and our annual winter photo contest is officially on! See contest rules and enter here: UGJ Winter Photo Contest page

Congratulations to our winners! WINNER: GRAND PRIZE (on cover of magazine and website header) A special thank you to Sara’s Garden Center for providing a gift certificate to the grand prize winner.   WINNER: PLANTS CATEGORY   WINNER: SCENES CATEGORY   WINNER: ENHANCED CATEGORY & ONLINE FAVORITE

by Cathy Monrad Every December for the past ten years, a family friend has given us a lovely evergreen wreath for our front door. When February rolls around and the wreath has seen better days, I recycle the greens and stash away the pinecone decorations for crafting. Online, I found an easy and inexpensive project idea using these salvaged adornments: pinecone …

by Roger L. VanNostrand Attractive, low-maintenance island plantings set in front and back lawn areas are becoming very popular in both new and older home landscapes. Historically, massive plantings were installed to hide unattractive high foundations built to accommodate full basements. Many homes now either are built on concrete slabs, over crawl spaces with low foundations, or over full basements with …

What To Do in the Garden in November & December INDOORS Reduce the fertilization of most indoor plants from late October to mid-March. An exception would be plants under grow lights. To avoid fungus gnats on your houseplants keep them on the dry side as the gnat larva live in moist soil at the top inch or so. Watering …