His column is updated every day or thereabouts, so check back to see what's doing in his garden.
Join A Local Garden Club
If you picture matronly ladies sipping tea in lacy dresses and bifocals, you are missing the boat.
Garden clubs aren't just for the elderly set.
Local garden clubs and societies are a good source of the latest horticultural information and shared enthusiasm.
Think of it as a support group for your green obsessions; a network of like-minded friends to help get you through winter plant withdrawal.
I've noticed a more diverse group of people showing up at our local garden-related functions.
Men, women, and yes, even innocent children are flocking to plant sales, seminars, and high-level horticultural talks.
If there is no group you feel comfortable with locally, get a few friends together and begin a new garden club, perhaps named after a shared interest, like the Rose Hips-sters, or Bark Lovers.
SQUIRREL DEFENSE
I recently received this request from reader Mike B.:
"It's still bulb planting time. Could you repeat (or send me) your hint(s) on how to deter squirrels from digging up recently planted bulbs?"Absolutely -- because nothing is more vexing than carefully planting a big batch of bulbs and anticipating the results eagerly, only to discover that squirrels have destroyed your prospects for spring blooms.
Squirrel remedies seem to run the gamut from treating bulbs with paprika to allowing dogs and cats to patrol the garden.
However, the squirrel-prevention trick that seems to be the most consistently successful is to place a piece of metal chicken wire on top of the bulbs.
You can then cover the bulbs with dirt and mulch as usual, camouflaging the wire but deterring digging.
The bulb foliage will grow right through the wire.
Another interesting suggestion is to thoroughly soak the planted area and disguise your own recent digging.
One theory holds that it's the loose dirt from your recent efforts that actually attracts the little varmints.
Pull yourself up a shovel blade and sit yourself down for a visit with "Brother" and his "Wise" Sayings.
If you're on the lookout for a great gardening resource, check out Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew.
Published by Rodale Press, this book offers very helpful information on garden basics such as soil preparation, planting techniques, and controlling weeds -- but it's much more than a general gardening manual.
Square Foot Gardening will introduce you to a system of designing gardens that are easy to maintain, that conserve resources, and that produce abundantly in less space.
Do you have some gardening knowledge to share or have a question for "Brother"?
You can Write to Brother!
Include your first initial and last name and put the word GARDEN in the subject.
I'll try to use your contribution in a future column.
(Please note that these columns are written several weeks in advance so publishing it will be delayed accordingly.)
See y'all tomorrow and remember:
"Brother"
Nowhere else in the world are we closer to the Creator than in the garden. Well, at least we're closer to His creation.
