Ask a master gardener: What’s a living Christmas tree?

This holiday season Christmas trees laden with cherished ornaments and twinkly lights evoking a sense of wonder, peace and warmth will adorn our homes. When the festivities conclude, this cozy haven disappears as we relinquish our trees to the trash. For many, this sharp change in scenery, the deep cold and the darkness combine to invite the winter woes. How can we keep the holiday cheer going to avoid the bleakness of winter? An answer may lie with the Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla). Often re … (read more)

Amaryllis, a popular holiday plant, is cherished for its showy flowers in hues ranging from stark white to dazzling red.  This species was discovered in 1828 by a German botanist in Chile and classified as Hippeastrum, a genus of the Amaryllidacaea family … (read more)

There are two schools of thought when it comes to managing leaf litter at this time of year. Some people believe in leaving leaf litter as natural mulch on perennial beds and to provide habitat for beneficial insects. Others believe in removing dead leave … (read more)

VERMONT — This time of year I get impatient for the long-awaited harvest of my tomatoes and the taste of their sweet, homegrown flavor. But will I get to them before the arrival of the dreaded hornworms?  These sizable pests come like thieves in the night … (read more)