Years ago when my children were still very young, we bought our first home – a duplex on the east side of Milwaukee. Like most of the neighboring houses, it was a large structure set on a small yard and as a new homeowner I was determined to make the most of my space. I […]
Garden Notes
Strawberries on Acid!
My childhood memory of picking strawberries, both the wild variety and the ones that grew in our family’s strawberry bed, made me want to grow some in my own yard. I purchased starter strawberry plants and set them into my raised garden. The plants did really well. I got a lot of strawberries and the […]
Early June Garden
Summer is finally here. We went from fifty degree weather to the high eighties. It is also very humid and the garden just exploded. All of the plants that were waiting for the sun seemed to become full grown overnight! The shade garden has really filled out and in fact, should be thinned a bit […]
Coyotes — The New Scarecrow?
My friend told me a coyote story. She was out walking her dog and decided to take a shortcut through the neighborhood schoolyard to look at some benches the kids had painted as a school project. About half way across the soccer field she noticed something out of place and turned to get a good […]
Can Raspberries Tell Direction?
When I decided to try growing raspberries, I was told the old wives tale that raspberries grow in a northernly direction so I should plant my new bushes on the south end of whatever space I had to allow room for them to expand. Now, doesn’t that sound odd? I followed those directions and for […]
A Cold Wet Spring
This year we have had unusual weather, even for Wisconsin. It has been unseasonably cold with a lot of rain. This in turn has caused all of the spring flowers and trees to be behind schedule. We are at the Memorial Day weekend and I am still concerned about planting out tender annuals. The bright […]