You’ve heard the term shrub, and you know what a rose is, but what in the world is a shrub rose? Aren’t shrubs those plants that you grow as hedges to screen you from your neighbor? Or some type of woody plant? Sunset’s Western Garden Book describes shrubs as “woody plants that live for many […]
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The beautiful and interesting polyantha roses are a kind of rosarian’s secret. They’re probably not as well-known as other classes of roses, mostly because there are not that many that are classified as polyanthas. While it may be a rather small class of roses, it includes some highly rated varieties that have survived over a
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The ethereal green lacewing is one of the more recognizable garden “good guys.” With its slender pale green body, delicate gossamer wings, and immense golden eyes, it gives the appearance of a fairy prancing on garden leaves rather than the aggressive predator that it is. Lacewings, also called aphid lions, are natural enemies of several
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If you’re adding new roses to the garden this season, buying bareroot plants offers you the widest selection at the best prices. You may get these at a big box store where plants are usually wrapped in plastic, or at your local nursery where they may be “dug in” – loosely buried in some sort
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The holidays are behind us and now is a good time to start your winter pruning. This is the brief period of time when roses in Marin go into semi-dormancy, and the best time to prune repeat blooming roses and a lot of other trees and shrubs. If you’re new to pruning, or simply want to
It’s Pruning Time! Read More »
Spiders get a bad rap; many people go to great lengths to get rid of them. Is it their other-worldly appearance? Concern about being bitten by a poisonous type or simply the idea of “creepy, crawling” things? Whatever the reason, before eliminating them, it’s good to understand the invaluable role they play keeping pest populations
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Want fabulous plants? You need healthy soil. While garden soil will never be glamorous, it is the foundation for our gardens. What you can see going on with your roses above the ground is largely determined by what goes on beneath your feet that is all but invisible to you. The conditions the roots of
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You’ve been pouring over catalogs, making lists, seeing how many new roses you can squeeze into your garden. Now it’s time to decide about actually buying the roses. There are a few things to decide before you go any further – What should I be looking for when choosing a bare root rose? Does the
Buying New Rose Plants Read More »
You love roses. Visions of bountiful blooms carpeting your garden with color and fragrance dance in your head as you swoon over the catalogs brimming with all too many choices. You want lots and lots of flowers, but you’re limited in space. You’ve already taken over a good part of the lawn, and still, you
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Fall is here and it’s a glorious time in the garden. Cooler days, softer sunlight, deciduous leaves and rose hips beginning their colorful display and some of the best roses of the year! Milder conditions allow flowers to develop more slowly, often producing larger, more deeply colored blossoms. It’s a great time of year to arrange