The summer weather and your busy schedule have left your landscape looking a bit weary. There’s still time to add sparkle and enjoy your landscape this summer.

Papyrus has been an important crop throughout history used for food, shelter, fiber, and medicine. In more recent times it has been popular as both an indoor and outdoor plant.

Give a tree a hug and celebrate Arbor Day on the last Friday in April.

Join forces with nature and keep garden pests under control this season.

It's finally here! Your first red tomato. You reach in, twist it off the vine and have a look. And there it is - a big black spot on the bottom of the tomato.

Don’t let a tight budget stop you from starting seeds indoors. Get creative and involve the whole family in the process.

You decided to save money or perhaps try something new and ordered bare root plants from a catalog or through the internet. Now you are wondering what to do with them once they arrive.

Celebrate Arbor Day by planting new trees or caring for your established ones in your landscape and community.

Celebrate Mother’s Day and National Public Gardens Day with a visit to your favorite public garden or arboretum.

Don’t discard those left over seeds from last season. When properly stored, many seeds can last for years, saving you money when you plan and plant this year’s garden.

The grass is up and growing and the roar of lawn mowers can be heard throughout the neighborhood. Minimize the negative impact of your gas mower on the environment with a few easy tricks.

Piles of plastic pots fill the sheds and garages of gardeners across the country. Don’t throw these in the trash. Rather look for ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle plant pots.

Save time and money by turning landscape trimmings into a valuable soil amendment.

Mint, beebalm, and purple coneflower are garden favorites that often get out of hand. Tame these and other garden bullies with a few planting and maintenance strategies.

UGH! Oh gross! Both commonly heard right after an earwig is spotted.

Start this year’s garden pest control with a stroll through the landscape.

Add more planting space to your landscape by converting a portion of your lawn to a flower or vegetable garden.

The best of our landscapes are often hidden behind our homes for only our family and friends to enjoy. But consider sharing a bit of your green thumb talents with passersby.

Bring a bit of the desert, tropics or evergreen forest to your backyard. Container plantings allow you to push the limits of your growing environment.

Avoid dulling your mower blades and more importantly damaging your trees by creatively dealing with the surface roots.

Overcrowded, poor flowering and floppy perennials can be invigorated with a shovel and a bit of your time and energy.

It’s foamy, slimy and rather disgusting to look at. And nothing describes it better than its common name – dog vomit mold fungus.

Keep the flavor of your garden alive all year long. Pick and dry herbs for winter meals and holiday gifts.

Enjoy the beauty and fragrance of roses without all the work. Many of us have switched to hardier more pest resistant shrub roses for just this reason. But now, thanks to the Earth-Kind rose designation, growing roses will be easier for all.

You can have a beautiful landscape and be kind to the environment by adopting an Earth-Kind landscape philosophy.

The hot dry air in our homes during winter is tough on us and our houseplants, but it’s great for insects. You may need to lend a hand this winter to keep your plants looking good.

Check plants regularly for signs of insects. You may want to break out the hand lens or recruit a younger gardener with better eyesight.

Leafless crabapple trees are a common sight in summers following a cool wet spring. Start now to eliminate the problem next season.

Don’t worry if you notice small fruit fly-like insects flitting across the room. It is not a sign of bad housekeeping nor are they harmful to your plants.

Spring is the time to prevent crabgrass problems in the lawn. .

The best defense against this and other lawn weeds is proper care. Grow your grass tall. Keeping it 3 to 3 ½ inches tall encourages deep roots that are more drought-tolerant and better able to fend off pests and outcompete the weeds.

Proper watering and fertilization will further reduce weed problems. Even one fertilization a year, can greatly improve your lawn’s health and reduce weed problems.

UGH! Oh gross! Commonly heard right after an earwig is spotted.

Every garden season is filled with beautiful or tasty surprises and a few challenges. You can prevent or reduce challenges and damage caused by insect pests and still be kind to the environment.

A healthy lawn is your best defense against weeds. So if you want to reduce the problem - long term- you need to learn a bit more about the weeds.

If your indoor plants have cottony masses on the leaves and stems, it is time to break out the rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs.

