All Things Gardening

Paw paw trees grow in our region and produce lots of sweet fruits in late summer and early fall. The fruit's insides are soft and custard-like, and the taste can range from banana to mango to vanilla.

If you love seeing spring flowers popping up under trees, across your lawn or in your meadow, start planning how to get that look now. Soon, you can go purchase your favorite bulbs and get them in the ground.

If your peony plants didn't bloom as much this year, perhaps they're getting too much shade. As you prep your gardens for fall and winter, separating and moving your peonies could help them bloom better next year.

This fall as you clean up your garden and raised beds, remove less leaf litter, stems and other garden debris. Leaving these in place can create places for beneficial pollinators to overwinter.

Helenium and boltonia are perennials that grow well in our region. Both come in a range of colors and boast great attributes: pollinators love them, and deer and woodchucks don't.

Apples, pears and Asian pears are almost ready to pick. Charlie Nardozzi reviews how and when to harvest to ensure the best-tasting fruits.

Related to the hardy hibiscus and known for its large blossoms, the Rose of Sharon grows well in full sun and well-drained soil. Add it to your garden or landscape for a tall shrub that brings great color this time of year.

The larva of the sawfly is a small (and hungry!) caterpillar. They tend to eat in groups and can eat all the needles off a pine. Plus, their voracious appetites can create "window-pane”-like damage to the leaves of many plants and vegetables.

Brown beetles landing in your hair when you try to enjoy an evening on your porch? Crows taking just one bite from your ripe tomatoes on the vine? Charlie Nardozzi offers guidance on these questions and more issues that are bugging local home gardeners this summer.

With blossoms that reach 6 to 8 inches in diameter and come in a rainbow of bright colors, hardy hibiscus are a perennial shrub to add to your landscape.