The English Gardener

Now that Christmas is over and the decorations are coming down, it is time to consider what to do with the amaryllis you purchased or received as a gift.

Hello gardeners!

During this early warm spell it gives us a chance to get out and clean up the debris left over from winter's ravages.

All the old dead annuals that were not pulled out in the fall should be cleaned out now. The ornamental grasses need to be cut down before they start growing and dead stems on perennials removed. Clean up the ground too and rake it.

During the night between Tues., Aug. 16 and Wed. Aug. 17 a mysterious crop arose in one section of my lawn.

It was a crop of mushrooms. Why? I do not know. They did not appear anywhere else in the garden.

Although Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter cacti are called cactus they are not a true desert cactus.

Although these plants go under the name of Hardy Hibiscus they are not a true hibiscus but part of the mallow family although the flowers certainly look like hibiscus.

Many vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant cannot be planted in the garden until after all danger of frost has passed. It is possible, however, to get an early start using plastic structures called Wall O Waters.

Winter is slowly loosening its grip on the garden and the snow is starting to recede. Where the snow has gone there are already signs of spring, the muscari (Grape Hyacinth) bulbs are showing their green shoots, and will soon be a sea of blue. The snowdrops are showing white and these are the earliest to bloom. In some spots the daffodils are beginning to emerge, all signs of better days to come.