It’s a perfect plant for the landscape. In the spring, it leafs out before other shrubs. It produces an abundance of red berries for the birds. Thanks to its thorns, it is deer resistant. It spreads easily and can form a dense barrier to keep animals or children in or out. And it requires very…
According to the madman’s calculations, this is the 100th blog we shared. Like grandson Liam says, doing anything 100 times is “crazy.” His brother Patrick quickly chimes in, “real crazy.” But, crazy or not, we did it. In honor of this feat, we are going to offer up the gardening tips we love the best….
We finished the first project of the spring. I didn’t think it would go as easily as it did – especially after we discovered the first worm. Our task was simple. Clean out the section between the new succulent beds in the front of the house and the path. At one time, this area was…
Now that it’s Day Light Savings time, the madman is seeing more of the sun. That makes him happy. Watching him follow the sun across the sky reminds me of that Greek myth. You know, the one about Clytie, the sunflower and Helios, or is it Apollo? Those myths sure can get confusing. Some say…
Celebrating an important birthday. The madman loves a party. Who else celebrates the birthday of a National Park – especially one whose roads are mostly closed to everything except over-snow vehicles? The official birthday was a week ago but he’s still celebrating. I suspect that’s because the birthday coincided with the diminishing specter of COVID….
Here we go again with the madman and his bugs! He just found his third Stink Bug lumbering through the upper canopy of a citrus plant! He panicked. Unusual for him. Generally he just sucks them up with his bug vacuum and releases them near the outdoor fire pit. He learned the hard way not…
The madman is thinking about nest boxes. He doesn’t have much to do in the garden these days. He has planted the hottest of his hot peppers – they seem to take forever to germinate and need at least 120 growing days in the garden. And, he has planted some bunching onions, although our main…
There he goes again; the madman is moving his plants around. This time, there’s a bounce in his step and a song on his lips…” I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. She like to move it, move it…” You may not recognize these words, but King…
It’s almost two weeks into the new year, and the madman is fussing over his plants. He used to refer to this time as the Dark Days of Winter. Not anymore. His succulents have introduced him to a whole new way of thinking. Some of his plants are sending up flower shoots – and, they…