Marigold
Get rid of whatever preconceived notions you have about marigolds being for amateur gardeners only. This marigold is a winner, and coincidentally another selection from Seeds of Change. I fell in love with this flower as it intermingled with my tomatoes this year. It's a tall variety that grows 4 to 5 feet tall (think a small shrub) by mid- to late- summer. It attracts bees and keeps blooming right until frost. I can't imagine my vegetable garden without it now. But maybe next year I won't plant it right on top of the driveway, since it liked to hug my husband when he got out of his truck.

Wild Garden Seeds - "Strawberry Blonde" Calendula

"Strawberry Blonde" calendula blossoms are pretty - and tasty.

Wild Garden Seeds has a huge selection of calendulas to choose from, but this remains one of my favorites. This calendula makes the prettiest flowers that are perfect for bouquets. They can be eaten, too. (My rabbits especially enjoy these as a treat!)

Select Seeds - Nicotiana "Cranberry Isle"

Pansy "Bolero See Me" reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

It's been a couple of years since I've grown nicotiana in my garden, and it looks like 2015 will be the year they return with vengeance. I've missed this tall flowering tobacco which has beautiful flowers in purple and pink hues. It will self-seed in the garden if you let it. It likes sun and a little room, but it will intermingle with other plants nicely, too. This is one of the prettiest flowering tobaccos sold by Select Seeds, with "Bella" being a close second.

Swallowtail Garden Seeds - Pansy "Bolero See Me"
I love to start pansy seeds in late January and early February (right when you need a kick of spring the most), and Swallowtail Garden Seeds offers a huge (and what I think is the best) selection of pansy and viola seeds. I often go back to this variety due to the dark pink face the flower has. They are also edible flowers that look great as a garnish on a spring birthday cake.

What flowers will you be growing in 2015?

Broken Clay Pot Fairy Garden Has Local Origin

A hammer and broken clay pieces have surprising uses in fairy gardens.

NORTHFORD, Conn. - Back in 2012, social media exploded with an image of a broken pot transformed into a fairy garden.

A quick creation by Natureworks employee Amber Robinson was shared on the Internet by her boss, Nancy DuBrule.

Organic Gardening magazine shared Robinson's photo on Facebook.

"She [DuBrule] had this broken pot and said to do something with it. When we first started doing fairy gardens, we were reusing all these broken things," said Robinson. (An old radio flyer red wagon was also converted into a fairy garden.)

"I made it in 15 minutes. We were getting ready to close. The next morning she took a photo of it and pinned it and it went viral from there," Robinson said.

Because the original image was a snapshot and not watermarked, only dedicated followers of Natureworks knew the source of the creation.

"Diane [St. John, store manager] found it on Facebook," said Robinson. Organic Gardening magazine had shared the image on Dec. 20, 2012, where it reached 11,868 likes, 900 comments and 11,594 shares. What followed was an explosion of copycat broken clay pot gardens, all inspired from Robinson's original.

St. John was surprised by the popularity.

"It was so amazing - it was on several Facebook pages (with no credit) and we would occasionally comment on them and say it was done by Amber, but then gave up, " said St. John. "It was just nice so many people liked it!"

Robinson shows how to make a
fairy garden out of broken clay pot.

"It somehow got linked back to Pinterest," said Robinson, where it snowballed in popularity. "One of my friends from Vermont even posted it and said she would make one, too," without knowing Robinson was the original creator.

Natureworks recently held a workshop to teach customers how to build their own broken clay pot fairy garden, led by Robinson. In the hour-long class, participants received a clay pot, two plants, soil and rocks to create their own creation.

"The hardest part is breaking the pot," said Robinson. After that, the design of the miniature garden comes together.

Ready to make your own? Here are the steps Amber taught her class to make their own clay pot creation.

Make Your Own Broken Clay Pot Fairy Garden

Amber Robinson, creator of the broken clay pot fairy garden, showed me how to make my own creation. Here are the steps from her October workshop:

Step 1.

Step 1: Lay the clay pot on its side and using a hammer, tap with medium strength along the side. Caution: if you tap too hard, you may break off more then you want.

