Cutting Down Our Forests – Good or Bad?
Forest Management It can be deeply upsetting to see logging in mature forest, whether on private land or state forest owned by the public. Controlled burning of State Forest land can also be contro...
Burning Bush Lives Up to Its Name
Burning Bush – A landscape Staple Few landscape shrubs are as well known as the “burning bush” (Euonymus alatus or “winged euonymus”), a woody shrub known for its spectacular red fall col...
Amur Maple Pros & Cons
Amur Maple Can Be a Problem Solver Marjorie and I were touring the Spring Grove Cemetery on a hot, dry August afternoon a few years ago, when we happened to spot a spectacular crabapple tree in ful...
Reminder – Beat Japanese Honeysuckle This Week
Japanese Honeysuckle Reminder This is the ideal time of year to combat invasive Japanese Honeysuckle, an aggressive shrub that takes over and smothers everything in its path. Woods and stream banks...
Ground Cover Plants Save Maintenance
Groundcover Plants Weeding and mulching are the two most time-consuming and expensive maintenance steps for most landscape beds, and the least fun. So are cleanup and raking of windfall leaves, sti...
Fall Color – Paint Box for Gardeners
Fall Color – Paint Box for Gardeners Now that fall is around the corner, those of us fortunate enough to live in the Ohio Valley will soon be enjoying a show of brilliant fall color comparable to...
Longwood Gardens Lighting
Plan an Unforgettable Visit to Longwood Gardens Beautiful Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is one of our favorite places. Some years back we were fortunate to visit during a spectac...
Brown County Fair
Thank You for the “Little State Fair” I hope that readers of this column will forgive me for departing from the usual landscape advice, to share some thoughts about something somewhat different...
Stepping Stone Tips
Making Stepping Stone Paths Professionally Natural stone paths look good in almost any landscape. They never go out of style like so many man-made paver materials. Like most things made of stone, t...
See the STARS Part II
Do We Really Need Night Lighting? A hundred years ago, the Cincinnati Astronomical Society moved their observatory from Mt. Adams to the city perimeter, to escape the city lights. Today, suburban 2...
See the STARS
The Night Sky is a Precious Gift Have you ever thought about how wonderful it is that you can see the stars in the night sky? It’s easy for us to take this miracle for granted, but visitors from ...
Tomatoes and Viviparity
Mutant Tomatoes? Not So Fast! Have you ever seen tomato plants sprout right out of a ripe tomato? It looks sort of spooky, like something from a horror movie. Here’s a letter we received from Car...
Soils – How to Improve Them
Making Fluffy Dirt – Improving Your Garden Soil My grandmother’s vegetable garden had the most wonderful rich, dark, crumbly soil I’ve ever seen. A powered tiller would have been a luxury in he...
Catalpa Trees
Catalpa – The Ultimate Fence Post? Have you ever heard of a “fence-post tree”? Also known as Indian bean tree, cigar tree, catawba, or caterpillar tree, Catalpa is a large tree with showy white...
Weed Control & Lawns
Healthy Lawns Reduce Weeding Chores Are you fighting a losing battle with weeds in your landscaping? Weeds are the biggest challenge for landscape gardeners. We’ve tackled this topic from many di...
A Different Way to Look at Retaining Walls
Retaining Wall Components Building decorative garden walls is very satisfying and rewarding, as well as being good exercise. We define “decorative” or “landscape” walls as wall less than tw...