Mother Earth's Garden

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to honor trees for all the products they provide us. You can find wood components in ice cream, salad dressing, shampoo, and toothpaste, just to name a few products. According to research by Rita Hassert, of the Morton Arboretum’s Sterling Morton Library, wood chemicals can also be found in cosmetics, photographic films, food additives, and fillers for many types of plastics.

Wow! I didn’t know wood was used in so many of our products! There are even wood components in our clothes from shirts, ties, to dresses, and suits.
Of course I do know that wood pulp …read more

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I love Mother Nature’s colors of fall. I think that’s why fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love checking out the beautiful fall colors on the trees, so I’m partial to fabulous fall photos.

Morton’s Arboretum sent me some fabulous images of their fall color show, going on now.

Mother Nature has begun painting The Morton Arboretum landscape with the very first hints of rich, autumnal reds, purples, golds, oranges, and bronzes.

Thousands of visitors enjoy the annual fall color “art show,” not only for its delightful native trees, but in particular, the fabulous exotic species from 40 countries …read more

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I love the faces you see on trees. They always seem unexpected when I see them. I’ve been thinking about getting a couple for my own garden. Maybe a happy face smiling down on my vegetables and flowers.
Like one of these:

I love how the tree leaves look like hair when you’re looking at the faces. I love the different personalities of the different faces.

This last one looks angry to me. I’m not sure if I’d want him in my garden, only happy thoughts are aloud in my garden.

These adorable tree faces were in a friends …read more

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Fall is a wonderful time to plant fruit trees. Fall is a great time to plant fruit trees in most areas in the northern hemisphere from the end of August through October.

You can plant most trees in the fall with great success. Just give them time to get their roots settled before winter’s cold sets in and freezes everything solid.
When you plant your fall trees just make sure you water them in well, then water them once a day for the first couple weeks after they’re in the ground.
A light organic fertilizer and plenty of mulch will also help them …read more

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We just got back from Topsail Island North Carolina, on the way down we stopped for a couple days to visit some friends a little inland. When we pulled down the road to their home I noticed some beautiful trees in full bloom. Shortly after we got there I had to ask what kind of tree they were.

My friend told me they were Crepe Myrtles. After that I saw them everywhere I went, full of fabulous blooms in pink, white, deep red, and purple. We’ve been to North Carolina quite a bit, but I don’t think I’ve been …read more

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The Washington DC cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and loaded with Spring beauty. National Geographic has put together wonderful cherry blossom photo album highlighting some of the beautiful blooms.

Did you know that the trees were a gift to the United States from Japan in 1912 to symbolize the friendship between the two countries?
National Geographic’s website has the full history of the blossoms from the first commemoration of the donation to the maintenance of the trees today.
Image via National Geographic

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It’s the perfect time of the year for pruning your fruit trees, and vines. The worst of winter is over, and the weather is starting to warm up (or will very soon). Now is the time to get out there and prune your apple, cherry, peach, and pear trees.
The trees are still mostly dormant for winter, but they’re almost ready to come to life with new growth for summer. We usually do our pruning the last part of February, or the first part of March.
How should you prune your fruit trees? When we prune we try to open …read more

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The best way to ensure your Christmas tree is freshly cut is to go to a tree farm, rip it out of the ground, and strap it to the top of your station wagon (oh sorry that was National Lampoon’s Family Vacation).

Yes I have a warped brain, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite holiday movies, along with A Christmas Story. You don’t have to rip your Christmas tree out of the ground like the Griswalds, but cutting your own tree can be an annual event.
Cutting your own tree really is the best way to …read more

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Spring is a great time to plant trees, but fall is also a wonderful time to get fruit trees started in your orchard or garden. The best time to plant fruit trees is when the leaves are starting to go dormant for the winter.
Here are a couple fruit tree planting tips:

Most fruit trees should be planted where they have access to full sun, and are not shaded by larger trees or buildings.
When you plant your fruit tree give it plenty of room to grow. Even dwarf varieties need a little space to spread their limbs.
When you’re planting a …read more

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Here are some 5 things you can do in the fall to get your garden and yard ready for next spring.

Divide and replant perennials. Fall is a wonderful time to divide perennials that have outgrown their space. Get your spade out, dig them up and find a new home for the extras.
Plant a tree. Fall is a wonderful time to plant fruit trees. Now through mid October you can plant a tree and let it get settled into it’s new home before the snow flies.
Fertilize all your perennials and trees, and add compost to the soil in …read more

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