This Connecticut artist survived hard times to find his true life’s work.
plants
Get your landscaping ready for New England’s bitter months by reading our tips to prepare your garden for winter. Our canna lilies and dahlias bloomed fabulously this summer, but I understand they’re not hardy enough to survive our winter outdoors. What do you recommend? — D.C., Antrim, NH Cannas, dahlias, elephant ears (Colocasia), gladiolus, caladium, […]
My two-foot daisy plant bloomed each fall for five or six years but stopped two years ago. The plant comes up green and seemingly healthy, but no blossoms — not even one bud. Can you tell me why this has happened and how to solve the problem? C.M., Rockland, MA The symptoms you describe may […]
Residents of the Newport’s Top of the Hill section feel it is the most heavenly neighborhood. And we recently found out why. For one thing, the Top of the Hill neighborhood is just an easy 10-minute walk to the downtown area with all those wonderful shops and restaurants along the harbor. Then, if you walk […]
How local is the Farmers Diner? The first thing you see when you walk in the door of this Quechee,Vermont, restaurant is a jukebox, glinting like any diner jukebox. Some Willie Nelson, some John Cougar Mellencamp. But half the albums are by Vermonters. Phish, sure. But it’s Grace Potter and the Nocturnals who get the […]
We practically live on our outdoor deck from spring through fall. By this time of the season, it’s showing wear. How best to care for our deck? — A.G., Fitchburg, MA Decks are constantly exposed to the elements and therefore will quickly show signs of weathering. If the wood is dirty (bird droppings, pollen, mud), […]
Last spring I sent away for three bittersweet plants and received one male and two female plants. These grew high with great leaves, but no berries. What went wrong? — D.C., Pascoag, RI First of all, as pretty as their berries are, Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is widely considered one of the most threatening invasive […]
Early autumn in New England is generally considered an ideal time to apply fertilize shrubs and trees. Here’s why and how.
Every fall I buy beautiful hardy mums, but they don’t seem to survive the winter in my landscape. What am I doing wrong? — D.B., Cambridge, MA The chrysanthemums we see everywhere commonly called “hardy mums” are really not designed to survive our challenging New England winter climate — these are seasonal beauties bred to […]
Magazine
David Haskell’s Picks
One of David’s fall favorites is an unusual plant called Heptacodium miconioides (seven-son flower). It is a shrublike tree with green leaves during summer, but it puts on a command performance come fall. First, it produces panicles of star-shaped white blossoms in September and October. Then, its calyxes, which are green when flowering, ripen to […]
Small stones crunch beneath David Haskell’s boots as he strolls along a shady path amid Allen C. Haskell Horticulturists in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Son of the late genius plantsman Allen Haskell, David now presides over the seven-acre retail nursery and landscape design business created by his father over the past 50 years. The nursery, which […]
Gardens
Landscaping for Tick Control
Read More: Protect yourself from ticks Protect your pet from ticks These key landscaping tips for tick control come from Connecticut’s Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. Your primary goal is to manage tick and host habitats (including prime rodent nesting spots and hideouts) within the part of your property that your family members use […]