Step 2

Step 2: Save the pieces that were removed. Use duct tape to reinforce any cracks that may appear on the inside of the clay pot for added stability.

Step 3

Step 3: Fill the pot with soil. Use one of the broken clay shards and push it into the middle of the pot. Be firm.

Step 4

Step 4: Add another clay piece if desired. Make sure the soil is firmly packed into place.

Step 5

Step 5: Using small broken pieces of clay (you may need to break up more with the hammer), push the shard horizontally into the pot to form the first step. Pack down dirt on top of the step to secure it. Then repeat with remaining clay shards.

Step 6

Step 6: Plant desired plants in your pot. (Robinson advised using plants that are often used in terrariums.) Moss (real or fake) can be used to cover up all exposed portions of the soil. (Rocks can be used for this purpose, too.)

Step 7

Step 7: Add fairy garden figurines! I added mushrooms, birdhouses and a small fairy to mine. Let your imagination decide how yours will look!

Floral Friday: The Last Hurrah

Even though it is November, the front garden still has flowers blooming. The Global Warming mums are doing a great job of keeping color in the garden (I'm up to three varieties in the garden now, but my favorite is Autumn Moon). A delphinium (that still needs a permanent home) is reblooming, as well as one of my yellow roses.

Tonight, in the dark, I went outside to cut flowers to bring indoors. Tonight might be our first frost of the season (which is late this year). I wanted to bring in some of the color before it disappears.

Click to enlarge.

Do you have anything blooming in your garden now?

Need a Pep Talk? We Can Close Out Autumn Together!

Overwhelming.

Hectic.

Short on time.

These are the words that often describe gardening at the end of autumn for me. Everything that I put off during the entire growing season (um, can we just give a shout out to my husband for not endlessly reminding me there's still a pile of mulch in the driveway I need to move?) has piled up and I'm once again in a rush to get it all put away and tidy before the weather gets too cold. (Not that chilly weather has stopped me in the past. I've definitely gardened in the dark with my hands numb from the cold.)

Even though I have good intentions, I lack the discipline to do a little bit over time, as Sarah Bailey advised in a lecture last month.  Let's face it. Gardening while working can be a difficult task.

Forty eight tulips planted, 152 to go.

Which brings me to the current situation I brought upon myself. Why in the world did I think 100 tulips were possibly not enough? Perhaps it's because I checked last year's bulb order where I ordered 200 tulips last year. Surely I forgot about the misery that is involved in digging up large portions of the (very little remaining) lawn for bulbs? This evening I was able to get 48 in the ground. Yippee. Only 152 tulips to go. Don't ask me about the daffodils and the hyacinths.

This is the time of year that I really need a garden support group. I need people to tell me that it will be OK and the garden will be fine. (Instead of sassy dog-walking neighbors asking me what I'm burying in the front yard. Today's response? Ex-boyfriends. He walked a little faster away after that.)

So what is going well this fall? Well (most) of my garlic is planted. And 90 percent of the vegetable plants from this year have been pulled and put in the compost pile. I've kept up with raking leaves. I've been saving seeds. When I did renovate one garden bed, I removed all the plants that didn't belong, as Nancy DuBrule advised in her lecture. (Except I now have a holding area filled with irises, sedum and dayliles ... but I'll get to it.)

As the daylight hours wane and I find myself feeling in over my head, I try to remind myself that yes, I actually do enjoy gardening, and that in the spring, not only will all the bulbs I have to plant look awesome, but I will have a new growing season in which I can make my garden better than this year.

I suppose gardeners need to be optimists. There's always another tomorrow. There's always life waiting for spring.

Somehow, I will make it through autumn!

Make a Plan of Action to Correct Garden Design Problems

NORTHFORD, Conn. - Sometimes a take-no-prisoners approach is needed to tackle bad garden design.

Gardeners should take time to sit and consider a battle plan before taking a shovel to the yard. Flag what needs to go. Now is the time to move, divide or evict plants.

"You need to be absolutely ruthless," said Nancy DuBrule, owner and founder of Natureworks. "We have lived with our garden all season - it's fresh in our minds. If you wait til spring it will not work - you won't remember."

