One of the many perks of belonging to the Garden Writer’s Association, an organization of professional communicators in the green industry, is the offers for free stuff, or swag, that are beginning to arrive in my mailbox.
It’s actually a simple yet effective marketing strategy on the part of these companies – send samples of your product to [...]
Archive for the ‘Zone 6 gardening’ Category
Swag from Renee’s Garden
Posted in Edibles, Zone 6 gardening, tagged Apricot-Peach Parfait hollyhock, Broken Colors Four o'Clocks, Garden Writers Association, purple pole beans, Rattlesnake beans, Renee's Garden seeds, Sea of Red lettuce, Vanilla Berry nasturtiums on March 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »
New Shrubs for 2010
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Plant Possibilities, Zone 6 gardening, tagged Bloomerang reblooming lilac, Garden Writers Association, Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea, Lo & Behold buddleia, new shrubs for 2010 on February 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Recently I attended New England Grows, a regional trade expo for green industry professionals. In addition to seeing lots of inspiring products and attending some worthwhile educational seminars, I attended my first Garden Writers Association luncheon. In addition to meeting and networking with other garden writers, we were treated to a preview of some of Proven Winners newest shrub introductions for [...]
Marvelous Mahonia aquifolium
Posted in Deer-resistant, Gardening in Connecticut, Zone 6 gardening, tagged deer resistant shrub, Mahonia aquifolium, Mahonia aquifolium 'Apollo', Mahonia aquifolium 'Compactum', Mahonia aquifolium 'Smaragd', shade tolerant evergreen shrub on December 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Here is southwestern Connecticut (zone 6), Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grapeholly) is definitely a relative unknown. A native to the Pacific northwest and much of Canada, it is worthy of a place in shady gardens throughout zones 4 – 8, especially if you have deer browsing in your garden.
Oregon grapeholly has large, glossy evergreen leaves that resemble those [...]
Planting to Save on Energy Costs
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Landscape Design, Zone 6 gardening, tagged how to plant a windbreak, planting a windbreak, saving money on energy costs, saving money with landscaping on December 7, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Properly selected and sited landscaping can save you money on heating costs by providing efficient wind protection, or windbreaks. And don’t forget, the benefits from a living windbreak will increase as the trees and shrubs mature.
A windbreak works by lowering the wind chill near your home. Wind chill occurs when the wind speed lowers the outside air temperature. [...]
It’s Not Too Late to Plant Bulbs
Posted in Gardening Inspiration, Gardening in Connecticut, Plant Possibilities, Zone 6 gardening, tagged bulb auger, daffodils, how to plant bulbs, landscape design and spring flowering bulbs, methods to plant alot of bulbs quickly, naturalizing bulbs, planting spring-flowering bulbs on November 23, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Even though it’s almost Thanksgiving, it’s not too late here in southwestern Connecticut (zone 6) to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Because the weather has been seasonable and the ground is not frozen, this is a great time to plant. I ordered 200 daffodil bulbs from Colorblends about a month ago and as you can see from [...]
An Apology from Mother Nature?
Posted in Gardening Inspiration, Gardening in Connecticut, Zone 6 gardening, tagged Anthony Waterer spirea fall color, Native American legend about fall foliage color, why leaves change color on October 29, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Here in southwestern Connecticut (zone 6), Mother Nature is treating us to a spectacular fall show this year. In fact, I think this may be one of the most intensely colored fall foliage displays in recent years. And she is playing a few tricks right here in my garden, which have captured my attention. But [...]
First Frost Date in Connecticut
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Zone 6 gardening, tagged CT DEP first frost date, first frost date for coastal connecticut, first frost date in CT, planting spring-flowering bulbs on October 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »
On October 15th it snowed here in Stamford, CT (zone 6). OK, it didn’t look quite like this photo but it definitely snowed. While it’s early for snow here, it made me realize the end of the growing season is right around the corner.
The growing season is bookmarked by two very important dates - the [...]
Deer Repellent Effectiveness
Posted in Deer-resistant, Gardening in Connecticut, Zone 6 gardening on September 23, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Do deer repellents really work? I constantly ask myself that question since, in my garden here in southwestern Connecticut (zone 6), what works one day doesn’t seem to work the next. It can be exceedingly frustrating to try and protect ‘deer-resistant’ plants, I layer deer repellents, spray accordingly to the manufacturer’s guidelines and even try [...]
Update on Lagerstroemia indica ‘Tuscarora’
Posted in Gardening Inspiration, Gardening in Connecticut, Test Garden, Zone 6 gardening on September 10, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Back in June, I wrote a post about my Tuscarora crape myrtle which was supposed to be cold-hardy to zone 6 but appeared to have died back during the winter. When I wrote the original post, there was a bit of new growth coming from the root ball but all the trunks and branches had [...]

