Author Archive for Henry Homeyer
Henry Homeyer is a lifetime organic gardener living in Cornish Flat, N.H. He is the author of four gardening books including The Vermont Gardener's Companion. You may reach him by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by snail mail at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, N.H. 03746. Please include a SASE if you wish an answer to a question by mail.
Henry Homeyer: Cages, kneelers and mulch: Let’s turn our attention to the vegetable garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC By now, most of us have planted our vegetable gardens. My peas, onions, lettuce, spinach and potatoes went in early, and now our tomatoes and peppers have settled in and are starting to grow. Is it hammock time? No, now it’s better to do some maintenance so that […]
Henry Homeyer: June ushers in blooming season
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC I’ve heard it said that June is the most common month for weddings. I’m not sure why, but my theory is that June, despite black flies and noxious ticks, is a great month to be outside for wedding receptions. Roses are in bloom, as are peonies, irises and […]
Part 4: Onward to Cameroon
By Henry Homeyer © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Gretchen and I made it to Agadez, a desert market town in Niger, 850 miles due south of Tamanrassett, and I immediately felt at home. Just out of college, I had taught fourth grade in Jersey City, N.J., at a inner-city public elementary school and, like children […]
Henry Homeyer: Now is a good time to improve your soils
By Henry Homeyer © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Asking me to name my favorite flower is, perhaps, like asking you to name your favorite child or dog. But late May brings one of my top picks: the candelabra primrose (Primula japonica). It sends up a flower stalk with a circle of florets, then it grows […]
Part 3: 600 miles of sand, heat, intrigue and illness
By Henry Homeyer © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC When Gretchen and I arrived at the oasis of Tamanrasset, the jumping off place for sub-Saharan Africa, we were told there was no fuel — no diesel or gasoline — so no vehicles would be leaving. For how long, I asked. “Maybe a few days, Allah willing,” […]
Part 2: Our first days on the Sahara Desert
In Part 2 of this four-part series from gardening writer Henry Homeyer’s memoir-in-progress, he tells about traveling across the Sahara in 1972, using public transportation — cargo vehicles — and by hitchhiking. Homeyer, of New Hampshire, ended up living in Africa for 10 years, three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, two short […]
Henry Homeyer: White flowering plants among spring favorites
By Henry Homeyer © 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC I decided this year to do a better job of keeping track of what plants are blooming when, and photographing them. I encourage you to do the same We all forget what we have from time to time. And next winter we’ll be able to enjoy our […]
Part 1: The 10-year desert journey begins
In this four-part series, gardening writer Henry Homeyer shares his “memoir in progress,” telling the story of traveling across the Sahara Desert in 1972. This led to a 10-year stay in Africa, including three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, two short contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development and more than […]
Henry Homeyer: Oil your tools, pull those invasives and consider some planting
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Spring arrives in New England in fits in starts and starts: Hot and sunny one day, chilly and drizzly the next. Maybe even a few flurries to outrage the impatient gardener. But there is much that can be done in late April, even on a rainy day. I […]
Henry Homeyer: Spring brings two columns each month and new ideas for your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC This was supposed to be my very last gardening column, but (spoiler alert) it is not. I started writing a gardening column in 1998 and wrote weekly for 25 years. Then, in late 2023, I dropped down to once a month. I liked the extra time and freedom […]
Henry Homeyer: How to propagate your garden with seeds, cuttings and dividing
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC It seems to me that the prices of many things have gone up significantly in recent times. One way to combat that, as a gardener, is to start plants by seed instead of buying plants that someone else as started, watered and mothered for months. Many gardeners enjoy […]
Henry Homeyer: Bark, limbs and leaves help you identify trees in winter
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you like to hike or snowshoe in the winter, you might like to learn the names of the trees you see. Do so, and the trees will seem like your friends. No need to greet them as Sally and Bob, know them as sugar maple, ash or […]
Henry Homeyer: A quick look back as we look forward to the 2026 growing season
By Henry Homeyer ©2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC Overall, my gardens did well last summer despite the lack of rain – largely because of all that sunshine. Most of us had a wet spring and early summer, then a very dry summer and fall. For people planting new trees, shrubs and perennials it meant lots of […]
Fill your senses with the sights, sounds and smells of Germany’s Christmas markets
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC An impulsive decision in late November by my wife Cindy and I to explore German Christmas markets found us in Berlin visiting with an old friend. We also spent a few days traveling by rental car to Dresden, Leipzig and Naumberg, a walled medieval town that also has […]
Henry Homeyer: A gardener’s holiday gift guide
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC New England skies in winter are often cloudy and dark, accompanied by sleet, slush, rain or snow. The sun sleeps late and goes to bed early. Gardeners sometimes give up and go to Florida. Not me, but there is much I do to make the holidays cheerful. I […]
Henry Homeyer: Head into winter well-prepared before the freeze sets in
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a severely dry summer, October brought much needed rains – at least here, in Cornish Flat, N.H. It is particularly important for trees, shrubs and perennials planted this year to go into the winter well-hydrated, and it looks like Mother Nature has taken care of that. I […]
Henry Homeyer: Bulb-planting and garden cleanup for winter
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC After a hot, dry summer – with a drought in most parts of New England – we had a very early frost this year, Sept. 20. Not enough to kill our late potato vines, but enough to kill squash and dahlias. I was caught off guard. I am […]
Henry Homeyer: On lilac fungus, bolted lettuce and giving Monarchs a beautiful fall boost
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC I’ve seen the big yellow buses meandering down the road, lines of impatient drivers behind them, noisy kids inside. That tells me, temperatures notwithstanding, that fall has arrived, or will soon. The most common question I am fielding is about lilacs: Why have so many had their leaves […]
Henry Homeyer: Fill your home with flowers and your fridge with tomatoes
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ever year on the third weekend in August, my hometown of Cornish, N.H., sponsors a country fair. Not only does it have junk food and rides for the kids, it has ox and horse pulling competitions, woodsman’s events and more. The school is full of photography, art and […]
Henry Homeyer: How to make your July bloom
By Henry Homeyer ©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC July is a great month for blossoms – but only if you have planned for that to happen. Many gardeners go to their local nurseries in May and June, selecting plants in full bloom. But when July comes along, those gardeners are tired or hot or at the […]