Over the past two weeks I’ve had many customers come to me asking about the moss in their landscape. “Where did all the moss come from?” or “What can I do about the moss in my lawn?” If you’ve been concerned about the amount of moss in your lawn and garden, this blog post is…

Now that it’s finally warming up, many on the Cape are taking a close look at what is going on in their lawn and gardens, and they are seeing weeds. Areas that were fine last fall are suddenly filled with small plants, many of them with tiny leaves. “What are these weeds and how can…

When I heard that on April 14th and 15th the Bonide company was going to donate their profits from the sale of their products in our store to Habit for Humanity Cape Cod, they had my attention. I routinely use many of their products through the course of the summer, so here was a change…

Mid-March is the time to start tomato plants from seed if you’re growing them inside under lights. Some of our customers do this,while others want to jump-start their tomatoes by buying seedlings later in April and then growing them on indoors until it’s time to plant them outside in late-May. Here are some tips for…

As you prepare to plant in your yard and garden this spring, consider using one of the colorful ninebark shrubs. There are many varieties of Physocarpus opulifolius, our native ninebark, that have purple, copper or lime-green leaves. When you plant a Physocarpus, you get two for one: flowers and foliage color. This shrub is also…

The wonderful thing about a digital library of photos is that you have a very quick and accurate time machine. I took a trip back through the years today prompted by a conversation I had with a customer. “This March is so different!” she mused. “I don’t remember a year when it was this bad.…

One of the most striking images from the recent “Winter Storm Riley” on Cape Cod was the photo of a house in Sandwich that was struck by seven fallen trees. A homeowner’s nightmare, right? All of these trees were one of our native pines, Pinus rigida. Frequently called “scrub pine” or “pitch pine,” these trees…

“What kind of soil should I put in my raised beds?” our customers ask. This is one of the topics that will be covered in our upcoming program for inexperienced vegetable gardeners on March 11th. Raised beds are one method of growing vegetables, and in areas like Cape Cod where the soil is often sandy,…

Many of our customers who enjoyed the large, lovely amaryllis flowers their bulb produced this winter are now wondering how to keep the plant so that they can bring it into flower again next year. Here are directions for making sure your bulbs live and store up the energy that will be needed for future…

When it comes to starting seeds indoors, timing is everything. In February our customers frequently want to know if it’s too early to start their tomato seeds. They ask if it’s OK to begin to grow other vegetable plants and flowers inside. Some seeds can be started quite early indoors while others are best left…

If you’ve had trouble germinating seeds or rooting cuttings in the past, your soil might have been too cold. Soil temperatures are actually more important than room temperatures for seed sprouting, and a heat mat that’s made for plants can help. Heat mats are designed to be on 24 hours a day and keep flats…

I was cooking with a friend a few years back and touched my thumb to a pan that had just come out of the oven. I held the minor burn under cold water for a time, and then asked my friend for ice. To my surprise, she brought me not only an ice cube, but…