The summer solstice is fast approaching and Mother Nature is not cooperating. The weather here has been on the cool side – some might say downright cold. The other morning the temperatures were in the high 40˚s. Come on, it’s June. Enough of this complaining. The madman’s peas look GREAT. In fact we’re glad we…
“Ornaments are the backbone of the garden,” says the madman. I’m not sure if that’s original, but I know he didn’t always feel that way. In fact, at one time, he agreed with my grandfather who said, “If you can’t eat it, don’t plant it.” Over the years, the madman has mellowed. Not…
Memorial Day weekend. Parades, barbecues, traffic jams – a day set aside to remember those who died in service to our country. It also signals the start of the summer season. It is okay to wear white clothes and straw hats. But, more importantly, this weekend is seen as the start of the summer gardening…
The madman is still waiting to plant. As usual, it takes a few days to readjust after an adventure. This is a good thing because the temperature in the soil has not budged over 50˚-no matter how many times the madman looks at it, it is still 50˚. Instead of rushing around planting, the madman…
The madman is putting off the peas again. He says It’s still too early. The soil temperature is 44˚. There is still snow on the garden. We haven’t done a soil test. And, we have just returned from the Master Gardener Symposium with some fresh ideas. Plant Peas on St. Patrick’s Day Let’s start with…
Here it is March 7 and the madman is itching to get going. Ten inches of snow will delay the pruning again. But, he keeps checking the calendar – not yet, not yet. He is so ready to get his hands into the dirt (he calls it soil)-you should see the size of the sandbox…
Overwintering plants from the garden is a task the madman readily accepts. He knows that living with plants all winter means he can enjoy them in the summer. Now that the days are definitely getting longer, the madman is thinking, “Can’t wait to get these plants out of here!” He is starting to get tired…
The madman’s definition of a tool is “something that makes a task easier.” The better the tool, the easier the task. We consider our seed catalogs tools, but now let’s consider the other tools hanging on walls, sitting in buckets or lying around in various spots – NOT misplaced, says the madman. Mid-winter,…
If you are a gardener, one of your New Year’s Resolutions should have been to keep a gardening Journal. Or, if you are like the madman, to keep a BETTER journal. Why? Because as the madman says, “your memory is never as good as you think it is – in fact, it’s not even close.”…