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In the Garden

Text Box: By now, we’re probably all starting to feel a little damp from the never-ending “April showers” that seem to have carried over into May! It’s been a cool, wet spring and that’s reflected in the later growth and blooming of many plants. Thankfully, with June quickly arriving, the flowers can’t be far behind... Welcome to the May issue of In the Garden. In this issue we: share tips on growing (and eating) vegetables and tomatoes,

Text Box: suggest native plants that can be easily incorporated into your garden, review a fabulous, two-wheeled garden wheelbarrow, talk with Mike Ruggiero, former senior curator at the New York Botanical Garden and horticulturalist at Matterhorn Nursery, and reveal how to grow the lushest and most colorful container plants. As usual, there’s also a list of upcoming gardening events and a

Text Box: description of things to do in the garden. Plus, we let you in on the details of the 2009 Fairfield County Plant Swap. There’s never a dull moment in the June garden! Editors Monica Hemingway Kirsten Clark Please email us at info@thegardenerslist.com—we’d love to hear from you.

Text Box: Have a fussy little (or not so little) eater in your family? I’ve found that the best way to get my son (and my husband) to eat their veggies is to have them grow some. There’s nothing like taking personal ownership for the growth of a tiny seedling to get them dreaming about and, yes, even eating, veggies! Now is the perfect time to start planting vegetable seedlings, like squash, beans, and even broccoli. The other way I’ve gotten my son to learn to love veggies and

Text Box: gardening is to have him plant now to enter in the country fair in late August. Every year, we enter vegetables, flowers, and herbs in the Bridgewater Country Fair in Bridgewater, Connecticut. He’s been winning ribbons and $2 checks since he was four years old and last year he won “Best in Show” for his jarred tomatoes which he put up and lovingly labeled. Winning ribbons and getting your name in the newspaper is a surefire way to entice your little ones to get out there and get their hands

Text Box: dirty. And country fair isn’t just for kids, as evidenced by the bounty of ribbons won by me and my father! For inspiration for your garden this year, check out this list of Connecticut Country Fairs http://www.ctfairs.org/fair_map.aspx.

The Gardeners' List

But I Don’t Eat Broccoli!	1
Product Review: Lifetime Wheelbarrow	2
Dig This…	2
Interview with a Gardener: Michael A. Ruggiero	3
Mike’s Container Tips	3
Upcoming Local Events and Sales	4
Growing Green: Planting Natives	4
In the June Garden	5
Terrific Tomato Tips	5