Gardening the Hudson Valley

Should you start with a design or does design evolve over time?

It's more than beauty. Flowers serve a vital role in the vegetable garden, stopping the spread of disease, controlling which insects get to stick around and making our lives easier. Here's some more info and tips for getting started.

Even though we can't start planting outdoors just yet - soon, but not yet - we can get a taste of spring by visiting one of the local garden and flower shows. I talk about 3 within driving distance that will satisfy your longing to breath in air saturated with the scent of warm soil.

What does it take to enjoy gardening? Is it a personality thing? Maybe a disorder? My friend thought it looked enticing, until she gave it a half-hearted try. Here's my advice to her and anyone who is discouraged about gardening.

We're all familiar with El Nino. He comes around every few years and totally confuses us about winter. I'm not complaining that it's too warm for me, but it's not the best winter weather for the garden. Here are a few things to keep an eye on, until things go back to normal.

Would someone visiting your garden get a glimpse of who you are? If your garden doesn't reflect you every bit as well as your home does, here are some ideas to help you shape your garden's story.

You might not consider fall to be the ideal season for evaluating your garden's design, but you can learn a lot by studying your garden when all the leaves have fallen.

It may be November, but it's still nice enough outdoors for the plants to be growing - which means there's work to be done. A little care now can mean the difference between winter dieback and winter dormancy.

Piling your leaves at the edge of the road for pick up is a waste of garden gold. Here are 6 things you can do with your leaves that won't take much time or effort on your part and will make your garden richer.

It happens every year, so it's easy to take it for granted or even miss the show. Those dazzling fall colors the leaves turn don't change by accident. Here's what causes all those colors and how to predict if it will be a great year for fall foliage.

The formal gardens at the Vanderbilt Historic Site in Hyde Park are a great place to visit, but they also hold a lot of lessons for our own, much smaller gardens. Today I bring some of the tips and ideas I was given by 2 of the Vanderbilt Garden Association Volunteers. The group has been working on the gardens for over 30 years and they really know what works - Canadian roses, floating water garden dye, and starting your garden in fall, for starters.

Mums are everywhere in the fall. They call them Hardy Mums, but most of them wind up in the garbage. Can mums really be hardy? Sure. Follow these tips.

Have a few carrots, turnips, or beets still in the garden. Why not let them stay there and sweeten up. Today's podcast is about how to store your root vegetables in the garden, so - snow permitting - you can harvest them in January.

It's hotter than July, but the bulbs are out in the nurseries and it's time to scoop some up. Today we talk about the best bulbs for the Hudson Valley and how to guarantee a great show next spring.

As the vegetable garden starts to fade, herbs are a great way to fill in those increasing bare spots. Not every herb loves fall's cooler weather, but these 6 will be as welcome in the garden as they are in the kitchen.

Tips for making smart choices when you go bargain shopping at nurseries in the fall.

Some easy jobs for late summer, that will give you a headstart next spring.

My garlic was not stellar this year. In fact, it was down right puny. That's not going to happen again. Today's show is a refresher on what garlic needs and what keeps it from forming big, lush bulbs.

The end of summer is clean-up time in the garden, but it's also a great time to evaluate how things are going. While you're cutting back and moving plants, use some of today's tips to check how things are going in general, in the garden. Remember, fall is just around the corner and it is a great time to be outside. Having a list of what you want done will help you get right to it.

Not enough bees and other pollinators in your garden? There are a number of reasons for this, some of which are out of our control. But one thing we can do to get our vegetable gardens buzzing is to mix in some flowers. Not just any flowers - nectar rich flowers. That's what we'll talk about today.