Don’t want to feel fenced in as you garden? An alternative to fencing a garden is a “living fence.”

Ahh… this is the time of the year to be out enjoying the garden. All those early spring and summer hours of weeding have paid off, the planting beds are a riot of color, and the gardener wants to prolong the enjoyment of this color.

Ahh,, tomatoes. During last summer's unusually dry, hot weather, everyone had an abundance of ripe, juicy tomatoes in their garden. Will it happen again this year? Tomatoes like heat and sun, two things that may be missing on a typical summer day in our area. Despite our weather, there are several things one can do to improve the chances of enjoying plenty of sweet, tasty tomatoes Locate your tomatoes in the hottest, sunniest part of the garden. They prefer at least 8 hours of sun everyday. Even better is to plant them against a wall that will absorb and reflect heat.

The yearly calendar of garden chores has catapulted ahead of schedule with this winter’s warm temperatures. Pruning of many fruit trees is often performed during late winter and early spring during the dormant state. All indications seem to point to the imminent arrival of spring.

What’s a great way to start out the New Year? Each year the nursery industry offers exciting new plant hybrids to give your gardens new life.