Thanks, Cottage! I found a great brochure online on pruning raspberries, and we figured out that we have fall bearing raspberries. We decided to cut them to the ground, as they say this will create one larger crop rather than two smallish ones. We should have done it a bit earlier, as they were starting to leaf out, but they seem to be recovering nicely. The rhubarb is up, as is the oregano and thyme. Looking forward to getting into the garden!

We looked at soil additives at Lowe's as we just don't have the transport to get the local horse manure home. We picked up a bag of cow manure and I wanted to add in a bag of peat moss, but DH thought that was overkill. I think the soil is a bit too clay-ey, but he thinks it's fine. Anyways, they had two options in peat products--peat moss and peat hummus. Anyone know what the difference is?

Hummus is finer and could have other vegetation stuff mixed in. It will probably incorporate better into your earth.

I still have a flat of pansies and think I will plant them today in two flower boxes - one for the side door and one for the deck. I'll replace them with summer flowers a bit later but I just can't wait! Rhubarb has "nippled" and the daffies at the Church are in bloom. It's here!

It's definitely here! Maggie and I went to a few garden centers yesterday to see what we could plant now in our garden, and I could have easily blown my budget! We picked out some cool-weather plants, but our frost-free date around here is around May 15. I can hardly wait!

I can't wait to go to the local nursery. It's SO much fun! We spend far too much on annuals, though. We have two huge flower beds that border our front walkway, and I fill them with annuals each year. I wonder if there are any perennials I could use?

Does anyone know a good source for a recipe for deer repellent using red pepper? I'll poke around online, but I'd love to know if there are any that you know have worked...

Laurie, I can probably give you lots of perennial suggestions. Perhaps you could email me a garden plan with sun/shade exposures. My front bed is all perennials. Pictures would be helpful too.

Laurie, fill a one gallon sprayer with water, then add 1/2 cup of cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup Dawn dish soap. Stirred, not shaken () and spray away! You don't have to use such a strong solution, but I've found it works the best.
We've turned most of our large flower beds into perrenial beds, and I just go by whether the beds are in the shade or sun and used that as rule of thumb for what I plant in each one. But remember to buy at least 3 of the same plant as a minimum, and buy in odd numbers, such as 3, 5, 7, etc. to make your garden look balanced. It's a lot of trial and error for me, but that's the fun of it - seeing what looks best where.

UPDATE on my deer vs the tulips battle

After a lot of research I found out a few things:

• Deer (and rabbits) HATE the smell of soap, rotten eggs and spoiled milk.
• Deer are very smart so you need to change up your repellent to continually discourage them.
• If it rains, the stuff washes off. Deer do not mind the rain and I SWEAR they waited until the past rainy bout to pick on my tulips. Only a few plants were munched though.

First I bought a commercial brand to spray. It stinks (smells bad) which is good. Now I'm using a DIY concoction that has eggs, milk or buttermilk, and Ivory dish soap (I read that you have to be careful on the liquid dish soap you use on plants...no antibacterial soaps) with some water. To change it up I will add garlic and then another time cayenne. I also sprinkle some blood meal around the plants. This site has a lot of DIY deer repellent recipes and I'm going to try some of the other variants in my deer vs. tulips battle.

SCORE: Tulips 86 Deer 7 So far the tulips are winning!!!

The repellent seems to work well when it is dry out. Not sure what to do when it rains...maybe try one of the recipes with oil in it to see if the stuff sticks better. If these babies ever get to bloom, I'll post pictures.

Hello ladies, nice to see a gardening thread! I'm in Vermont, we are going to have our first really warm day today, yay! but as I sit here, looking out window at the little mountain in front of us, the snow is still deep up there. Our safe planting date is Memorial Day.

My question is about dividing peonies. I have heirloom peonies...they are from roots (or corms, whatever they are called ) over a hundred years old. They are precious to me!! I got them from my grandparent's homestead. The peonies were there when my grandparents bought that farm in the late '30's...and the man they bought the place from told them that his mother-in-law planted them about 30 years before..!!! so you see why they are precious to me.

I have googled it a bit, and see that fall is the suggested better time...but I never seem to think about it or remember it then. So I'm wondering if I would hurt them if I tried to divide some of them now? I wouldn't mind if I didn't get flowers this year, I have enough others to get flowers from, but I just don't want to kill them!

Peonies, especially the old cultivars, are eternal plants. I have split and moved them in spring although fall is the better time. They are really, really tough so don't attempt to dig the whole plant, just split off pieces with a sharp spade. Be sure to have three or four "eyes" in the pieces. I imagine they are just starting to sprout in your area so do it asap so they can get going before real Spring.

I have some very old peonies too - brought by my grandmother from her grandmother's house in 1896 so who knows how old they are. They are late bloomers and a very deep pink with a rose scent. I adore them.

Thank you very much, Ruth! yes, mine have the 'eyes' just developing.
When mine bloom (June), I will get some pics and post them here, because mine are also deep pink with the most heady,wonderful rose scent!

How cool! I bet we have the same old peonies. My grandma's grandmother was a UEL (United Empire Loyalist) who settled here in 1792 from VERMONT! Our gardens may be related.

that is amazing, and how cool would it be that our peonies are sibs

Wow, Ruth! I had no idea you came from a line of emigrated Americans! That's SO cool! I love peonies, but have no idea how to grow them. My next-door neighbor, with whom I share a garden, has some on her side. Very pretty!

Ruth, the front has an eastern-facing exposure. The front path beds get sun, but they connect with the front beds that line the house are are mostly in the shade. The back of those are planted with azaleas, but the front is open for plants. I love being able to change it all around every year, but it's very expensive to buy all the annuals, so I really should consider adding some perenials. So far, Dusty Miller is the only annual that's managed to turn into a perennial there, though some of my pansies/violas have come back from time to time. The beds seem to be very attractive to squirrels and/or deer when they are growing.

I'll e-mail you a pic. Thanks for the advice!!!

Good to meet you, VTMom! Love the name "Cupcake!"

This isn't so much gardening but my apple trees are being devoured by little green worms!!! I don't know what they are but they are sure eating it quick- I hate to use any chemicals anyone have any idea on what i need to do here? I think they are little inch worms maybe? thats all I can tell from the pictures I found...

Rikki - Try these folks: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/ If you can get them a couple of your worms they can tell you what they are and give you some ideas. It's probably something they are seeing a lot of and will recognize right away.