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.

With a little observation and knowing the right questions to ask - which you'll get here - you can figure out what's ailing your plants. It's probably not as bad as you think.

It's one of the hardest things for a gardener to do - tearing out perfectly good plants that no longer work in your garden. Here's some inspiration to make it easier.

Do you need to buy special fertilizers for every plant? Of course not. Here are a handful of things every plant needs and how to provide them.

The time to think about your fall garden is early in the growing season. Fall plants need time to get established, so they are ready to shine when their time comes.

We can't stop the rain, but we can be prepared for what it does to the garden. Take advantage of the loose soil, but watch out for rot.

It is possible to have a small water garden without it being a lot of work. I don't even have a pump. What I do have are floating water plants that create just the right environment.

Does companion planting work? It's hard to say. How do you even test it? One thing that's worth experimenting with is companion planting to control insect pests and attract beneficial insects. That's what we'll talk about today.

Have you ever noticed your fruit trees seem to drop lots of small fruits in the beginning of June? That's called June Drop and it's nothing to panic about.

Plants hate excessive heat as much as we do. Even though the heat doesn't usually last long, there are a few things we should do to help our plants cope.

Wildlife is a never ending challenge in the garden and no one is more wily than the groundhog. We may never keep them out entirely, but here are some ideas to keep them diverted.

Some interesting and fun facts about spring, that you might not already know.

Your spring blooming bulbs have made it through the winter and are all set to flower - any day now. Should you feed them now? Should you wait until the flowers fade? While there's no true consensus, there is some common sense. Listen in.

We've all heard the term - as soon as the soil is ready to be worked. But what does it actually mean. We should be seeing the soil any day now, but that doesn't mean we should grab our shovels and head outdoors. Here are some key tests to do, before you dig.

Tips for revitalizing your house plants - when to do it, which plants need it (and which don't) and how to make them happy.

How to know what type of raspberries bushes you have and the best time and method for pruning them, so you get a great harvest

Still having a hard time deciding what to grow in the vegetable garden this year? Here's the criteria I use to winnow down my excessively long list of choices.

The calendar says spring, but this is not ideal planting weather. Here's some advice for when it's safe to plant.

Should you prune while dormant? After they have flowered? Just let them grow. The trick is knowing when to prune what. Listen in.

Successful transplanting requires more than digging a hole and plopping in a plant. Young plants are at your mercy and need a little TLC and forethought. Here's how to give it to them.

You can grow a lot of onions in a small space and even save them through most of winter. But they do have a few peculiarities in the garden. Choose the right type, with these tips, and you'll be way ahead of the game.

Weeds are a fact of life in the garden. Knowing what you are dealing with, whether annual or perennial, is the fist line of attack. Listen in and learn more tips.

Now is your chance to peek into some remarkable private gardens, with the help of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program. Find out the whys and whens, on today's podcast

Here's a succession planting tip that will not only keep the harvest going longer, it will prevent vegetable boredom, too.

Snow blankets the garden,but does it hurt your plants and what does it mean for the wildlife looking for food?

Easy tips for your garden and plants, that won't chill you to the bone.

Rather than dragging your Christmas tree to the dump, here are 5 ways to get more use out of it, in the garden.

A handful of tips for gardeners dealing with the cold northeast winter. Lazy winter sowing, forcing branches and waking up amaryllis.

Today's episode talks about using phenology, the study of recurring elements in nature and their relationships to one another, for judging when it's safe to plant and when to prepare for insect pests.