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Charlie’s Early June Newsletter

Lovely Lavender, Growing Better Basil, Succession Planting Greens and Heathercomb Gardens The long days of summer are here. It's delightful having the sun up so early and setting so late. It gives me an opportunity to catch up on those gardening chores I missed while I was in England on our garden tour. One of our perennial herbs that made it through the winter well is lavender. We grow a few different, hardy varieties and you can expand the pallet of lavenders you grow if you live in warmer climate. I talk about lavender varieties...

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Charlie’s Early March Newsletter

Callas and Caladiums, Growing Artichokes, Building A Hugel Mound and Aloe Vera My flower show talks have wrapped up for 2025. It was great visiting small regional shows and the largest flower show in the country to get inspired for spring. Hopefully you got a chance to visit your regional flower show for some ideas. One talk I did at our Vermont Flower Show this year was on Summer Bulbs. While we often think of dahlias, gladiolus and lilies when we talk about summer bulbs, there are others that are worth growing even in the North. I...

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Charlie’s Early March Newsletter

Seed Starting, Creeping Phlox, Cornelian Cherry, and Gardenia It's March. Yay! For those of us in the Northeast, it's been a long, snowy winter, but recent weather predictions call for a warm and dry spring. I'll take it! March also means it's time to start some seeds indoors. I've already started our leeks and onion seeds with some of the Brassicas and greens to follow later this month. I talk about seed starting in this newsletter. Give it a try. I describe how. One of the most colorful perennials of spring is...

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Charlie’s Early May Newsletter

The Other Lilies, Brussels Sprouts and Kohlrabi, Grow Some Nasturtiums and Flea Beetles The highlight of my day was getting my tractor back from the mechanic's shop so I can start mowing and moving wood chips and compost. It's these simple pleasures that make a gardener smile! It's just in time because with cool temperatures and rain in our zone 5 Vermont garden, everything is growing fast! The planting continues and it's time to pop in some bulb lilies. The most popular are the Asiatic and Oriental lilies, but...

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Charlie’s Early May Newsletter

No Mow Lawns, Cool Cucumbers, Coleus for Sun and Shade, and Rhubarb It's May and the gardening is in high gear. It's hard to find time to garden and work, but it's a rainy day, so here I am writing this newsletter for you. Our lawn has been growing fast with our cool, wet spring in Vermont. I'm not a big, traditional lawn fan, but I do love how gardeners are trying to make lawns less of a mono-culture and more friendly to pollinators. I talk about "no now" lawn mixes and ways to integrate them into your lawn in this...

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Charlie’s Early November Newsletter

Small, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Making Raised Beds, Golden Tamaracks, and Digging Dahlias It's hard to believe that it's November already. After a warm, dry October, November is coming in with cool temperatures and needed, soaking rains. It's a great time to finish up our spring flowering bulbs planting. One group of bulbs that doesn't get the attention the rock stars like tulips and daffodils get, are the small bulbs. These include snow drops, crocus, grape hyacinths, scilla and anemone. These bulbs are small, but mighty....

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Charlie’s Early October Newsletter

Alliums for Everyone, Saving Herbs, Vines for Fall Color, and Scotland Garden Tour Slideshow It's October and time for our New England zone 5 garden and landscape to be ablaze in color. Because of the drought this late summer and fall, the colors aren't as dynamic as usual and many leaves have dropped from the trees already. But there still is plenty of color around to enjoy! I'm always amazed at how daily the colors of tree and shrub leaves change this time of year. The weather has been generally warmer than normal for fall, but...

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Charlie’s Late April Newsletter

Luscious Lamiums, Let's Beet It, Strawberry Pots and What's Up North Garden Blog I'm taking a break from racing with the weeds. It seems they're winning. With cool temperatures and lots of moisture, our zone 5 garden has exploded with weeds. I spent a day weeding out most of the gardens last week, but they're back with a vengeance this week with more rain. I'm just trying to keep up! But many of our perennial flowers are loving this weather including our lamiums. These colorful ground covers are spreading and will be...

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Charlie’s Late April Newsletter

Two Large Perennials, Snacking Peppers, Honeyberries, and Hydrangea Happiness Book April is wrapping up and for some gardeners, it's been a tough one. While our zone 5 Vermont garden stayed on the cool side most of the month, gardeners in Southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic states dealt with hot temperatures that pushed plants into flower early. Then, of course, there was a freeze and many flowers were lost. Gardening isn't for the faint of heart. At least our tulips and daffodils withstood any cold weather we...

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Charlie’s Late December Newsletter

Last Call for Webinar Sale, Holiday Plant Care, Growing Microgreens Indoors and My New Book The holidays are continuing and the end of December is coming closer. New Year's will be here before you know it! That means New Year's resolutions, new habits and the end of my annual Gardening Webinar Sale. If you haven't taken advantage of my sale yet, read more below about the different webinar packages and how to save lots of money. The sale will end on Friday. With the holidays you might have received many holiday gift plants....

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