If you have further questions, please write to Bruce at Crawford@njaes.rutgers.edu
- Gardening Notes for July 2024Finally, the hazy, lazy days of summer have arrived – something many of us longed for during those chilly days last winter! The temperatures are warm, the days are long and hopefully the rain is ample! The heat and humidity have certainly returned too, so try to garden during the cooler temperatures of the early ...
- July 2024 Plant of the Month – Autumn SquillThe Beauty is in the Details How often do we hear the phrase the ‘Devil is in the Details’? The phrase highlights how the success of a project hinges on the many small details that often are overlooked. No project is certainly more befitting of this phrase than the creation of a successful garden. One such ...
- Gardening Notes for June 2024Summer has arrived! The days are wonderfully long, rain has proven to be a little shy to date, and the temperatures promise to become more summer-like as the month progresses. June is filled with chores that linger from spring, as well as preparations necessary for the garden to continue to thrive well into late fall. ...
- June 2024 Plant of the Month – Northern Maidenhair FernA Maiden every Discerning Gardener Needs Green is a color most people do not often consider for the theme of a garden. It is a color found in few flowers, yet it clearly abounds through foliage. In fact, blending together plants with foliage of different sizes and shapes can create a textural garden with wonderful outcomes. ...
- Gardening Notes for May 2024With the windy chill of late March and the showers of April behind us, early May looks to provide a wonderful assortment of spring blooming plants. The unusually warm winter and early spring has definitely pushed many plants into an earlier bloom period, but hopefully seasonal temperatures will dominate for May. May is always a ...
- May 2024 Plant of the Month – Woodland PeoniesWoodland Peonies for Great Seasonal Drama I couldn’t imagine a Garden in May without Peonies. From the days of my youth, I remember their vibrant flowers, accompanied by a wonderfully sweet scent that my mother and grandmother always revered! The flowers range from single blooms with one ring of petals to the full doubles displaying countless ...
- Gardening Notes for April 2024COVID certainly changed our lives in many negative ways yet, one positive change remains our renewed interest in gardening for both exercise and fresh air. Many of us have come to appreciate the beauty of plants and the calming act of working in the soil. Winter sales of vegetable and annual seeds continue to remain ...
- April 2024 Plant of the Month – Jeffersonia diphyllaA Flowering Ode to Jefferson Botanical plant names often prove to be a stumbling block for gardeners. They are meant to impart descriptive details about the plant, yet understanding the Latin or Greek roots of the names can prove troublesome. To add to the confusion, in some instances the botanical name honors individuals who were important ...
- Gardening Notes for March 2024March can be such a finicky month! Several years ago, there was a long warm spell followed by two nights of extremely cold temperatures. The result was a massive dieback of Hydrangeas and a resulting loss of blooms for that year! Some years we see snow storm after snow storm, while some years it is ...
- March 2024 Plant of the Month – AdonisNo Mere Mortal of a Flower! Try as we must, there will always be more plants than a dedicated gardener can possibly learn in a lifetime. Trust me, I am trying! Of course, when you consider the diversity of environments found worldwide and the diversity of plants that have resulted, it is certainly understandable! The challenge ...