Gardening With Tony

Arborists Are Physicians For Trees

UNITED STATES—Before the storms of winter get here, it might be a good time to make arrangements to get some help for big trees that need it. Smaller trees that can be reached from the ground may not need anything that we cannot do ourselves. It is the big trees that have grown beyond our reach that may need...

Gutters And Chimneys Need Attention

UNITED STATES—There is no time that is best to clean the gutters on the eaves. They should probably be cleaned early before the debris within them gets dampened by the first rains. However, they will only need to be cleaned out again after more foliage falls. If cleaned only after all the foliage falls, they will be grungier, and...

Annuals Come And Annuals Go

UNITED STATES—Just like warm season vegetable plants in the vegetable garden, flowering warm season annuals get replaced this time of year. Although the weather is still warm, cool season annuals should be planted now so they can disperse roots before the weather gets too much cooler. Except for a few short term annuals and perennials, most should perform until...

Vegetables Grow All Year Here

UNITED STATES—The difficult part is pulling up the warm season vegetable plants while they still seem to be productive. It gets much easier after that. Putting new cool season vegetables back into the garden is much more gratifying. Vegetable gardening never stops here. One season starts before the previous season ends. If cool season vegetable plants get a late...

Why Autumn Is Also Fall

Grevillea 'Peaches and Cream'
UNITED STATES—The calender says that it is now autumn. The weather does not necessarily agree. Some of the trees are dropping their leaves. However, the leaves are not falling because the weather is getting significantly cooler. The leaves got cooked during that weird heat wave a few weeks ago. If the weather can be this confusing here in our...

Pumpkins Wait For No One

UNITED STATES—Things might have gone better for Cinderella if she had taken a Buick to the ball instead of that detrimentally punctual pumpkin coach. It was on such a tight schedule! It might have seemed like a good idea on the way too the ball. It certainly was a unique ride. The problem was that it made no accommodation...

Houseplants Bring The Outdoors In

UNITED STATES—Philodendrons, dracaenas, ferns, palms or any sort of tropical foliage inside our homes only create an illusion of closeness to nature. Naturally, these plants live in very different climates, mostly thousands of miles away. Not only do they have no business in our homes; they have no business on the North American Continent. Some can live in the...

Heat Lingers With Indian Summer

UNITED STATES—It is still too early to say if, or for how long, warm Indian Summer weather will linger into what should be autumn. This last spell of unseasonable heat was merely a heat wave. Of course, at the time, there was nothing 'mere' about it. It was downright hot! It was weirdly humid too. As uncomfortable as it...

Street Wise About Street Trees

UNITED STATES—There is no such thing as a perfect tree. Every tree has foliage that one way or another, eventually falls to the ground. Every tree has roots that might try to displace something that gets in its way. Many trees are messy in bloom. Some make messy fruit. Except for palms, every tree has branches that can be...

Timing Is Everything For Pruning

UNITED STATES—There are certain disadvantages to gardening in such a perfect climate. We can not grow things that require significant chilling in winter. Nor can we grow things that require prolonged heat in summer. Seasons change so gently that it is easy to get behind schedule. It is already late summer, whether it seems like it or not. What...