Weed Watch: Lion’s Tooth, Blowball, Pissabed…A Dandelion by Another Name*
Most people, adults and children alike, recognize the dandelion, but how well do they really know it?
Managing Water: Flooding & Drought
This article looks more closely at the relationship between soil and water and discuss other techniques for managing water in home gardens.
Weed Watch: What are those clusters of tiny white flowers blooming in my spring lawn?
If you have been out and about enjoying the warmer weather, then you may have noticed, especially in shady areas where the soil is moist, scattered clusters of tiny, white, 4-petaled flowers with 4–6 stamens.
Protecting Young Trees from Periodical Cicadas
The cicadas are coming!
Brood X, also called the “Great Eastern Brood,” will emerge in DC, DE, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, VA, and WV in 2021. Beginning as early as late April and continuing into June, adults will emerge at sunset from their underground locations where they spend most of their lives 1 to 8 feet below the surface as nymphs feeding on sap of tree roots.
Starter Houseplants for Beginner Growers
If you’re looking to introduce indoor plants to your home, Tradescantia pallida (purple heart) and Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) are two good choices for starter houseplants. Following are growing basics for each plant.
Building Your Soil
Learn about adaptive strategies that gardeners can take to improve their soil.
Maintaining the health of our soil is the primary strategy for climate resilience. As the second largest ecosystem after the world’s oceans, soil not only provides physical support of our plants, but also is crucial in the cycling of water and nutrients. In addition, it provides habitat for a multitude of living things, including beneficial microbes that develop special relationships with plants.