29 Aug 2011

September is Fall for Evergreen Conifers Too!

........and this year September is arriving a bit early for my Swiss Stone Pines......the interior needles are beginning to turn yellowish.  Autumn begins June 21st or is it the 22nd now with the beginning of the shortenning of the day.  Our Northland's deciduous trees are already  working on cutting  off their today's leaves.   Nearly all will be dropped by November 1st, year in and year out. Some of us are lucky enough to grow white oaks...

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02 Aug 2011

Summer – 2011: Hot….Humid….Wet….and Mosquitoie

Fellow Vikings and foreigners to our Northland.....This summer is the closest to the tropical in my gardening lifetime.   Hot, humid, wet and tons of mosquitoes....not a winning season for us who 'work the soil', but the formula sure works for plants.    I expect to see dinosauers any day now coming out of the jungle. At least there are no tsetse flies.   Just plenty of Japanese beetles. Throughout the summer of 1988 there was more heat,...

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