Rosie Lerner

rosie@purdue.edu

716 articles by this author

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Pomanders Make Fragrant Gifts

Pomanders are easy and fun and make great gifts that bring the scent of the garden indoors to brighten cold winter days. Today, most pomanders are ornaments made of glass, ceramic or fabric filled with a mixture of fragrant herbs and spices. But, originally, pomanders were made from pieces of ambergris, a fragrant, waxy substance passed from the intestine of the sperm whale. The word pomander comes from the French “pommed ‘ ambre, “meaning “apple […]
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Q. I have attached a tree photo that no one seems to know what it is. It has the berries at the top, and branches with leaves, and I did not notice until the leaves fell off that it had thorns on it. It does not have the berries on it until it gets big or old. I have 2 more small ones, but did not notice berries on them. A. This large shrub or small […]
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Pomanders Make Fragrant Gifts

Pomanders are easy and fun and make great gifts that bring the scent of the garden indoors to brighten cold winter days. Today, most pomanders are ornaments made of glass, ceramic or fabric filled with a mixture of fragrant herbs and spices. But, originally, pomanders were made from pieces of ambergris, a fragrant, waxy substance passed from the intestine of the sperm whale. The word pomander comes from the French “pommed ‘ ambre, “meaning “apple […]
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Science Project Resources

School science fairs often put students and parents on the hunt for project ideas. Of course, the point of these projects is for students, not parents, to learn how to plan and implement science! But, naturally, parents want to help their kids succeed. There are limitless resources available these days, especially with the help of the Internet. One of the most beneficial things moms and dads can do is to help their children find resources […]
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Q. I would like to cover several parts of my yard with shredded bark mulch. My concern is we have some wood roaches in this area, and I do not want to attract them to my yard. We have had some in the house in the past and still get one or two occasionally. This is not a problem, but I’m afraid if we put down mulch this may be a big problem. What are your thoughts […]
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Winterizing Strawberry Plants

Perhaps the last garden chore of the season is tucking in the strawberry planting for winter. Strawberry plants have already set their buds for next spring’s flowers and the crop can be lost unless you protect them from harsh winter conditions. A fully dormant strawberry plant’s flower buds can be damaged at temperatures below 15 deg. F.   In addition to flower bud damage, the alternate freezing and thawing of the soil that commonly occurs […]
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Prepare Your Spring Garden This Fall

If you’re not quite ready to hang up your gardening tools just because of a few killing frosts, fall is a great time to get your soil ready for next year’s planting. Removing this year’s plant debris is a good, general sanitation practice. Plant refuse makes a great place for insects and disease to overwinter. Why not turn that refuse into valuable compost? A properly constructed compost pile should create temperatures high enough to destroy […]
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Cut Back Perennials Now or Later?

Gardeners often ask, “When is the best time to cut back the dead tops of herbaceous perennials (stems die back to the ground each year)?” “Should we cut them in fall as the tops fade?” “Or wait until spring just before new growth begins?” The answers depend, in part, on the specific plant and whether disease or insect pests are a factor. For most healthy plants, leaving plant tops over winter is fine and, in […]
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Q. We planted new blackberry and raspberry plants this spring. We would like to know what has to be done to prepare them before cold weather moves in. A. There should not be much to do for these plants, assuming you planted hardy cultivars. You do want the plants to be well watered before going into winter, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for most areas of Indiana this fall. Both blackberry and raspberry […]
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Tender Perennials Need Indoor Protection

Most gardeners think about planting bulbs this time of year rather than digging them up. But some flowering perennials are not hardy enough for our climate and must be lifted from the soil and their bulbs, roots or other underground structures stored indoors over winter. The most common garden plants in this category include gladiolus, caladium, tuberous begonias, canna and dahlia. Although these plants are all considered tender, each is best handled a bit differently […]
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