Gardening With Tony

UNITED STATES—Weeding otherwise bare and unused ground is no fun. Nor is weed whacking. Mulching inhibits future weed growth, but requires occasional replenishment. For many situations, ground cover plants are more practical. Once established, many sorts effectively exclude most weeds. Even more contain dust, and inhibit erosion of the surface of the soil below. As the terminology implies, ground cover...

UNITED STATES—Seed and fruiting structures develop immediately after bloom. Such processes consume valuable resources that could otherwise sustain subsequent bloom or vegetative growth. That is why it is helpful to deadhead some of the many blooming plants that do not need to produce fruit or seed. Deadheading diverts resources to more constructive application. Deadheading is simply the removal of deteriorating...

UNITED STATES—Most flowers rely on wind for dispersion of their pollen. The remainder do what they must to attract pollinators. Of these, the majority are visually appealing. They utilize color, form and texture. Some prefer to be more olfactorily appealing instead. They utilize fragrance. Some get creative with a combination of both tactics. They are both fragrant and colorful. Flowers...

UNITED STATES—There is no single reason for toxic plants to be as potentially dangerous as some of them are. They are toxic by various means, and to various degrees. Some actually seem to be incidentally toxic. Many are intentionally and justifiably toxic. A few live in home gardens and landscapes. Of these, a few surprisingly produce safely edible fruits...

UNITED STATES—It is difficult to always ignore the weather. Regardless of how pleasant it typically is here, it sometimes gets warm or cool. It occasionally gets hot or cold. Rain is wet and perhaps messy. A breeze is comforting while the weather is warm. Strong wind can be damaging. However, humidity is one major component of local weather that...

UNITED STATES—'Perennial' is a simple adjective that describes something that last for more than a single year. Horticulturally, it is not this simple. After all, every plant that is not an 'annual,' which completes its entire life cycle within only one year, is technically a 'perennial.' Those that develop lignified (woody) parts instead conform to such categories as tree,...

UNITED STATES—Foliar color is not limited to autumn. Some deciduous plants display colorful foliage from spring to autumn. Then, some of these change color for autumn. Some evergreen plants display colorful foliage through the year. Variegation of foliage can be more colorful than associated bloom. So can unvariegated bronze, purple, red, yellow, blue or gray foliage. All sorts of plants...

UNITED STATES—Succulents, both old and new, have been something of a fad for quite a while now. There are certainly many reasons for them to be popular. They add bold form, texture and color to the garden. Most adapt excellently to container gardening. Many types are resistant to pathogens. Succulents are generally easy to maintain and equally as easy...

UNITED STATES—Roots are innately mysterious. They consume much of the resources that plants require. They stabilize the stems above them. Few plants can survive without them. Yet, roots are very secretive about their work. Almost all are invisibly subterranean. Consequently, they get minimal consideration. A lack of consideration is a root cause of many root problems. Every plant species has...

UNITED STATES—Mowers are for mowing lawns and shallow ground cover. Blowers are for blowing debris from pavement, decking and other flat surfaces. The names of these tools suggest these particular functions. Those of us who use such tools tend to be aware of their limitations. Why are simple concepts of shearing and the associated tools so difficult to understand? 'Mow,...