Through The Garden Gate
August, When Water Retention is a Good Thing By Leslie Watkins In hot, dry weather and prolonged periods of insufficient rainfall, plants and trees can really suffer. There are measures we can take to protect the valuable investments we’ve made in our gardens. The goal is to get water to the plants and keep […]
Through the Garden Gate
July, Berry Season By Leslie Watkins July is the beginning of the great berry harvest, keeping both people and birds busy as can be. Blueberries, red raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries all begin to ripen now, providing us with delectable and nutritious berries for pies, tarts, sauces and pancakes—if the berries make it back to […]
Through The Garden Gate
June, Full Tilt Gardening By Leslie Watkins June may be the busiest month in the gardener’s calendar. It’s time to get the tender vegetables into the ground. Tomato, pepper, and eggplant starts may be planted and melons, squash, beans and cucumber seeds can be direct sown. Water new plantings deeply and consistently as needed. […]
Through The Garden Gate—May 2016
Getting Your Garden Back Into Shape By Leslie Watkins Here in The Icebox of Connecticut, tradition holds that our last possible frost date is Memorial Day. Global Weirding may fool us into planting out earlier, but it is better to hold off for the tender annuals like tomatoes, basil, peppers, begonias and impatiens. There […]
Through the Garden Gate—March 2016
March, Who Are You Calling Chicken? By Leslie Watkins Permaculture is the conscious design of agricultural systems that behave like natural ecosystems. According to Graham Bell, “It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.” One principle of […]
Through the Garden Gate—February 2016
February, Time Travel By Leslie Watkins What if you could travel through time, predict the future and divine meteorological events? And what if by doing so you could create food, clothing, shelter and a less stressful existence–an existence that would afford you more time to enjoy leisure activities, have deeper relationships with loved […]
Through The Garden Gate—December 2015
December Is For The Birds By Leslie Watkins It’s very nice to sit by a cozy fire with a cup of coffee and watch the birds on a snowy winter day. Brilliant blue jays, cardinals, and gold finches are a delight as they flit from perch to perch. They perform a carefully choreographed ballet, each […]
Through The Garden Gate—November 2015
November is Elemental By Leslie Watkins Earth, wind, fire and water—without any one of these elements, there is no life and no garden. While each plays its part in supporting life on earth, soil is most closely associated with gardening. The living soil, so easily taken for granted, is a seething eight-inches of bacteria, […]
Through The Garden Gate
October By Leslie Watkins ”How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” –John Burroughs Shorter days, colder nights and here is autumn. By day, glorious warm colors blanket the trees and fields. Russets, burgundies and gold mixed with spots of bright scarlet thrill us, but the night comes […]
Through the Garden Gate
September, Botanical Enlightenment By Leslie Watkins The autumnal equinox, September 23, marks the beginning of fall. The sun sinks lower in the sky, reminding us of shorter days to come. This is the light artists love. With some thoughtful planning gardeners can use light like this to great advantage. One of the first considerations […]