When dividing or removing plants from a preexisting garden bed, do not move them to another spot because you feel bad about discarding them. "You don't need to start another bed with leftover plants," she said.

"We renovate either cause it looks nasty or it doesn't work well for us," she said.

Gardeners have from now until the end of October or beginning of November to move plants in the garden. "Get the major players moved first," she said.

Grab a tarp and systematically evict all the plants from the garden bed in one pass. "Nothing gets put on a tarp without a label," she said. "Create a holding area. Get them all out if they are in the wrong place." Weed the garden bed. Amend the soil. Keep the holding area in the shade with soil and mulch.

Plants in the wrong place can be
moved now through early November.

"Our soil is warm and it will be for a while," she said. "The roots are growing even if the tops are not." (To read more on dividing perennials, click here.) Placing mulch on the soil will keep the soil warmer longer.

This practice also applies to dividing perennials. Do not just chip away at the mother plant. "Get the whole plant out and on a tarp to divide," she said. "Underground, you will discover your plants have their own little world ... We normally cut the tops off to offset the damage from moving," she said.

In a recent lecture, DuBrule discussed common design problems that lead to garden renovation. Here are some of the biggest offenders.

Color
A sign that there is not enough color built into the landscape is when the garden "grows green" because nothing is blooming.

"The most common gaps are August and now," said DuBrule. "You should have tons of color right now. You should be putting in fall bloomers now that will look great next year. Every plant I put in now comes back one hundred fold next year."

Wrong color combinations happen all the time, said DuBrule. If plants are too spread out and not concentrated in large color groupings, the overall color affect will be diluted. Even the gardener's color choices can change. (A garden that started out with a yellow palette may lose its attractiveness over time with a gardener starting to favor a new color instead.)

Lack of a color focal point occurs when plants are placed "wherever" in the garden.

"A lot of people think if they get [the color focal point] right they will have color all year - not true. You're going to have green spots all the time. Nobody notices green globs if you have a color focal point." In DuBrule's fall garden, she repeats blue-hued plants which are then accented by mammoth coral mums.

Lack of a color focal point "just happens over time, but you can correct it." (To read more about having color every month in the garden, click here.)

If left unchecked, anemones can self-seed
and ruin a garden's design.

Overgrown Plants
This category can really cause havoc in a garden's design. It includes scenarios such as invasive plants taking over in the garden (for DuBrule, this meant weeding out gooseneck loosestrife); having a large bed so filled with weeds that it is difficult to pull them out; and the plants you wanted are too crowded or self-sown plants "grown up willy nilly and ruin any sense of plan or continuity," according to the Natureworks handout.

"If I see babies coming up, I ruthlessly thin them out," she said. "The trick is not to be a bleeding heart gardener - your yard will be homogenous ... Your garden just gets clogged and you don't have any fun anymore."

"You tend to let [the plants] go because you're too tired," said DuBrule, citing examples such as anemone and Joe Pye Weed which will quickly take over garden beds if left unchecked. Daylilies are another plant that will lose its vigor if it hasn't been divided regularly. "If they are not showing any signs of wear, you don't have to divide them." Look for yellow leaves when the plant is blooming - this is a sign it needs to be divided.

In addition, DuBrule cautioned to find out a plant's growing habit before introducing it to the garden. "Be wary of what people give you - they give you the thugs," she said. Thinnings also make their way into many garden club plant sales at great prices.

Where's the Foliage?
"Foliage structure is the anchor that holds the garden together," said DuBrule. Beginning gardeners typically focus on the floral color and not what the plant looks like when it is not in bloom. "It's something that you learn over time - you want to know the whole plant," she said.

Remove seed heads from Joe Pye Weed to
discourage self-sowing.

For plants like poppies, bleeding hearts and yarrow - that look great in spring but lose their attractiveness and charm after blooming - the key is to place them in areas where other plants will hide them later in the season. "What you need to do is hide it and cut it back," she said.