Don’t let mosquitoes prevent you from enjoying your garden this summer. A fan and a bit of outdoor housekeeping will help you manage these pests.

So it seems your perennial garden is filled with more weeds than flowers. Now is a great time to reclaim your garden by getting the weeds under control.

Don’t panic when you find your zinnias, lilac, bee balm or phlox leaves are covered with a white powdery substance. This fungal disease, known as powdery mildew, is often a yearly problem on a variety of plants.

Get the most flavor and nutritional value from your garden-fresh vegetables with proper harvesting, storage and preparation.

Yellowing, speckled leaves and small spider webs are sure signs spider mites have taken up residence in your plants.

Does this sound familiar? You brush your hand over your plants and a cloud of white fly-like insects disperse in the air. It is not a good thing.

Give egg shells and empty egg cartons a second life in your garden. Use them for starting plants from seeds.

Extend your enjoyment of potted and forced tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

Early planting and unseasonably cool wet springs can cause bean and corn seeds to fail to sprout or fully develop. These seeds either rotted or were damaged by corn seed maggot.

Falling leaves make a great mulch in the woods, but can spell death for groundcovers and the lawn. Make clean up easy for you and good for the environment.

Let ‘em stand for winter - perennials that is - for a healthier more floriferous garden next year.

Add a little extra color and beauty to your fall landscape.

As the summer growing season winds down, it’s a great time to prepare your landscape for next season. Start with a soil test. The results can save you money and the environment.

Improve your garden’s beauty, increase your enjoyment, and reduce stress five minutes at a time.

Creating a beautiful flower garden can be overwhelming, but understanding a few key concepts can make it much easier.

Try forcing a few spring flowering bulbs for indoor enjoyment or added beauty on your patio and deck.

Frame up a bit of living art to brighten a wall, soften a hard surface or add a focal point to your outdoor living space.

Make this the year you finally start and keep a gardening journal. Keeping records of your successes, failures, pest problems and weather will help you grow a healthy, beautiful and productive garden in a more eco-friendly manner.

Don’t end up with a driveway full of excess topsoil and mulch waiting for friends and family to haul away the surplus for their gardens. Do a bit of math in advance and order just the amount needed.

Like many of you I try to squeeze way too much into one day. In order to accomplish many of my goals I try to look for ways to double, even triple the benefits of everything I do. This is why I combine my gardening activities and fitness program.

Get rid of the fence dividing you and your neighbors’ yard. Instead create a beautiful garden you both can enjoy.

A tangle of carrots, ill-formed beets, and non-existent radish roots mean it’s time to add thinning to your gardening list.

Being kind to the environment does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can save you time and money.

Invite the birds into your landscape for added color, motion, and interest while creating a focal point in one of your gardens. Plant a green roof birdfeeder.

Vertical Wall gardens are all the rage. They green up otherwise unplantable spaces and can even help conserve energy.

Whether gardening on a balcony or an acre lot – there is always room for an evergreen. The many new dwarf varieties available make it easy for everyone, even balcony gardeners, to include evergreens in their landscape.

Add a bit of nutrition to your diet and landscape. Grow a container full of nutritious vegetables for your patio, deck or balcony.

Keep a fresh supply of bone-building calcium growing in your garden all season long.

Parsley is not just a garnish for your meals. This Vitamin rich herb is a great addition to your garden and recipes.

Reduce your grocery bill this summer by growing a few of your favorite vegetables. And the good news, you don’t need much space to produce enough fresh vegetables for you and your family to enjoy.

Apples are the perfect fat free fruit for your diet and garden. Plant just a couple trees or a small orchard so you can harvest an apple-a-day right from your own backyard.

Picture this - Your guest reaches over and plucks a sprig of mint from a planter to add to their iced tea or Mojito. Nothing beats the fresh-from-the-garden flavor or fun of ingredients right from your own garden.

Get the whole family involved in growing your own healthful holiday treat. And, believe it or not, it can be quick, easy, nutritional and fun.

