Gardening

I’ve just returned from a wonderful trip to Switzerland. Spring was just budding forth when I arrived so the fields were full of wild flowers, tulips and daffodils. The climate there is similar to Vermont where I was born and ...

The recent rains may have been enough to be somewhat of a relief for our parched lawns. While this rain will help to slow the damage caused by the drought it is also going to cause a population of chinch ...

When the bougainvillea is in bloom, everyone wants to know what the beautiful flowering plants seen all over the island are. This plant is without a doubt one of our most bright and colorful tropical plants.

It’s spring and we need rain. This much needed water would help to refresh our drought stricken lawns and gardens. It would also activate the fertilizer applied this spring which will add strength to help them better survive the rest ...

Traveling around Marco Island, it’s easy to see why five area landscapers walked away with the city’s highest awards in the Marco in Bloom competition. Their creations married breathtaking beauty with practical non water-wasting gardening, a requirement for high honors. ...

After our colder winter months it is time to start thinking about pruning the shrubs in the yard to remove any cold damage or just to renovate, reduce size and prepare them for the summer growing season. We were lucky ...

So many fruit trees are flowering and setting fruit right now. Citrus, mango, avacado, pineapple, and many more. Two of my favorites are the jaboticaba and surinam cherry.

Many shrubs and trees we plant in our landscapes can be poisonous to humans and animals. Some are toxic if ingested and others may be irritating to the skin.

March has arrived. It is time to fertilize lawns, plants and trees. While this was a very warm winter some are very cold and this fertilization helps plants recover from any cold damage done in the winter months.

March is here. It is usually the start of our dry season but, unfortunately, we have been in a dry season for a while.

It is nice to see the flower beds full of annuals like impatiens, begonias and petunias in yards around the island. Unfortunately, some voracious flower eaters are also delighted to see the flowers. If you have holes in the flower ...

Plants can be propagated by sexual or asexual means. Sexual propagation is starting plants from seed. Multiplying of plants from vegetative plant parts such as shoots, roots and leaves or bulbs and corms is called asexual propagation. Asexual propagation will ...

Blossom and fruit drop and fruit splitting are fairly common problems for fruit trees. While losing blossoms and small fruit from your fruit trees can be disturbing it is usually a natural process.

As I mentioned in my last column, many pests can feed on hibiscus making this a very high maintenance choice for your landscape. Chewing insects include caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails and slugs, beetles, cut worms and leaf miners. Piercing-sucking insects include ...

Hibiscus plants are blooming profusely all over Marco right now. This plant seems to love the cold weather. Perhaps it is because the severe cold helps control some of the insects that constantly cause the blossoms to drop. Whatever the ...