By VALERIA FISHER Adult Program Administrator, Warsaw Community Public Library WARSAW — Warsaw Community Public Library will be hosting a program on “Planning Your Spring Garden” from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12. The guest speaker will be Amanda Zambrano who is a master gardener intern. Zambrano will be discussing how to plan and prepare a vegetable …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern One of my favorite spring garden tasks is dividing plants. Plants can be divided to control the size of the plants, rejuvenating old plants or increasing the number of plants. How do you know if your perennials need dividing? Your flowers may be smaller than usual, or more sparse …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern WARSAW — After a loved one passes, we often look for special ways to remember them. Of all the ways I’ve chosen to remember loved ones, my most treasured is my memory garden. I guard my memory garden with fierce care, gently pruning to encourage healthy growth, taking some …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern WARSAW — Sharpen those pruning shears, friends. Pruning season is upon us. Look for a sunny day in the next couple of weeks (late February/early March), and get going. Here’s my pruning list and a few tips. Overgrown shrubs. Typically we only prune spring flowering shrubs like lilacs after …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern WARSAW — Growing vegetables from seed is an economic way to obtain your own produce. While some seeds can be direct-sown, particularly cold weather crops like peas, lettuce or carrots, most of our summertime favorites need to be started indoors as our northern Indiana growing season isn’t quite long …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern WARSAW — Many gardeners I know are anxiously checking their mailboxes right about now. The 2016 seed catalogs are on their way, and may already be in hand. I don’t wait as anxiously for my seed catalogs, but I do eagerly anticipate my nursery catalogs. By January, it does …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRONO Master Gardener Intern A garden journal is a great project to start up this time year, as things are winding down outside. The blustery days have come, with wind and rain and the promise of snow just around the corner. Our gardens have mostly gone to sleep, in spite of the unusually …read more.

WARSAW — I have historically waited until spring to prepare my garden soil for planting. Tilling is messy and difficult in the spring mud and semi-frozen ground. Compost doesn’t have much time to break down in the soil. It honestly isn’t the most effective means of enriching my garden bed soil.

WARSAW — My garden needs some cleaning up. My hydrangeas are a big sprawling mess, my knock-outs are overgrown and my peonies are way past their prime. I can’t wait to hit the garden next weekend with my pruning shears and go to town.

WARSAW — My favorite recent addition to my landscape is a layered bulb bed and fall is the perfect time to add one to your garden. The concept behind the layered bed is to plant your bulbs at appropriate depths so that they bloom in succession, providing color in your early spring garden.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern Long about August my whole landscape begins to look a little tired. My mulched areas are thinning and weeds are popping up. Things are getting a bit leggy and overgrown. The bloom is off most of my June and July blooming plants. It just looks a bit worn out. …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern If you are enjoying an abundance of fresh produce from your garden right now, you’re probably dreading winter and a return to canned and frozen varieties. That doesn’t have to be your fate this winter. If you’re a die-hard gardener, winter gardening is possible, even this far north. Mid-August …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern WARSAW — Potted plants and patio gardening, for me, has required a little more care and attention than my vegetable garden and landscaping. Plants growing in pots, baskets or buckets require more attention because of the limited resources of their pot. They need more water quickly, and more water …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern Gardening can be an expensive hobby. Quality plants are expensive, as are soil amendments and tools. But gardening isn’t just for those with extra income – anyone can have a lovely garden or landscape with some sweat equity and the willingness to get a little creative. I’ve purchased some …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern Often times when we move into a new home, we inherit the landscape of the previous owner. Those of us who are new to the gardening world can be at a bit of a loss as to what we’ve inherited and how to care for it. By the third …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener Intern Vegetable gardens have been a source of much angst on my shady lot. I thought tomatoes and zucchini were easy to grow, and didn’t think twice about plopping them in my little 4’ x 8’ raised bed. The first year, my tomatoes did really well. That was the year …read more.

By AMANDA ZAMBRANO Master Gardener (EDITOR’S NOTE: Amanda Zambrano is the director of advancement at Grace Village Retirement Community. She is a master gardener intern, just learning the ins and outs of successful gardening. Along with her master gardener volunteering, Amanda serves on the board of directors for the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, …read more.

Spring has arrived in the area and with it comes planting time for both flowers and vegetable gardens. Not everyone has a green thumb and even those who do often have questions and concerns. InkFreeNews.com will be adding a new category to the site, “In The Garden.” We have asked three local master gardeners to …read more.