Margaret Tomlinson

In the Catskills, we have a bounty of native aster species to delight pollinators and gardeners alike. They bloom late in the year, when few other flowers are producing nectar. They also serve as host plants, whose leaves feed caterpillars of many different species of butterflies and moths. This makes them “keystone” plants, supporting a […]

Bumble bees, the teddy bears of the insect world, aren’t just cute–they’re pollinating powerhouses. The first bumble bees that visit our gardens each spring are typically queens, big bees gorging themselves on nectar and pollen after a winter of hibernation. They eat to build their health and muster the strength to lay eggs. When their […]

A variety of viburnums, among the best-loved shrubs in Northeast gardens, are native in Greene and Ulster counties. They have showy white flower clusters, leaves that turn gold, purple or wine-red in fall and berries that attract birds. Their common names often came from early settlers who recognized traits they found useful, such as flexible […]

Garden Day, an annual day of gardening classes presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, will return Saturday, April 11, at SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, with several instructors from Saugerties, West Hurley, and nearby communities helping lead the program. This year’s theme is “Create and Cultivate.” The keynote speaker, Kim Eierman, will present […]

Schoolchildren often learn the familiar story of the Pilgrim settlers and the Wampanoag man Squanto (whose real name was likely Tisquantum), who taught them how to grow corn. Maize, better known as corn, was unknown to the Pilgrims. Around 9,000 years ago in Mexico, the wild teosinte plant was domesticated and developed into an ancestor […]

Many fruit trees need winter’s cold in order to flower and fruit well in the growing season. New York State is known for its excellent apples, a fruit tree with a particularly high chilling requirement. Pears, cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, and other fruit trees must also experience a minimum number of chilling hours over the […]

Winter has officially arrived, and with it the familiar sense that the gardening year has gone dormant. Nights have dipped well below freezing, snow has already appeared, and most beds look settled in for the long pause before spring. But beneath the surface, winter is quietly doing some of its most important work. This is, […]