Author Archive for Henry Homeyer
Henry Homeyer is a lifetime organic gardener living in Cornish Flat, N.H. He is the author of four gardening books including The Vermont Gardener's Companion. You may reach him by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by snail mail at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, N.H. 03746. Please include a SASE if you wish an answer to a question by mail.
Henry Homeyer: tips for forcing bulbs for indoor blooms
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC It might be nice to take a week in February or March and travel to the Caribbean. By then most of us are tired of snow and cold. But if that is not in your budget, perhaps you need to plant some bulbs in pots for spring forcing. […]
Henry Homeyer: 15 October floral blooms
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Despite frost and short days, my garden produced plenty of flowers in October. I look for plants that will perform in the shoulder seasons – March, April, October and even November. Here are some I love that are blooming still, or that bloomed earlier in October. My ‘Knockout’ […]
Henry Homeyer: Time to plant your garlic
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC The easiest crop I grow every year is garlic. I plant it in October, mulch it well, and harvest it in early August. That’s it. If it’s well mulched, I don’t even have weed the bed more than once or twice. Not only that, I use this year’s […]
Henry Homeyer: Time to plant bulbs for spring blossoms
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is the season for planting bulbs – from mid-October until the snow flies. Actually, I’ve shoveled snow off a bed to plant bulbs in November, and they did fine. Bulbs have everything inside them needed to succeed their first year. If you want them to keep on […]
Henry Homeyer: Putting the garden to bed
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Pardon me for saying so, but it’s time to get ready for winter. That’s right. A few days ago (or was it weeks?) we were swimming in the ocean and lounging in the sun. But we’ve had frost, and I’ve seen serious snow as early as October 15. […]
Henry Homeyer: Juice your fruit and store it too
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC For me, this has been a banner year for grapes. I have just a couple of plants, but they are large and vigorous. They are the Concord type with big seeds. I know one is a ‘Purple Valiant’, but the other name is long forgotten. They are quite […]
Henry Homeyer: Don’t fall behind on fall lawn care
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I have to admit that I don’t pay much attention to my lawn. I mow it as needed, but don’t fuss about dandelions, which I consider cheerful. But I realize many gardeners do care about their lawns, so I will share with you a few tips for the […]
Henry Homeyer: 6 trees ready to find roots in your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I recently spent an afternoon walking around the UMass Amherst campus with Mike Dirr, my favorite tree authority and author. I already had several of his books, which I depend on before buying a tree. I purchased his terrific new book entitled, The Tree Book: Superior Selections for […]
Henry Homeyer: getting the most out of your veggie harvest
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Want to maximize the output of your garden? Now is the time to act. Here are a few things you can do that will help. Brussels sprouts: Have you had trouble getting full-sized sprouts? These plants need to be topped in the fall to get the tiny sprouts […]
Henry Homeyer: fall color in the flower garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Big yellow buses are growling as they lumber down country roads, delivering their children to school. Soft serve stands are warning of imminent closure. Favorite flowers are finishing their blooms; fall is here. But don’t despair as there are plenty of colorful plants to fill vases and warm […]
Henry Homeyer: Roots can be the root of the problem
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Folks who only have shade often give up on gardening because they cannot grow things like poppies and peonies, and only know “boring” shade plants planted for their foliage rather than their blossoms: hostas, pachysandra and myrtle. But even those plants don’t necessarily grow vigorously in shade. More […]
Henry Homeyer: Beware the purple invader
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is the time of year when swampy areas often are ablaze with gorgeous pink-purple flowers that dominate the wetland. These are the flowers of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an invasive plant that you should not encourage – but that you probably can’t get rid of once established. […]
Henry Homeyer: identifying 8 common ferns
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ferns are under-rated and largely ignored by gardeners, but shouldn’t be as they can add much to a garden. I recently went to Walpole, N.H., where I met with Michael Nerrie of Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail. He introduced me to many ferns and also sold me […]
Henry Homeyer: How to plant a tree
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I recently planted a couple of blue spruce trees on a nice cloudy day, and want to share with you what I did. First, and most important, I checked the position of the trunk of the tree in the pot. In the wild you will notice that trees […]
Henry Homeyer: some of my favorite picks for pots
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Each summer I fill a big window box with annual flowers and vines to welcome all who approach the house. Some years it is bodacious, other years it verges on ho-hum. This year it is a delight: in the center is a black-leafed sweet potato vine that is […]
Henry Homeyer: July beauties in bloom
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every day in the warm months I take time to wander through my garden, often with camera in hand. I am always greeted by flowers in bloom that make my heart sing. Here are some blooming for me now, including a few you might not grow – or […]
Henry Homeyer: Weeds – one farmer’s perspective
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Irecently went to Cochranville, Pa., to visit relatives, and they brought me to visit a successful farm-to-table farmer. I learned some new and interesting ways of looking at gardening, and I think they are worth sharing with you. For the past 40 years or so Glenn Brendle has […]
Henry Homeyer: garden thugs to love or hate
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I’ve never subscribed to the old saying that “Children should be seen and not heard.” So it shouldn’t surprise you that I don’t insist that all the flowers in my garden stay in place each year, and that those that do wander are not necessarily disciplined with a […]
Henry Homeyer: Sweet smells by the dozen
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Lilac season is about over. For the lasts two weeks I have been enjoying the amazing fragrance of ‘Miss Kim,’ a species of lilac (Syringa patula) with light purple blossoms. It was sold to me some 25 years ago as a dwarf lilac, however it’s just slow-growing. Mine […]
Henry Homeyer: Flowers in bloom that make me swoon
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC My earliest memory of a flower dates back to spring, 1948, when I was just 2 years old and living in Hingham, Massachusetts (we moved away that fall, so I know the year). My mother, sister and I were walking through a pine woods when we encountered a […]
