Hemlock Wooly Adelgid: What it is, what to do about it. “In early July, hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) was detected by an observant park employee at Ferry Beach State Park in Saco, ME. To date the entire beach, along with adjacent properties, has been surveyed, and HWA has been found at low levels scattered throughout […]
Roosevelt Trail Online Gardening Tips
Gardening Tips
A Walk in the Woods
We interrupt this feature on garden plants to bring a special article on how wonderful our native flora can be… Spent a glorious weekend in the more northern reaches of the state a few days ago. Some friends and I visited the Bangor City Forest/Orono Bogwalk on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Miles and miles of […]
Luscious Lilacs
One of the most beautiful, fragrant, and easy to grow shrubs in the garden is the Lilac and its many cultivars. As common as they are, they are not native to this country; the first lilacs were probably brought to New England from Europe in the 1620s. Two species, Syringa vulgaris (the Common Lilac) and S. josikea, are […]
Beautiful Bulbs
Bulbs are amazing; an entire plant, contained in a neat little package, that grows and thrives all season, and returns to the same neat package for the next year. Here in the northeast, we commonly have spring and summer blooming bulbs, each of which require special conditions and care. Some of the plants discussed here […]
The Importance of Good Dirt
An artist would never paint on a dry, unprimed canvas, nor a baker put bread into a cold oven, but so often we simply dig a hole in the ground, plunk an unsuspecting plant down in the middle of it, bury it, and then are disappointed and wonder why it doesn’t do what we think […]
Spring Forth!
Spring is here! Time for pansies, mud, and the first greens on the trees… The snow will melt soon, we hope. The first greens of spring are always exciting; tender new shoots bursting into bloom and leaf are a welcome sight after many months of white. Spring is a time to take a good look […]
Rain, Rain, Rain – What to do in a monsoon?
So… it’s been quite a soggy June. Not quite record rainfall, but at least twice what we received last year, and it seems we’ll never see the sun again. It’s been a cool spring so far; I can’t remember the last time I was still wearing sweatshirts at the beginning of July. All the rain […]