Thank goodness the temperatures are starting to rise on Cape Cod because there is so much to be done in the yard and garden. Here is a pictorial to-do list for the first week of April: 1. Rake leaves where they have gathered and cut old perennials that have remained in the garden all winter down…

Last week we had our employee training day at HCG, which gathers everyone together to jump-start the growing season. One of the things on the list every year to to bring all of our Green Team members up to speed on some of the issues that concern our customers. On the agenda this year, was…

I have to say that digital photography is wonderful. We can see our photos immediately and don’t have to wait for slides or prints to be processed. We can shoot many more photos than we need and delete those that aren’t good without cost. And we can easily scroll back through our photo libraries to…

On Cape Cod we don’t care so much about about “Wind Chill temperatures” – we want reports on “Hydrangea Kill temperatures.” Knowing that our beloved Hydrangea macrophylla form their flower buds the previous summer, we all want those buds to make it through the winter so that our shrubs will come into bloom in the…

If you watched Saturday Night Live when it first came on, you will remember Gilda Radner’s character, Roseanne Roseannadanna. She had a favorite phrase: “It’s always something!” That’s how home landscapers and gardeners frequently feel. There are problems and challenges everywhere we turn. Fortunately, there are good solutions to most situations we encounter in our…

After the past two wind/snow/ice storms on the Cape I, like many of you, have found many twigs, branches and leaves on the ground. When walking my dog at Scorton Creek in Sandwich the ground is patterned with the tips of Norway spruce and white pines. Nature has been pruning the plants. As homeowners and…

Learn how to place forced bulbs that have been grown in pots into the garden this spring. Most of these are perennial.

There are many ways to be creative with your plants in the spring. Consider growing flowering annuals in unusual or recycled containers.

Sometimes plants respond to warm January temperatures by breaking dormancy early. We have no control over this, or what happens afterwards.

You can make more plants by growing some from seed, taking cuttings, air-layering and dividing perennials for transplanting.

You can have something in bloom outside in every month of the year on Cape Cod. Here are just a few plants for year-round flowers.

Some holiday plants are worth saving from year to year, and others are better tossed in the compost after New Year's.