Many of us are looking for ways to rid our body of toxins, while improving our eating habits. Asparagus is nature’s own detoxifier and one of the most nutritionally balanced vegetables.

Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet. Consider growing edible soybeans in this year’s garden.

Apples are the perfect fat-free fruit for your diet and garden. Plant just a couple trees or a small orchard so you can harvest an apple-a-day right from your own backyard.

Love your shade trees but tired of the sparse lawn and bare spots? Make this the season you eliminate the frustration of trying to grow grass in the shade and go for a permanent fix.

Make homegrown onions part of your diet. Their flavor is guaranteed to add zest to your meals and their health benefits include lowering the risk of many cancers.

I have a quiz for you - What is white, red or yellow, can be eaten fresh, fried or even raw and is one of the most important staples of the human diet. If you guessed potato, you are right.

Grow a few healthy snacks for you and your family to enjoy. Carrots have the crunch of chips and crackers without the fat and calories.

It’s time to start reaping the benefits of your spring plantings. So break out the garden fork and get busy harvesting.

Break out the garden fork and get ready to start harvesting onions and potatoes.

All your hard work and effort is paying off with a bountiful harvest.

Spice up your cooking with fresh-from-the-garden herbs.

Have you noticed those beautiful white butterflies flitting across your garden? Lovely to look at, but what they leave behind is a problem for gardeners.

Make your holiday meals just a bit more special, decorative, fun, and nutritional with homegrown garnishes.

Don’t let going gluten-free get you down. Include some fresh-from-the-garden vegetables to add flavor to your gluten-free meals.

Hostas are great for shade and low maintenance gardens. But with hundreds of choices it can be a bit overwhelming. So the American Hosta Growers Association has stepped in to help.

Don’t let tradition and the overabundance of the common hosta keep you from adding this charming durable perennial to your landscape.

Heat up your meals and improve your health by adding a few hot peppers to your garden and meal plan.

Save energy and money by growing your own air purifier.

Put your creativity to work and get your favorite youngster excited about gardening.

Have a bit of fun and stretch your gardening muscles with kitchen scrap gardening.

Give your garbage disposal and wallet a rest. Convert kitchen scraps into a nutritious soil additive for your garden while raising bait for your next fishing trip. All you need is a container with drainage holes, shredded paper, red worms and of course kitchen scraps.

Looking for the perfect gift for your favorite gardener? Don’t worry, you still have time and lots of choices.

Get the most flavor and nutritional value from your garden-fresh vegetables with proper harvesting, storage and preparation.

Take advantage of weekends, holidays and school vacations to get the children in your life involved with vegetable gardening.

A break in the cold winter temperatures can be a welcome reprieve for gardeners, but not such a good thing for our spring flowering bulbs.

Put away the rake and break out the mower. That’s right you can recycle your leaves right where they fall.

Invest a bit of time now to prevent thousands of weeds and save yourself hours weeding next year.

Improve the health and longevity of your trees and shrubs with a bit of preventative care.

Tired of fighting moss in your lawn and garden? It may be time to embrace it and grow a moss garden.

Summers are filled with barbeques, vacations, and caring for our landscapes. Mulching is one way to save time and effort over a season or two, giving you more time for fun.

Save time and energy and keep your landscape looking its best with mulch.

Mums are often the last flash of color in the garden. But getting them to survive the winter can be difficult.

The holidays are filled with lots of delicious foods and sweets. But now is the time to resolve to grow your own vegetables and eat healthier in the New Year.

If your hybrid tea rose has stopped blooming or changed colors, a dead graft union may be the problem.

Trees, shrubs and perennials are great for container gardens. But as winter approaches we need to provide a bit of care to help them through the winter.

Celebrate the Fourth of July with a little red, white and blue in the garden.

Double your harvest without increasing your garden space. Try planting short season vegetables like lettuce, radishes and beets between long season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, okra, cabbage, and broccoli. When the short season veggies are ready to harvest, the longer season larger vegetables will need the space.

Don’t let cold soil and late spring frost delay the start to your garden season.

The soil has finally warmed and it is time to get pumpkins, melons, squash and cucumbers in the ground.