Wrong Size 
Sometimes the garden you envision is too small for the yard. For example, tiny 2-foot beds rimming the yard filled with 6-foot-tall Joe Pye Weed just won't work. Plants need to be layered down; 6 foot tall plants need to be in the back, 4 foot in front of them, 2 foot in front of them, and so on. "Widening your beds is the secret to good garden design," she said. "Think less length, more width."

"I'm over it."
"I just don't like these plants." Really. It's OK to say that. "What's available will change and your tastes will change," she said. DuBrule said gardeners should be fussy when choosing plants. "The trend now is for more compact plants that don't get diseases as often and don't need pinching."

"Before you do renovations, do some brainstorming. Know what you want," she said. Sometimes the color of the plant is not what was expected due to mislabeling. Perhaps you thought you wanted a cottage garden style but changed your mind. Maybe the plant may require too much upkeep (think of that rose that looks pretty for one week every summer but is plagued by blackspot the rest of the year). "There are so many good choices nowadays," DuBrule said, so really, it's fine not to settle.

Right Plant, Wrong Place 
Maybe the light levels have changed: areas that once received sunlight are now shaded by growing trees. Or perhaps the shade garden is now scorched by full sun because a storm took out a tree. Gardens need to evolve with what Mother Nature changes.

Remember, correcting garden design will not happen overnight.

"It may take you two seasons, and that's OK," she said. "Take digital photos - print and make notes."

To read DuBrule's "Basic Principles of Perennial Garden Design" handout, click here. 

Recipe: Kieffer Pear Pie

After harvesting 46.5 pounds (a new record!) of Kieffer pears in the last three weeks, it seems as if every dessert we make has some sort of pear thrown in. Of course, some of the pears made their way into the houses of friends and family, but the rest are either ripening on my counter until they turn a nice golden yellow or are in a chilled state in the fruit drawer of my refrigerator.

So it seemed like the perfect time to make pear pie! I modified my high-top apple pie recipe to work for Kieffer pears. It goes well with pie dough made from scratch, or if you need to save time you can buy a ready-made pie dough in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

Here is the filling:

8-9 large Kieffer pears (or 7 small Kieffer pears with 2 Granny Smith apples)
3 tbsp Minute instant tapioca
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp mace

You will also need:
2 pie crusts
milk
sanding sugar

Peel pears and slice them to roughly half inch thick pieces. I cut out any hard pieces near the core that may be too close to the seed. (If you leave it, it will make the pear slices gritty as they bake.) Add the instant tapioca, sugar, cinnamon, salt and mace. Stir well. Place into pie shell. Top with second pie shell. Pinch the edges and then lightly brush the milk on the top shell. Take sanding sugar and cover area brushed with milk. Use a knife to place slits in the pie crust so the pie can vent.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes to an hour, or until bubbly.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or by itself warm.

To know when a Kieffer pear is ready for picking, click here.

Fall Cleanup is a Snap When You Take Your Time

COLCHESTER, Conn. - Autumn isn't only about cleaning up the garden in one long "wretched weekend."

"Don't say, 'Oh my! It's the autumnal equinox, I have to be all done!'" said Sarah Bailey, master gardener program coordinator for the University of Connecticut. "Mix it in with fun stuff. Mix it in with planting those perennials you bought at the half-price sale that you swore you weren't going to get but somehow or another they followed you home."

Bailey recently talked to the Colchester Garden Club about staying motivated during fall cleanup time. The key is stretching fall cleanup out throughout the season. "By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, you're pretty much done," she said.

Even with cooler temperatures, Bailey said it's important to keep watering throughout the fall, especially since the summer was especially dry in Connecticut. "Remember that while the air temperature is getting cold, the soil temperature is staying quite warm. Our soil is staying at that 45-degree temperature, for 5 inches down, until December."

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' earlier in fall.

An example of fall garden cleanup that can start as early as August is trimming back irises to "stubs"(except for reblooming irises), which can prevent iris borers from ruining plants.

"I can cut all that material back, and that's the first chore of the fall cleanup done. And by doing that, I have either removed the eggs or have removed the site the moth wants to lay those eggs on. I haven't had iris borers in 15 years," she said.

