Hallson Gardens

It looks nice but birds will try to fly into it and break their necks. They even do that when they see trees reflected in windows and doors. A mirror would fool them from all angles. I have seen where a mirror was used to make a faux pond. It was layed on the ground with the edges softened with mulc...

Thanks, Chris.

I have a privet hedge that looks half dead. We have had temperatures in the 90s to 104 and no rain for a month. There has been a few showers close but they always seem to miss my neighborhood. I have tried to water but the clay is just so dense that it runs off. They are in a raised border 2 railroa...

You can tape a black trash bag to the sunny side of your rain barrel and it will absorb more heat. I use 6 black 20 gallon storage containers under the benches in my greenhouse. It helps with holding heat in the winter and then in the spring when it's still too cold to connect the hose I start using...

I got mine at Lowes but it was several years ago.
It was one trunk when I bought it and I kept the suckers cut off for a while but I stopped so it is filling in a little st the bottom now.

I was starting to think that I was the only one out of hibernation.

I started some onion, shallot and leek seeds today. Last year I waited untill the first of March and they were still very small at harvest time. I'm hoping that they will do better this year. I also bought some tiny bulk shallots and potted them up. I wonder if it would do any good to pot up a few g...

I ordered row cover from Johnny's a few weeks ago and they had a good sale so I got several packets of new varieties to try, some at 75% off. These are clearance seeds so thee germination is lower but I never need near as many seeds to germinate as I get of each variety so I don't care if it drops a...

My understanding is that they need shelter from harsh winds in the winter. I have 3 bushes against the south side of a brick house and a 6 planted between other bushes along a short fence and in front of a hedge. The ones between other bushed are at least a third taller and much wider. The ones agai...

Just in case anybody here uses this.

Press release:
http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/data_roo ... ssage.html

I check my iris in the spring for signs of borers. I look for wet seepage on dry days. I pinch the leaves together from the bottom up and when I get one I feel a pop. Later in the summer I cut down the browning foliage and trim the tops off and if I find I missed borers I take a stif wire and poke i...

I have a lot of these all over my milkweeds. Are they a problem? I did a search and read they would overmultiply and eat 30% of a fir tree and other sites say they are only found on older milkweeds and dont even compete with monarch cats. Other sites don't say either way. I don't know if I should le...

Such beautiful pictures!
I have seen a lot more swallowtails this year than I usually do. I need to move my milkweed and fennel to gardens that the ducks can't reach. I would see little cats on them and they disappear. I am now moving the cats to the front yard as I find them.

Awwww, He looks so huggable!

My garden is growing well but I do have more bugs this year. I have let the ducks patrol through the garden a few times to work on that. They have nibbled on the edges of my swiss chard and ate 2 brussel sprout plants down but it's worth it to me to have them get bugs from other plants. We have had ...

You can plug your heaters into outlet thermostats. I thought about buying one of these: http://www.amazon.com/WIN100-Heating-Cooling-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000E7NYY8/ref=pd_cp_hi_1 There are also cheaper ones that only kick on at 35 or 38 degrees and off around 45 degrees. It probably would sav...

What temperature do you want to keep it in the winter? I am in zone 5 and I just use my greenhouse to overwinter plants that are not hardy here, but I don't keep it warm enough to keep them growing. I just don't want the pots to freeze. My greenhouse is a leanto against the south side of my garage. ...

I guess they just know not to eat it. They have been over there and they don't touch it. They did eat down a lancifolia hosta so I need to move it if I want to keep it. They don't bother the thicker leaved hostas. Mostly they pick through the lawn for clover, dandelion and other weeds. They eat the ...

My husband bought the house his grandmother lived in. After we married, I decided to put a garden in the area between the ally and the garage. It was all weeds that he just mowed down. I found one mass of iris roots about a foot in diameter. They were tightly interlocked, no flowers and very few lea...

They look good! Maybe not bad eating, just seedy and probably not real sweet. That brings back memories. My Dad made grape wines. He grew several varieties. The skins were thicker and sweet but the insides weren't so much. There's nothing like having the whole house smell like fermenting wine. I tol...