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By Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Many outdoor garden plants are actually warm weather perennials; if brought indoors they will grow all year ’round. Since houses have less light than the out-of-doors, shade tolerant plants make good choices for seasonal…

By Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Many mountain homes have a side yard that is not only long and narrow, but treacherously steep.  A good landscape design for such a layout is difficult at best, but when done well, it…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Mountain monsoon season is the start of perennial blooms in the high country.  Not only do most perennial flowers take off with new buds and blooms, but they are magnets to unrelenting voracious insects.…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Autumn leaves are a wonderment of the season. Although dropped leaves make for extra work, I really enjoy the seasonal change.  When most of the leaves have dropped, we pile them high and play…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener As trees drop the last of their colorful leaves our gardens tend to feel naked. It even seems like prying eyes can look right into your home!  Not only does your privacy seemingly disappear,…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Created some new container gardens . . .What do you think? Autumn is a time of decorating.  Many of my gardens are end-of-the-season old and tired. With our first frost just days away, these…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Autumn tree colors are here!    Sadly, most properties don’t have many trees.  You actually can count on one hand the number of trees in the average landscape.  In any landscape, trees stand out like…

By Ken Lain, the mountain gardener It’s time to start checking off items from that fall gardening to-do list. These are things I do every fall; my aim is to complete all of them by the end of October. Today’s…

by Ken Lain, The mountain gardener Traditionally, by the end of September we slip out of the monsoonal pattern and back to our normal, “spotty” rain cycles.  However, this year’s overabundant rains have made the next four weeks critical for…

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Our part of the country is celebrated for its mild four-season climate, but gardeners new to the region often don’t realize just how nice it really is:  Gardens can be coaxed into bloom most…