gardening – Barking Dog Gardens – Gardening in New England

The Norway Maple — Challenge Of An Established Invasive

The ubiquitous Norway Maple (Acer platinoides) is a far too common tree in New England, especially as planted street and landscape trees and the many volunteers that continue to take over our suburban tree canopies. While it is tough as nails, it presents a number of problems on the street and in our gardens. The mostContinue reading “The Norway Maple — Challenge Of An Established Invasive”

Is Spraying For Mosquitos And Ticks Effective and Safe?

A trend has exploded over recent years regarding companies that will spray your garden for ticks and mosquitos. It may be a franchised business focused just on eliminating these pests, or some other business that is filling gaps in their workload during the summer season. The most deceiving part of these pitches is that it isContinue reading “Is Spraying For Mosquitos And Ticks Effective and Safe?”

Drought in New England Gardens in 2026

The Greater Boston area and southern New Hampshire are in the Severe Drought designation, according to the US Drought Monitor, and all of Coastal New England is in some form of drought. This time last Spring, almost all of New England was out of drought conditions. We had a wet Spring(25) and previous Fall(24). However, as weContinue reading “Drought in New England Gardens in 2026”

Garden Mulch: Friend or Foe

Mulch is my favorite topic to discuss each Spring, because it can be one of the most beneficial things you do to your garden or one of the most damaging. This link goes to a comprehensive post from the past on mulch. Following on the topic of my previous post, I would like to get youContinue reading “Garden Mulch: Friend or Foe”

New American Garden Maintenance

There is a movement underfoot, and it has to do with how we take care of our gardens. It is rooted in a design aesthetic called the New American Garden that is exemplified in the work of Piet Oudolf and the landscape architecture firm of Oehme van Sweden, among others. This style is naturalistic, self-sustaining, and largely native. Now, almostContinue reading “New American Garden Maintenance”

New American Garden Maintenance

Dramatic Protection Of Peach Blossoms During A Freeze

With very early Spring come flowers that can be susceptible to the brutality of Mother Nature. We see the fragility of Magnolia and Macrophylla Hydrangea flowers here in New England when a frost comes through in April, and it can crush the flowers and flower buds respectively before they even had a chance to shine. I have writtenContinue reading “Dramatic Protection Of Peach Blossoms During A Freeze”

2025 New England Weather Summary from Blue Hill Observatory

As much as I like to talk about plants and create plans in the garden, I am also a bit of a numbers and data geek. Hence, one of my favorite graphics of the year is the year-end weather summary, created by Mike Iacono, Chief Scientist at Blue Hill Observatory. I wrote about a greatContinue reading “2025 New England Weather Summary from Blue Hill Observatory”

Van Berkum Nursery: Supporting a new ecosystem of native plant growers.

Before I get to my discussion with John, a quick real-time look into our gardens. I expect all the snow to be gone around Boston, except for the largest piles, by Wednesday. As it melts and we get out to do some pruning, I am seeing extensive rabbit damage with girdling of stems and trunksContinue reading “Van Berkum Nursery: Supporting a new ecosystem of native plant growers.”

A Love Letter To Trees

Trees! Trees! Trees! We are going to talk about trees, and hopefully, with the input from a few passionate experts, I can help you to better appreciate and fall in love with the myriad of amazing attributes that they possess. I am not going to force ideas down your throat, or shame you into ‘taking my side’,Continue reading “A Love Letter To Trees”