All Entries in the "Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden" Category
Henry Homeyer: How to have a better lawn
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Believe it or not, I once ate my lawnmower. No, not the Briggs and Stratton kind. I had purchased a pair of Jacobs sheep to keep my lawn trim for a season. At the end of the season they were off to the butcher, and came home freezer […]
Henry Homeyer: Thinning, weeding, watering made easy
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC With the advent of summer, it is time to buckle down and get a few tedious jobs done in the garden. But there are ways to lighten your load. First, it is time to thin out extra plants that are crowding each other. Carrots and beets are two […]
Henry Homeyer: Six summer beauties
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC I love the song “Summertime” by George Gershwin, yet I fail to comprehend why Gershwin didn’t include any flowers in the song. Yes, the cotton was high and the fish were jumping, but there’s no mention of peony or iris. Let’s look at some great flowers of summer […]
Henry Homeyer: 3 keys to a successful garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Being a great gardener is pretty simple. Know what your plants need in terms of sun, soil and water. Do that, and make adjustments as necessary, and your plants will thrive. Of course, that is often easier said than done. Sunshine Sunshine is what drives plant growth. Vegetables […]
Henry Homeyer: Keep gardening as you age
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC I reached the age of 72 recently and have been thinking about the future. What will my gardens be like when I’m 82? Will I be gardening at 92? I realize I won’t always have the strength, stamina and energy to manage all I do now. Here are […]
Henry Homeyer: Prep veg seedlings for planting
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC One of the highlights of my year is planting my vegetable garden. It’s a time full of hope and anticipation as I nestle seedlings into the soil and sow seeds. I started many seeds indoors, growing tomatoes, peppers and more under lights. They are the right size now […]
Henry Homeyer: Give spring wild flowers a helping hand
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every spring Mother Nature gives me gifts. Or that is how it seems when she sends the blossoms of trillium, hepatica, Jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, trout lily, blue cohosh, Dutchman’s breeches, squirrel corn and more to my woods and shade gardens. Of course, I have helped nature by planting wild […]
Henry Homeyer: Prune well for beautiful roses
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC My roses are waking up, and starting to show leaf buds along their stems. This is a good time to cut back dead stems, which will stimulate new growth and start them off well for the summer season. It’s time to shape your roses so that they are […]
Henry Homeyer: Spring cleaning for garden prep
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC The snow is gone, and I am ready for gardening. And although I have been able to do a few things in the garden, the soil is wet and easily compacted, so I can’t do much until it dries out. Many of my flower beds are six feet […]
Henry Homeyer: Spring harvest from the garden Parsnips, sorrel, rhubarb and chives make an early debut
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC It occurred to me as I walked up from my vegetable garden recently with a dozen fat parsnips, that gardening has something in common with fishing: You never know if you’re going to come home with something for dinner or not. Those parsnips, which were planted last summer, […]
Henry Homeyer: The woodchucks are coming
By Henry Homeyer © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Woodchucks, alas, are out and about. Fortunately I don’t have lettuce or green beans growing in my garden yet, as I saw my first one lounging in the sun on April 11 in a neighbor’s field. It was looking relaxed and happy. If you’ve have had woodchucks […]
Henry Homeyer: A quick look at edible natives
By Henry Homeyer © 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC It’s rare that I find a book that is as useful, accurate and easy-to-read as Native Plants for New England Gardens by Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe, both on staff at the New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, Mass. This book presents over 100 species of […]
Henry Homeyer: Blooming indoors for sanity
By Henry Homeyer © 2018 Telegraph Publishing, LLC I recently got a new tool that I’ve been using to pick stems of forsythia and pussy willows. Stems of spring-blooming shrubs put in a vase with water will bloom earlier inside than they would outside – and I’m ready for blossoms. Often the best buds are […]
Henry Homeyer: Oldies but goodies
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC As we lurch toward spring, I spend time thinking about my garden: What will come through this hard winter? What needs to be replaced? What new plants do I want to try? One thing is certain. My grandmother’s peony will survive, and I will feel blessed by its […]
Henry Homeyer: Spring bulbs Myriad bulbs can help you force spring to arrive even in snow
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC March has been ferocious. None of this, “In like a lion, out like a lamb” business. The entire month has been a Tyrannosaurus Rex, if you ask me. I’ve done more roof-shoveling this month than I usually do in a year. My poor snowdrops, usually showing me their […]
Henry Homeyer: Seed starting is a cure for Mud Season Blues
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Is it time to start seedlings yet? Yes, for a few things: artichokes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions and leeks, kale and peppers. Tomatoes I start in early- to mid-April, along with eggplants, lettuce, melons and squashes of all sorts. Root crops are generally started outdoors later on, […]
Henry Homeyer: Put pruning on your spring garden calendar
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC I find it amusing that fruit tree pruning and income tax preparations should take place at about the same time of year, and that many gardeners put off each until the last moment. You might want to start pruning now, instead of trying to do it while adding […]
Henry Homeyer: Grow your flowers organically, for the soil & your blooms
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC When I mentioned to an acquaintance that I not only grow my vegetables with organic methods, but my flowers, too, he looked at me funny and asked, “Why? Are you going to eat your peonies?” No, I don’t eat my peonies, but I do believe they are healthier […]
Henry Homeyer: Tricks and tips to help you grow house plants
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC Even the best vegetable gardener can struggle to keep house plants alive. A champion rose gardener can sometimes kill her fiddle-leafed fig or her “mother-in-law’s tongue” (also called the snake plant or Sansevieria). Why? Because the growing conditions are really very different. And indoors plants really do depend […]
Henry Homeyer: 10 ways to become a great gardener
By Henry Homeyer ©2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you want to become a great gardener, you can. It’s really not that hard. Here are 10 things you can do that will help you achieve that goal. Take classes. The flower shows are starting up, and they all have classes with speakers who have been selected […]
