Here in the Northeast we have what seems to be with each passing year, longer and longer winters. I suppose it is just the fact that getting older makes the winters seem like they last longer. You tend to dislike the cold more as you get older so you stay inside more and I guess that makes the winter seem longer. On those long winter days you need to find some form of entertainment so you look for things to do that you can enjoy and maybe do some sort of good deed with at the same time. For many years we have thought about the poor little creatures that do not migrate south for the winter season. Life has to be hard enough even in the warmer part of the year for small creatures like birds and squirrels just foraging for their daily food supply. Not only is that a full time  daily job for them but they also have to contend with other obstacles like predators and disappearing habitat. In view of those hazards we here in the Northeast have always enjoyed feeding the little creatures for that reason and other reasons like the fact that it brings those little creatures into a close up view if you have the feeders hanging near a window. We justify in our own minds and hearts that we just have to be helping out the little creatures by giving them an easy chance to acquire an easy food source.  More »

When winter sets in and you find yourself stuck inside dreaming about what you want to do in your gardens next spring, you can get bored very quickly and disillusioned knowing the wait is going to be a long one. You can spend that time dreaming about the outdoor activities or you can stay occupied doing something totally different than gardening. My wife adopted a hobby a few years ago which I thought at first was kind of silly. She wanted a 1 inch scale dollhouse for Christmas so I bought her a finished dollhouse that required only minimal construction. Well each winter we find ourselves ( yes I got hooked too ) working at improving and making the house look and feel like a real home. It is simply amazing how detailed the objects are that are available to go into a dollhouse. We take trips on the weekends to a town about 30 miles from home which gives us some quality time together in this fast paced world we live in. We make a day of it and have some regular shops we like to visit on our day out. At this point in time my wife has kind of decided to move up to a new and more detailed project. She decided after seeing a fantastic dollhouse constructed from plans drawn of a Sea Captain’s home from Thomaston Maine.  Check it out at Captain George W. Robinson House This dollhouse will amaze you. The builder is definitely a master craftsman and very clever also. He has inspired us to take on a project similar to this house. We have prepared our selves to spend the next few winters working on this project together and get back out into our gardens in the summer. I have a short video of the dollhouse I got for my wife a few years ago and you will see why we need to move on to a bigger project from watching the video. Marion’s Dollhouse I hope you can find a hobby to make your long, cold winters pass quickly

As reported By Sarah Bultema
Loveland Reporter-Herald
This year’s Christmas has been unwrapped, and soon it will be time to say goodbye to the centerpiece of many holiday celebrations: the Christmas tree.

But getting the pine out of the house doesn’t mean it has to end up in a landfill.

There are plenty of ways to recycle and reuse a Christmas tree — both the real and artificial varieties.

“Keep those trees out of the landfill,” said Rob MacDonald, Loveland’s parks forestry specialist. “There are other uses for them.”

MacDonald and Rose Watson, an educator with the Larimer County landfill, offer some ideas to keep your evergreen’s disposal environmentally friendly. More »

The story you see below is a true story and the facts omit the true name of the poor lady that got taken by these unscrupulous scammers. I do know this to be a true story and feel very bad for her but there is a lesson in this for all of us. Only by banding together can we spread the word about businesses like this that prey on people that are just truly trying to form a legitimate business and make a fair living online. I am not so foolish as to think we can ever totally stop them all for good but if we could save even one more person from having to use their child’s education funds to pay their credit cards off after being suckered by companies like this we might all feel a little better about the difference we have made.

OK, Here goes. I’m very embarrassed to say that I have been scammed out of so much money, more than what I make in a year has been taken from me within 2 months. First, I wanted only to start an e-commerce business selling something and arrive at enough income to supplement my retirement when I’m too old to go to work anymore.
It all started with a company called Thrive. I had clicked on a click ad which stated “Work for Google at home”. Duh, why does Google need me? I know that now…. Anyhoo, Thrive turned out to be a $5,000 investment with just a bunch of coaches who I could call in the first 6 weeks with any questions as I struggled through their benchmarks. By the time I got to the drop shippers and products to research using a free keyword discovery tool site I was too late to talk with a live person but I plundered through anyways. I then get a call from a tax person stating I needed them for my bookkeeping of which I said, no I can do that myself, it will just be me. I then contacted Legal Zoom and started my LLC with my husband and me as partners. THEN CAME THE STORM! More »

Birds will welcome the bird houses you put up not only in your garden but all around your property.  Birds are great for helping to control insects that can destroy your expensive plants. There can not be anything much more heartbreaking than seeing a beautiful plant just ready to flower or bare fruit and have insects destroy the plant. More »

Welcome to The Yankee Gardener Blog. We will be bringing you gardening news and tips. Feel free to leave us comments and suggestions so we may make the blog a valuable resource for you.

I am a native of  the great state of Maine and have enjoyed the state for 58 years now. My wife and I live on 20 acres out in the country and spend most of our time out working in our yard and our gardens. We love having the gardens to enjoy the beauty that nature provides and also to give the little animals, birds and insects a home in the very short summer we have in Maine. When we are not in our gardens, we spend our time running our Internet business, ” The Yankee Gardener ” to provide great garden decor and information for others to use and enjoy.

It is never to late or to early for that matter to get ready for the upcoming year in the garden. It is actually a great time to find some good deals on seeds and tools. Many web stores are in the same position that the brick & motor stores are with the slump in our economy. They are offering good deals to try and keep sales at a level to at least sustain their businesses. You should take full advantage of any deals you can find when you see them because they might not be there the next time you visit that same site.

If you are in an area of the country where you are stuck inside because of the cold and snow, it is a great time to start planning this years gardens or changes to already existing gardens. Winters are long for those of us that are not outdoor winter sports enthusiasts. There is software available that you can use to plan your gardens and it is sophisticated enough now to even show you what the plants will look like when they have aged. That way you can look into the future and decide if a particular plant you are thinking about would work in that spot in your garden. Plants are expensive and they will be around for many years with proper care. It would be nice to know that you have put them in their permanent home. They do hate to be moved around but they will tolerate it if it is done correctly.

Have some fun, do some planning and some dreaming about the warm weather and being out doing what you love. Think about adding different types of garden decor to your gardens for a change in design. Garden decor is great because it is easily moved around and gives the appearance that you have done something new in your garden just by merely moving the decor from one place to a different spot in the garden. If you like to play out in your garden and enjoy they look of instant change, consider adding garden decor like Gazing Globes, or Gnomes to your garden. There is always the elegant Garden Arbor to consider also. They add a touch of class to any garden and act as a way to direct people to a particular place in your garden. Now is a great time to dream and plan. Have some fun!

Just because it is winter does not mean it has to look like it. We keep something happening here at The Yankee Gardener’s home all year long. We love to decorate for Christmas even though we have no kids left living at home with us now. We see lots of other people bringing their kids by to view the lights. It takes us the better part of three days to dig everything out and set it all up. The power company just loves us for the month of December. It is all worth it when you see people stop and take pictures. Even before we got it all up and going this year we had people stop and express their amazement at the amount of work we put into our display. What you see in the picture is only a small part of the display. Christmas is a very special time of the year and we should all take some time to sit back and be thankful for our families and wish everyone a happy time. Just getting out and putting up a display shows people how much you care for others. They quickly realize that the display you put up is meant for them to enjoy. Getting out and doing the display is also great for you. That time of year we tend to stay inside and not get the fresh air and exercise we need. It is really a lot of fun and we encourage you to try it even if the display is small it is what you are doing for others that really counts. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!