Periodically through the season we mail out a newsletter to inform and entertain our loyal customers. Here are several excerpts from past issues:

Germination Time: One To Four Months! Don't let these unexpected words on a seed packet just make your heart sink right down to your shoes? Why don't they put this in the catalogue? I'll tell you why. Because most of us wouldn't buy these particular seeds. Also, why don't they warn you, "These seeds are like dust. Sneeze, or even breathe hard and you've lost them." I ordered an insane number and variety of seeds this year from eight different catalogues. If they all grow you will have even more strange and wonderful plants to consider.

Now Is A Good Time to clean any accumulated debris from the inside of your laverders and trim out dead wood. If a branch hasn't shown any signs of life by now, you can be pretty sure it is dead. Be sure to check carefully at the base of a branch for new little shoots before you cut it off.

May 2006

Lets's Talk A Little about degrees of shade. When a plant label says 'Part shade' that can cover a number of situations, not only the time of day. First of all, many plants will tolerate morning sun and afternoon shade. Much tougher to take is morning shade and afternoon sun. Even some of your sun-lovers can struggle with this. You may just have to experiment.

Dense shade would be under evergreens, larger deciduous trees such as maples with a lower canopy, and the most dense of all, next to or between buildings. The front of your house is shaded by the house iself all morning and gets the full afternoon sun. Ouch!

If your plant in shade or part shade gets leggy and/or doesn't bloom, it's time to get out the shovel. Do make sure you know when or even if a plant should bloom.

Just In Case anyone has forgotten the rules for pruning sage, here we are again: Do not cut back in the fall. After blooming, wait till you have some good new growth from the base, then cut out all the old branches. Do this every year. Otherwise you will end up with long scraggly branches with tufts of leaves on the ends.

September 2006

A Few Words about praying mantises (mantids?). Are they still considered beneficial when they are hiding in your flowers trying to catch the butterflies? Not in my book they aren't. I had to move two in one day out of the anise hyssopd in the market. One had already caught and eaten a skipper and was stalking a tiger swallowtail which happens to be my personal favorite butterfly. Move them carefully. They can pinch.

Whats Should You Do about powdery mildew on bee balm? They all seem to get it, even the ones that are supposed to be resistant. I have kind of a philosophical solution to the problem. Plant your bee balm on the other side of the garden where you will just see all the lovely color of the blooms and not look too closely at the foliage. Sounds silly but it works. When blooms have gone by, cut it back hard if it bothers you.

The Variety I have dubbed Old-Fashioned Red has earned new respect from me. It stayed a conservative height and held its bloom much longer than any of the others. Spreads like crazy which is just that much more of beauty. Mildew? You betcha. Who cares? Not me.