Procrastination is a good thing when it comes to cleaning up your landscape in fall.

Are you like me and always squeeze in that extra tomato plant, another row of beans or that one left over pepper plant? It seemed like a good idea at the time. But now you have more produce than you need.

Try a bit of preventative care in this year’s garden. You’ll increase your landscape’s beauty and productivity with less work on your part.

Keep your plants looking good and be kind to the environment despite the risk of disease problems.

Don’t drag that Christmas tree to the curb. Give it a second life in your landscape.

Cut trees make great windbreaks in the landscape. Strategically place discarded Christmas trees on the windward side of rhododendron, boxwood and other broadleaf evergreens to reduce problems with winter burn.

Put coffee grounds and filters to work improving your garden’s beauty and productivity.

Grow the main ingredient for a classic, delicious, and family favorite – rhubarb pie.

Whether you’ve gone organic or use traditional fertilizers and pest management products you need to store them properly for safety’s sake and their longevity.

Save money and be kind to your garden and the environment by capturing rainwater and putting it to work in your landscape.

Your geraniums are at their peak bloom and you heard somewhere you could store them overwinter – but how?

Be a part of history and save money when planting next year’s garden. Collect and save the seeds from your favorite heirloom tomatoes this fall.

Be a part of history and save money when planting next year’s garden. Collect and save the seeds from your favorite heirloom tomatoes this fall.

You’ve enjoyed their blooms all summer and now you would like to preserve your hibiscus, mandevilla, bougainvillea, or other tropical plant for next season.

Whether you are trying to start plants from seeds, get your African violets to bloom, or keeping your indoor plants alive, a bit of extra light can help.

Save money and be kind to your garden and the environment by capturing rainwater and putting it to work in your landscape.

Your mailbox and dining room table are overflowing with catalogs filled with pictures of beautiful flowers and scrumptious vegetables. With so many choices it can be a bit overwhelming – I can help.

Stop and take a moment to sit, relax, and enjoy your garden. And while you do so, look for new areas to create more such spaces.

Don’t panic if your garden plans are bigger than the available planting space. I have some space saving techniques that can help you get the most out of your landscape.

Add a bit of color and fragrance to your entryway with a spring container garden.

All your hard work is paying off with an abundant harvest. Then, one day you notice your squash plants are wilted and near death.

Expand your indoor and outdoor garden by taking cuttings from your favorite plants.

Extend the gardening fun and save money by starting your plants from seed.

Save money and your plants from disease by growing in pathogen-free potting mix.

Anyone can grow fresh strawberries for their cereal in the morning or to enjoy with a glass of wine at night.

Add a bit of nutrition and beauty to your patio, deck, or balcony with a pot of strawberries. It’s a great way to keep a nutritional snack close at hand.

Break out the broom and sweep your way to cleaner drinking water.

Improve your family’s health and support your local park by celebrating Take a Walk in the Park Day.

Fall has many of us scrambling to protect plants from frost, move tropicals indoors or finish harvesting our vegetables. Be sure you collect a few green tomatoes to ripen indoors.

Try a Native American tradition of planting corn, squash and beans - the three sisters’ method - together in your garden this year.

Mulch your garden beds with shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic matter. It conserves moisture while suppressing weeds and improving the soil.

You’ve got the car packed, the pets at the kennel and your kids are ready to go. But what are you going to do about all those beautiful containers?

Don’t let standing water, seasonal flooding, and poorly drained soils stop you from growing a beautiful landscape. Try one of these strategies to manage the excess water and create a healthy environment for your landscape plants.

Save energy, care for new trees, and conserve water in one easy step.

Use water wisely in your landscape to save you time, improve plant health and reduce your water bill.

Save time, energy, and conserve water while caring for your new trees.

No matter the time of the season, weeds seem to grow and thrive. Keeping them under control will give you a healthier, more productive and attractive garden.

Make this the fall you protect your evergreens before winter winds and snowloads cause your arborvitae to split and rhododendrons to wither.

Help your roses through the winter and be rewarded with beautiful blooms next season.

Save yourself time, money and frustration by properly storing your mower for winter.