Pruning Roses in the Winter...

Winter need not be the end of gardening, even if you live where snow flies.  In fact, once the ground is good and frozen, or your plants are fully dormant for the winter, it is time for pruning!  Woody plants that flower on new growth are good candidates for winter pruning.  If your plants flower on old growth, you do not want to prune until immediately after they fininsh flowering because you will cut off the flower...

Time to Order Seeds!...

It’s time for the seed catalogs to start arriving!  I look forward to opening my mailbox in January, which makes me different than about 99% of the population, I know.  I look forward to the glossy pictures and gardening dreams that arrive with my seed catalogs.  (My credit card bills are ever-present.  They aren’t any worse when the holidays are over.  I keep paying, they keep sending me bills!)  But,...

Squirrel Proofing your Bulbs...

If the ground where you live is not completely frozen solid, you can still plant your spring bulbs.  Bulbs need a chance to set roots before the ground freezes so that they can get a running start in the spring.  One of the most aggravating thing about planting bulbs is going outside a day or two (sometimes an hour or two) later to find that the squirrels or chipmunks (or other garden-destroying rodent), has dug up all of...

Now is the time for All-Season Deer Repellent...

Winter is almost upon us, and with it, less tender vegetation for deer to eat.  In northern climes, leftover grain from harvests will soon be covered with snow.  What does that mean for avid gardeners?  All but your most prickly, foul tasting (at least, for deer), trees and shrubs become targets for hungry pests.  If you are unlucky, like William Alexandar, author of The $64 Tomato, you have a neighbor who thinks it is...