Gardening Chores

How sad is it when peonies stop blooming? It’s like they are telling us that spring is gone, and the hot season is coming – ok, “Not really bad news,” you may say… True, but still their romantic, English garden personality already has a melancholic feel to them. Soft and round, in delicate shades of white, pink, salmon, yellow and gold, and blushing to red, the flowers of thi...

I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love roses, do you? They are so romantic, some have an amazing fragrance, they come in so many colors and combinations, shapes and – they are marathon bloomers! They grace your garden with flowers for months on end!

…At least, most types, like shrub, climbing English shrub, floribunda, elegant hybrid tea types of roses – well...

Look, we’ve all been there. It’s mid-June, you look out at your garden, and you just… sigh. The tulips are dead and gone, the peonies have shattered everywhere, and you’re left with these big, annoying gaps where it feels like nothing will happen for months. It’s tempting to just give up and figure you’ve missed your chance to have a show this year.

But honestly? Yo...

The heavy, sweet scent of spring is completely gone, and your garden paths are likely covered in a papery brown carpet of spent petals. And – let’s be honest – when June arrives and the weather finally starts to warm up, the last thing many of us gardeners want to do is drag out the loppers and start pruning shrubs.

So we put it off.

We look at those large...

Your borders gave you a glorious first flush in May, didn’t they? And now, in June, half of them are flopping open, going leggy, browning at the tips and setting seed already? Before you sigh and decide the show is over for the year, wait! There are many perennials that don’t just tolerate a good chop right now – they absolutely love it, and they will reward you with a second...