With cooler temperatures, it's easier on the gardener - and the plants - for plant division. "Fall is a very good time to do division," she said. "The rule of thumb is fall blooming, spring division, spring blooming, fall division. You can do either one of them any time, but you have less impact on the next season of bloom if you do them a season ahead of when they bloom."

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, keep in mind that "you're making more plants - next year they will be all over the place," she said.

It's not just about making the garden look good in the fall, but also the winter as well. Grasses provide wonderful movement and color with their seedheads. "Leave your grasses up during the winter," she said. "They are great winter interest." (In the spring, cut them back. If you don't cut them back, the new shoots compete with the older material.)

Two other perennials that will look good throughout the winter include sedum and stronger stem astibiles. "Yes, they turn brown, but they look wonderful in the snowy frost," she said. Bailey suggested lightly dusting sedum and astibiles with a matte silver or gold spray paint, a tip she learned from an artist friend. "In the frost, it's spectacular. It's magical. Just dust them. If you overdo it, it looks tacky."

Crocus in spring.

Get Motivated with Spring Bulbs
Bailey explained that fall is a combination of putting things in order as well as preparing for the next season.

"It's much more fun to think of fall prep as getting ready for the next season. Now is the time to think about spring bulbs."

"Bulbs like well-drained soil, generally full sun, but that full sun is spring sun and early summer sun," she said. Consider areas in the garden where there full sun is present before the trees leaf out. The bulbs will be entering dormancy by the time the dense shade comes in.

"Look at your yard in the spring to decide where those spots are that you may not think about now, when there's still shade in those areas," she said.

The earliest color in the spring belongs to the minor bulb category, such as crocus, snowdrops and winter aconites. "The earlier in the season they bloom, the closer to the ground they bloom," she said. "They don't want to waste time growing when there could be a frost."

For minor bulbs, the biggest impact comes when planting large groupings, but they usually cost less than daffodils and tulips. "Bulbs don't have to be in your flowerbed," said Bailey. Minor bulbs can be put in the lawn because they like to naturalize. To ensure many come back in future springs, delay the first two mowings of the spring season so the bulbs have a chance to photosynthesize and make food for the next growing season.

However, be aware of the other creatures that like those bulbs. Bailey advises that you may want to plant them a little deeper to ward off chipmunk, blue jay and crow raids.

Floral Friday - Pumpkins with Flowers

This year, I'm really into placing pumpkins among the plants in the front garden. I'm not sure how long they will hold up (we do have baby squirrels and a huge raccoon lurking about), but they sure are pretty. Here are the pumpkins, as well as other pretty flowers blooming this week. (As always, feel free to click on the photos to enlarge them.)

I really need to put sweet alyssum everywhere next year. What a workhorse!

Pumpkin and mum.

Mum with columbine leaves.

Late-blooming rose with anemone in the background.

'Miss Kim' lilac leaves change color now.

Calendula

Anemones with phlox in the background.

Asters

Callicarpa

What's blooming in your garden this week?

The Stem is Key to Ripened Fruit

Kieffer pears can be tricky - take them off the tree too early and they won't ripen correctly. Take them off too late, and the skin will be mealy with the fruit ripening from the inside out.

The trick, then, is to remember "Goldilocks and the Three Bears:" You want to pick them when they are just right. And the tree itself shows you how that is done.

Kieffer pears that are ready to be picked will snap off the branch easily. If you are lifting the fruit from the branch and the tree isn't letting go, then come back in a few days.

My trees are ready beginning in late September and will be all done by Columbus Day. (Last year I waited until Columbus Day weekend to pick them all and they were overripe.)

Here's a quick video I made to show the difference in picking ripe and unripened pears.

This is the most bountiful year for Kieffer pears, with 44.5 pounds harvested so far (there are still a few left on the tree). For longtime storage, I keep the pears in my fruit drawer of my fridge. When I'm ready to use them, I take them out and let them sit on the counter for 5-7 days. 

Kieffer pears are great for canning, too. But if you need some instant recipes, try this delicious pear and cranberry crisp that I blogged about in the past, this pie recipe or try adding them to your scone recipe.

For more information on growing Kieffer pears, visit this link.