5-Step program

I've been teaching my 5-Step Program to maintenance free gardening for over 20 years now. Now that I'm doing a great deal of maintenance contracts and property management, I realize what good information this is, and how well it works when you really do it as I say. So I'm going to go into some detail on these steps, as now is the time of year to start doing them.
STEP 1 - Cleaning the garden. Today I just want to say that it is way too early to step into your garden. I know, I know, the weather is calling you out there. But here's the deal.....you can do some serious damage to the roots and crowns of your perennials by walking around in your garden too early. The soil is probably very wet and squishy, and you will compress the area around the plants, or sometimes even walk on the plants that aren't visible yet. So you can start by gently raking out leaves and debris while standing on the perimeter. Cut down old plant stems that you can reach.
I'm going to go do this in my own garden today. More tomorrow.

Spring Apology

It's almost Spring, and I'm thinking two things as I'm writing this. One, some of you will not notice that there is an entire year since my last posting. Two, that I'm such a techno-challenged person, I couldn't even find my blog after I started it. Then last Spring some people said to me, "when are you going to write more in your blog?" So I guess if you all can find it, that's really all that matters, so here goes.
I was last writing about the nursery catalog industry, and how you should beware of some mailorder plant businesses. Now, the genetic experimentation on plants is getting to be a stunningly frightening practice. So, to say that plants are not always hardy or hardened off before they sell them, is a minor detail compared to the plants that are being hybridized by cell propagation. My only hope is that the old reliable varieties of perennials don't disappear like endangered species. Maybe I will post a list of some of my favorite varieties of plants, and you all can hunt them down, and we can create a source list and keep these plants in our gardens. You game?

Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about with the catalogs. I'm looking at a catalog that lists Arisaema (Jack-in-the-Pulpit). They offer six species (types)and list zones 5-9 in the general description, but they don't tell you which ones are which. Of the six Jacks offered, FOUR do not grow in our Zone 5-6 here in Rochester. Some of these plants are $25 each, so it would be a very expensive mistake to plant them and expect them to winter over.
STEP TWO in the winter-blahs-recovery-program-for-plant-freaks is to admit that you have an addiction to plants, tear out the pages of the catalog with the plants pictured that you want, and put them in a file marked "wish list", and write me a note about them, and why you must have them. I'll talk you through it.
My next posting will be about the Coneflower (Echinacea) craze. Anybody out there got some experiences with the new Coneflowers, let me know. Do your orange Coneflowers come back orange??

This is the time of year when a lot of gardeners feel as though they should be joining a "twelve step program" and (with all due respect to people with real addictions) it feels serious to us. Because of the nature of my business, I'm always looking at gardens and pictures of gardens, with the one exception of December when I'm decorating my customer's homes in and out for the holidays, so I have a bit of relief from the winter blahs.
My thoughts are that maybe instead of teaching classes, I could be blogging, and perhaps there are some gardeners out there who would be interested who can't come to classes and such, but would like to learn some good garden stuff. It's a great way to distract us from the Feb. blahs, and we start the Spring armed with knowledge.
STEP ONE- Before it's too late, I'd like to warn you about plant catalogs. I have not found one that ships a really viable plant. Years ago White Flower Farm was the best perennial source in the country, but they have caved to the pressures of the market, are no longer producing much themselves. Also, the pictures are usually doctored or, as they say now, photo shopped. If you live in the Northeast, I can tell you if a plant will grow here and when it flowers, and what the real color is. If I don't know the plant, it's probably not a perennial.
My plan is to publish a list of sources for perennials with their current offerings, and I will give recommendations for where to shop for the best quality and price.
What is your dream plant for 2010? What catalogs are luring you with their seductive pictures and claims?