Columbus Day alerted us that summer was easing when we had a morning temperature of 45 degrees. Just a few days before, summer was still roaring. Read the full storyMaking changes in the garden, and accepting what we can’t control
Fall is finally upon us once more. The air is getting cooler and the days are getting short. That also means pumpkins will become a fixture in everything from food to decor. Pumpkins are incredibly versatile. They come in many sizes, shapes and colors. Whether you’re growing your own or look…
Debra and George Linton own Exclusively Shutters based in Chelsea, Ala.
Downing and Sons in Anniston has been a family-run fabric, home and garden store since 1963. Earlier this year, they opened their new expanded seed store around the corner from the fabric store.
Endangered bees and other invertebrates (those lacking a spinal column) celebrated on May 31, 2022, as California’s Third District Court of Appeals ruled that the California Endangered Species Act protected them. This act includes four endangered bumble bees as well as other endangered insec…
“Well,” Darin Sims said, “it all started as a barn workshop. But…”
It is the perfect time to warm up those gardening engines; sharpen the shovels, drag out the hoses, pile up the mulch and wash our nasty gardening gloves. Fall is here and fall is the best planting season. Plants installed in the soil now can take advantage of winter’s cool, rainy days to gr…
Summer is slipping away, with autumn on its heels. Gardeners are as hot, dry and weary as their flowers. Passionate gardeners persevere, doing whatever is necessary to keep their gardens beautiful and healthy until the first frost.
This summer’s hydrangeas have been awesome. The traditional mop head blossoms have lost their brilliant blue color, fading to lime green or baby blue. The panicle and smooth hydrangeas are in full bloom, filling our landscapes with exquisite white flowers in various shapes and sizes. The oak…
It takes a dedicated, tenacious gardener to survive (and thrive) an Alabama summer in the garden. Summers can seem unusually long in our area, beginning before June’s summer solstice and ending days after the first official fall day.
In May’s column, we discussed a quote often seen in gardening literature: “Plant the right plant in the right place.” Selecting and planting a plant that will do well in the place where it is planted (and do well without a lot of extra work by the gardener) is fundamental to a successful lan…
I have always been slightly envious of people who had gardens full of luscious vegetables. My time and energy went into planting flowers — hundreds of them — as I (incorrectly) believed I did not have the right climatic conditions to grow vegetables. What I really lacked was imagination. Veg…
February, the second month of the year, is an interesting month with only 28 days (unlike the rest of the months with 30 or 31 days). Every four years there is Leap Year and we can celebrate the month for 29 days. According to internet sources, having the extra date allows the calendar year …
There have been gardeners in all walks of life who have bequeathed us legacies from their time spent cultivating a garden. Working intimately with nature inspired glorious images in prose, poetry, paintings and activities in everyday lives.
Autumn 2021 has arrived; I saw the date on the calendar, so I know it is true. The days still seem warm and humid. My summer annuals, perennials, even some trees, and I are frazzled. Hopefully cooler, shorter days, longer nights, and fall colors are not a mirage in the desert.
Just as the gardener is ready to pitch the hand spade and the smelly gardening gloves, the chrysanthemums burst into bloom, causing us to smile. Mums are popping up everywhere, beckoning us with vibrant flowers. Time to remove weary summer annuals and replace them with fresh faces.
Gate Builders is a gate manufacturer located in Wellington on Highway 431.
According to the book, Floriography, in the Victorian era zinnias symbolized “lasting friendship.” The Victorians believed zinnias were easy to grow and they re-seeded (the very same reasons we love them). If the Victorians gifted zinnias to a friend taking a trip, the giver wanted to let th…
The garden is a feast for the senses during the summer season: a symphony of amazing flowers and enchanting scents. Amid this lush spectacle, the gardenia stands out.
Yikes. The lilies are in bloom! My husband calls them “statuesque beauties.” This is a perfect description for this showy charmer; some, like the tree lily (a cross between an Asiatic and Oriental lily), can reach five feet with magnificent blooms resting on the tops of slender stems. Althou…
Spring has been a dilly. We have had two or three April nights in the 30s as well as days in the mid- to high 80s. The flowers and the gardener were both confused at times.
Spring officially started on March 20. It has been giving and unforgiving. Terrible storms have wreaked havoc, destroying lives, properties and the sense of security of those in their way.
Butterflies are a beautiful addition to any garden — but they’re also good for the planet. Butterflies and other pollinators — bees, birds, wasps, moths and bats — play a vital role in our ecosystem by moving pollen from the male part of the flower (the stamen) to the female part (the stigma…
Any experienced home buyer or seller will tell you that one of the big ticket items when it comes to houses is the bathroom. But why do we care so much about them?
Oxford resident Joy Greenwood grew up surrounded by artistically-gifted family members.
Lately there has been a quiet drama unfolding in my garden. Birds are dying — especially Pine Siskens and Purple Finches — not because they hit a glass door or ran afoul of a neighborhood cat, but because there are too many of them and they are contracting salmonella.
