Crawford’s Corner

If you have further questions, please write to Bruce at Crawford@njaes.rutgers.edu

• Gardening Notes for May 2025
  With the chill of March and the showers of April behind us, early May looks to provide a wonderful assortment of spring blooming plants. The winter and early spring was colder than previous years and many plants are blooming later this year when compared to the past couple of years. Regardless of the later ...
• May 2025 Plant of the Month – Claytonia virginica
  Spring Beauty Sparks Thoughts of ‘Friends’ Never Met How often do we associate a relative, a friend or perhaps even a person we never actually knew with a plant? The plant need not be large or overly showy, but somehow the sight or mention of the plant brings forth thoughts of that person. For me it ...
• Gardening Notes for April 2025
  When visiting my local Garden Center I have been studying the seed rack and associated materials needed for starting one’s own plants and the supplies are certainly dwindling. A sure sign that the general interest in gardening remains strong following COVID. Many of us have come to appreciate the beauty of plants and the calming ...
• April 2025 Plant of the Month – Sanguinaria Canadensis
  The Beauty of Bloodroot The garden truly awakens during the month of April. The once bare earth suddenly comes alive with a bevy of flowering bulbs and perhaps even a few spring ephemerals. Most gardeners understand how to effectively work bulbs into a garden, but many remain puzzled over the use of spring ephemerals. By definition, ...
• Gardening Notes for March 2025
  March can be such a finicky month! Several years ago, there was a long warm spell followed by two nights of extremely cold temperatures. The result was a massive dieback of Hydrangeas and a resulting loss of blooms for that year! Some years we see snow storm after snow storm, while some years it is ...
• March 2025 Plant of the Month – Grape Hyacinths
  Grape Hyacinths – Time for a Fresh Look At no fault of their own, some plants develop a love/hate relationship with gardeners. They are very deserving garden plants, yet after years of being heavily used our interest in the plant simply dwindles. We also fail to take note of any new and interesting selections, as we ...
• Gardening Notes for February 2025
  February may still be in the midst of winter, but some plants are beginning to awaken! On warmer days, make it a point to walk through your garden, enjoying its beauty and giving thought to exciting new spring improvements. For major design renovations it is time to finalize those designs since March becomes busy with ...
• February 2025 Plant of the Month – Sciadopitys
  Sciadopitys – A Beautiful Plant That May Fool You I cannot recall how many times I have failed to understand the very basic parts of plant anatomy, even when it appeared so obvious! For example, I once thought Asters had petals typical of most flowering plants. I was wrong. With Dogwoods, I mistakenly thought the showy ...
• Gardening Notes for January 2025
  January always begins with the festivities surrounding the Holiday Season, but reality soon returns as gardeners face short and often cloudy days, cold temperatures and a sleeping garden. Looking on the positive side, we now have the leisure of working in the Garden when our time or the weather suits our schedule, since the garden ...
• January 2025 Plant of the Month – Iberis sempervirens – Candytuft
  Candytuft – A Smart Evergreen for Generations to Come The qualities of what makes a plant garden worthy are always changing and my personal sentiments are certainly no different! As a beginning gardener, I was drawn to the ‘latest and greatest’ and discounted the more ‘seasoned plants’ at my grandparent’s home as no longer garden worthy. ...