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Ilona's Garden Journal

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I Have A Thing For Bicolor Bulbs, Especially Tulips

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summer garden chores

Tomato Troubles

Ilona Erwin

I have large tomatoes, plenty of them…that is not the trouble. Hornworms. and cracking, those are the troubles. Right now, I am picking the fruits just turning red and ripening them on my window. Hornworms are officially called Manduca quinquemaculata. As caterpillars they are voracious pests, munching through incredible amounts of your tomato harvest. How To […]

August+ gardening tips Ilona Erwin

Mid July Chores

Ilona Erwin

It finally heated up and this is what we expect in July: hot muggy weather. It is time to keep up with the weeds, hoeing them out in the morning means that the hot sun is killing the weeds and not you. Afternoons are made for sipping lemonade in the shade of a tree. Look […]

garden chores+ gardening tips+ July Ilona Erwin

Mowing and Weeding

Ilona Erwin

Sorry the pictures aren’t up yet, I’ve kept too busy to blog properly, although I have tried to keep the facebook going. Mowing and weeding are all we are doing right now. Ohio has turned into a rain forest, it seems, the perennials are lush and the grass abundant. Unfortunately, the fields have flooded and […]

July Ilona Erwin

Summertime Blues

Ilona Erwin

Summertime, but the livin’ ain’t so easy. The heat ratcheted up all over the country, but here in the Midwest we have our own version: heat with humidity. And with all the rain, the humidity is miserable. So. What did I do yesterday? I mowed. Yes, indeedy, I mowed about 3 of the 4 acres […]

General gardening Ilona Erwin

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Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Ilona Erwin: View My Blog Posts

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About The Plants

red daylilies

10 Best Perennial Plants for Anyone’s Garden

Dependable Blooms to Brighten Your Landscape Everyone wants a beautiful garden, but not everyone … [Read More...] about 10 Best Perennial Plants for Anyone’s Garden

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

I gathered up some expert gardening tips from around the web, from beginners to a few unusual … [Read More...] about 10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

more perennials

The thrilling expectancy of Spring is in the air and what better way to feed the anticipation than to visit the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show which opens this Saturday, February 28th? I am so excited to go this year. You have time to hop on over to a Home Depot store and get […]

flowering almond

Witch Hazel ushers in Spring On the whole, deciduous, flowering shrubs get short shrift in modern gardens. We know about lilacs and weigelas, perhaps, but are often discouraged from planting them given “lack of seasonal interest” as the rationalization for such advice. It is true that some of them shine only when in bloom. Flowering […]

Start Spring with a Big Pop of Color   Though the usual sequence is to plant the bulbs in the fall for bloom in the spring, some growers cheat the system by chilling those sold for spring bloom. This is necessary for Southern gardens which don’t get the required cold temperatures. Presented here are some […]

Garden advice

It is increasingly the Holy Grail of garden designs: making a landscape low maintenance. For many reasons, reducing the work load of our outdoor spaces has become a priority. We are busy with many activities We are aging Viewing flowers rather than weeding flowerbeds is preferable That is not the definitive list, by any means, […]

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