RSSAll Entries in the "Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden" Category

Henry Homeyer: It's time to prune your fruit trees

Henry Homeyer: It’s time to prune your fruit trees

By Henry Homeyer ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC March, April and May are good months to prune your fruit trees. Traditionally farmers pruned their fruit trees in March. I think they did so because they had less other work they could do at this time of year:  It was too early to plant, weed or harvest. […]

Henry Homeyer: How to identify trees in winter

Henry Homeyer: How to identify trees in winter

By Henry Homeyer ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Editor’s note: This column first ran in February of 2012. Most of us enjoy knowing the names of our acquaintances – including trees. It’s tougher to identify trees in winter because most have no leaves, which is how we generally recognize trees. But by observing overall shape, bark, […]

Henry Homeyer: Growing and eating cardoon

Henry Homeyer: Growing and eating cardoon

By Henry Homeyer ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC Most years I start some onion seeds and perhaps a few artichokes indoors n February; this year I will also start some cardoon seeds at the same time. Cardoon, which is a lovely looking plant related to artichokes, is a delicious vegetable, too. Artichokes and cardoon are in […]

Henry Homeyer: Visiting a sculpture garden in winter

Henry Homeyer: Visiting a sculpture garden in winter

Editor’s note: This article is from 2012. By Henry Homeyer ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC January is generally an all-white month in my garden, though this year the snow has been off to a slow start. I love the curves of drifts, the smoothness of open spaces, the contrast between snow and the outlines of my […]

Henry Homeyer: Cultivating the love of gardening in children

Henry Homeyer: Cultivating the love of gardening in children

Editor’s Note: Henry wrote this column in 2011. By Henry Homeyer ©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you’re a gardener, chances are that you had a parent or grandparent that introduced you to the joys of gardening. I was introduced to gardening by my maternal grandfather, John Lenat of Spencer, Mass. He was an organic gardener […]

Henry Homeyer: 2023 - a year in the garden

Henry Homeyer: 2023 – a year in the garden

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC As we begin 2024, I think it is good not only to look back on the year we have just concluded, but also to plan ahead. We can’t know if we’ll be facing hot and dry or wet and soggy this summer – or perfect conditions. But […]

Henry Homeyer: Remembering Tasha Tudor (1915-2008)

Henry Homeyer: Remembering Tasha Tudor (1915-2008)

Editor’s note: The Chester Telegraph has been publishing Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden since 2016. Now that he has gone into ‘semi-retirement’ and writing one column a month, we’ve asked him to curate his archives of articles to find the gems he believes are pertinent to our readers. We’re happy to present this article […]

Henry Homeyer: Don't try this at home

Henry Homeyer: Don’t try this at home

Editor’s note: The Chester Telegraph has been publishing Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden since 2016. Now that he has gone into ‘semi-retirement’ and writing one column a month, we’ve asked him to curate his archives of articles to find the gems he believes are pertinent to our readers. We’re happy to present this article […]

Henry Homeyer: How to decorate outdoors in the winter

Henry Homeyer: How to decorate outdoors in the winter

Editor’s note: The Chester Telegraph has been publishing Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden since 2016. Now that he has gone into ‘semi-retirement’ and writing one column a month, we’ve asked him to curate his archives of articles to find the gems he believes are pertinent to our readers. We’re happy to present this first […]

New schedule for Henry Homeyer's Notes from the Garden

New schedule for Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden

Editor’s note: Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden will now be running once a month through the winter. You’ll find Henry’s column in The Chester Telegraph on Dec. 10, Jan. 7, Feb. 11 and March 10. Beginning in April, look for Henry’s column twice a month.

Henry Homeyer: Reflecting on 25 years of writing a garden column

Henry Homeyer: Reflecting on 25 years of writing a garden column

By Henry Homeyer @2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC On November 8, 1998 my first gardening column appeared in my hometown paper, The Valley News of West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Since then I have written over 1,200 weekly columns and answered countless questions from readers. I am 77 years old, and plan to slow down a bit […]

Henry Homeyer: Late fall is perfect for some gardening chores

Henry Homeyer: Late fall is perfect for some gardening chores

By Henry Homeyer @2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC For many of us, November is a drab and dreary month: Days are short, gray skies the norm. Flowers are largely gone, the soil is soggy and a drizzle or a downpour is common. Soon snow will not be unusual — we’ve already seen a wintry mix. But […]

Henry Homeyer: Don't be a timid pruner!

Henry Homeyer: Don’t be a timid pruner!

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing I asked an experienced arborist the other day what he thought about pruning apple trees in the fall. His answer was the same as mine: “Prune when you have time and the pruners in your hand.” Yes, March is a good time to prune, but I suspect that […]

Henry Homeyer: Plant now, bloom later

Henry Homeyer: Plant now, bloom later

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing I have been planting bulbs around my property for at least 40 years, and some of them are still flowering each spring. I even have daffodils I brought up from my childhood home in Connecticut that might be 70 years old or more. Others run out of energy […]

Henry Homeyer: How to grow great garlic

Henry Homeyer: How to grow great garlic

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing If you lean toward lazy (or have kids, dogs and a job), growing garlic may be just the ticket. It is the easiest of all vegetables to grow. Once planted and mulched, it requires little or no work until harvest. A good harvest is guaranteed if follow my […]

Henry Homeyer: Putting the garden to bed

Henry Homeyer: Putting the garden to bed

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing To me, this felt like the summer that never was. It was rarely hot and sunny. The rainy gray days felt more like those in Portland, Oregon than in New England. Even so, the summer we had is largely over and it’s time to clean it up and […]

Henry Homeyer: Fall flowers important food for butterflies, other pollinators and birds

Henry Homeyer: Fall flowers important food for butterflies, other pollinators and birds

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing Despite my best efforts to support monarch butterflies, this year was discouraging: I only saw two monarchs visit my gardens. I have a small bed just for milkweeds, both the common one and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). But no monarchs laid eggs there this summer, no larvae ate […]

Henry Homeyer: Time to sharpen your pruners

Henry Homeyer: Time to sharpen your pruners

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing Fall is a good time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs. Once the leaves have dropped you can see the form – and the clutter – and decide what to take out. But before you begin, think about sharpening up your pruning tools, replacing blades, or buying new […]

Henry Homeyer: how to deal with invasive plants

Henry Homeyer: how to deal with invasive plants

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing Most older houses are plagued with plants brought from Asia or Europe and sold to well-meaning people who didn’t know that some of those handsome plants might become invasive. By definition, invasives come from abroad, spread rapidly, do not have any natural predators to help keep them under […]

Henry Homeyer: gardening better as we age

Henry Homeyer: gardening better as we age

By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing As a Certified Senior Citizen I sometimes wonder if I am too ambitious in my garden. I have about an acre of gardens with 200 or more kinds of flowers and a good-size vegetable garden. These gardens please me greatly, and I visit them daily all year, even […]