Gardening

Not since the Beatles sang about living in a yellow submarine or Donovan crooned, "I'm just wild about Saffron ... " has the color yellow been so hot! At least in the garden and nursery scene. In case you doubt me, let me titillate your tendrils....... Full story

Last year, spring waddled through the big metal doors at Lima's Home Depot on two splayed feet in the form of a fuzzy duckling. A mother mallard had laid her eggs on some bags of mulch at the back of the store and then disappeared. All that was left...... Full story

Cream and yellow daffodils, golden boughs of forsythia, pink and white magnolias, and fuchsia redbuds have put on an especially spectacular and long-lasting spring show in my yard this year. Then arrived phalanxes of outstanding tulips and lavender...... Full story

Allow me to step back a week in time to share with you my Earth Day 2008. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate the day than exactly as I did. My day began early at the regional spring meeting of Ohio Association of Garden Clubs from Allen,...... Full story

This week I suggest a theme garden — a small garden, maybe in a secluded area of your yard, dedicated to a single theme that interests you. Here are a just a few of many ideas you may want to consider.You might plant a pizza garden with...... Full story

This column is being interrupted for an important public announcement (actually a trivial, personal message) about Earth Day 2008. I question how we have fared since Earth Day’s first celebration on April 22, 1970.That first year my 5-year old...... Full story

My last column was about how a rain garden planted in a natural or manmade gully, depression, swale, or at the bottom of a slope — wherever water tends to collect after heavy rain — can benefit a residential yard and, on a much larger...... Full story

Whatever the season, whatever the weather, gardeners love to plan their next gardens. What better time to plan a garden than now, when the soil hasn’t warmed enough to dig and plant and while the danger of frost is still imminent? For the next...... Full story

The calendar says it’s officially spring and, unofficially, so does my yard. Snowdrops and crocus are blooming in the myrtle along the driveway and walk. Daffodils and the foliage of other spring-flowering bulbs, which have slept throughout...... Full story

Recently, I’ve been thinking about rabbits. Not the Easter bunny but real rabbits that munch on garden veggies and flowers — especially since a rabbit appears to live under the front porch and I’m planning on planting a few...... Full story

Since 1995, the International Herb Association has chosen an herb of the year for being outstanding in at least two of three major categories: medicinal, culinary or decorative. Then, throughout the year, the Herb Society of America and other herb...... Full story

As daylight hours lengthen and Ohio gardeners hope for an early spring, nature’s bird food — seeds and berries — are being depleted by our overwintering birds. Winter birds must consume high-fat calories to survive winter harsh...... Full story

No news to gardeners, but green is definitely in! The month of March, itself, centers on the color green with St. Patrick’s Day and shamrocks. Easter was the traditional celebration of spring many centuries before Christians claimed the...... Full story

February in Ohio — what a wonderful place to be! When people ask me, I always tell them, I love winter. What I really mean is I love winter the way it was when I was young. As a child — and when my children and grandchildren were young...... Full story

On the front cover of my most recent Audubon magazine is an out-of-focus close-up of a beautiful red rose — appropriate for Valentine’s Day, yes? Also on the cover are the words, “War of the Roses, The Greening of the Flower...... Full story