Green Gardening

Summer is here and gardens in CT are in full bloom. If you find yourself struggling with bugs and weeds every summer - before you reach for the usual arsenal of chemicals consider some of the many highly effective organic and natural alternatives. For a good primer on the how to of organic gardening try Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically. For a more sophisticated guide to insect and disease control check out The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals.



To find organic seeds and saplings click here.

Forcing, Etc.: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Bulbs, Branches & Houseplants into Bloom - Katherine Whiteside

If you are planning a late fall or winter wedding forcing is a clever way to create colorful blooms with minimal environmental impact.

"It's not difficult, but it does take some planning and foresight. If you want to force bulbs to flower in February, for instance, you have to order them in late summer so that you can pot them up in the fall. Twigs, on the other hand, are much easier to force: just cut them after six weeks of cold weather, put them in some water, and watch the virtual spring of your warm rooms transform them into leggy, flowering spirea, corylopsis, forsythia, or catkins, for instance. Author Katherine Whiteside explores associated topics such as choosing the best container and presentation within the home, as well as topics only an expert could love ("the narcissus question")." - Amazon.com

Forcing, Etc.: The Indoor Gardener's Guide to Bringing Bulbs, Branches & Houseplants into Bloom is a good book for anyone interested in giving forcing a go.