With some amazing Fall weather, we are still enjoying our time spent in the garden. Osprey Population DeclinesThis is a fascinating article on Osprey population declines on the east coast. We have spent decades building them up to then significantly remove their primary food source. I am fortunate to spend a little time in FloridaContinue reading “Interesting Garden Topics for Fall 2026”
Author Archives: Barking Dog Gardens
Adding Native Perennial Seeds To Your New England Garden
It’s that time of year to gather, clean and pack seed. I already packed many of the early season seeds a few months ago, but Fall is the time when so much becomes ready. This year, I will again be selling seeds of native flowering perennials that do well in mixed or native-only gardens. IContinue reading “Adding Native Perennial Seeds To Your New England Garden”
Leave the Leaves ? !
If you have been reading my newsletter for a while, you know that I like to get on my soap box in the Spring when I have a discussion about mulch. I feel like I need a Fall soap box topic. How about leaves? A topic that I have covered many times before. You alsoContinue reading “Leave the Leaves ? !”
Selected Garden Photo Contest Submissions and Winner
This is a lighter version of my newsletter as last edition I covered a lot of the Fall work. Following is a selection of photos submitted for the photo contest. Some of the submissions came from client’s gardens with which I am familiar, but most were new gardens that I have never seen across New England.Continue reading “Selected Garden Photo Contest Submissions and Winner”
2026 Fall Garden Season Is Upon Us: Early Tasks To Perform.
I declare that the second gardening season is upon us starting this weekend. I don’t see a temperature much above 80º for the next two weeks and the nights are in the upper 50s and mid-60s. While Labor Day usually kick starts the season, it is really based upon temperatures. Cooling and cooler temperatures mean less stress andContinue reading “2026 Fall Garden Season Is Upon Us: Early Tasks To Perform.”
Native Bees vs Honey Bees: Working To Save Them All
Bees, wasps, flies… those buzzing, fuzzy, flitting little insects that you often hear before you see when in the garden. In the last newsletter, I was talking about native plants and their importance, now I would like to talk about Bees, and when I say Bees, that also includes, different but related, wasps and hornets. I have had clientsContinue reading “Native Bees vs Honey Bees: Working To Save Them All”
Best Pruning Tools And Their Care
I love teaching my pruning workshops at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. I teach five workshops throughout the year that correspond to the five pruning windows in which I professionally prune. One of the most common questions and part of my introduction in each class is a brief discussion of the tools we use to prune. The knowledge ofContinue reading “Best Pruning Tools And Their Care”
How To Determine What Plants Are Native For Your Garden And Why
This has been an interesting year for me with the number of jobs with which people wanted to plant all or mostly native plants. When the gardens mature they will be as beautiful as any traditional, or non-native, garden. They will just look a little different and require slightly different and less intensive care. Almost all of myContinue reading “How To Determine What Plants Are Native For Your Garden And Why”
Summer Garden Topics: Spring Bulbs, Fireflies, Checkerspot Farm, and Doug Tallamy
Spring Flowering BulbsIt’s that time of year to think about what bulbs you might want to plant in your garden this Fall. Spring Flowering bulbs are planted in the Fall and are some of our earliest flowering plants that go well into early Summer. They add important color when nothing else is happening. The evenContinue reading “Summer Garden Topics: Spring Bulbs, Fireflies, Checkerspot Farm, and Doug Tallamy”
Hugelkultur: Creative Idea For A Native Garden
I had the pleasure of meeting a new client last summer, who lives on a lovely property in Belmont, MA. It historically had been planted with traditional, non-native plants with an extensive overstory of Red and Black Oak. Over the years, she has added an extensive layer of native shrubs, trees and perennials. In the frontContinue reading “Hugelkultur: Creative Idea For A Native Garden”
