Lora Gauss

I first encountered carnivorous plants in the 1960s when Venus flytraps were all the rage and being sold by mail order. For a mere dollar you could “amaze people of all ages” when the plant ate hamburger meat from your fingers and actually caught and ate flies, or so the advertising promised. It was…

It’s easy to love herbs. All those romanticized portrayals of them spell allure, whether it’s in kitchen gardens surrounded by white picket fences glimpsed through back doors, standing at attention in terra cotta pots on a windowsill, or hanging neatly in small tidy bunches drying for later use. Simply stated, herbs are plants…

Today’s gardening needs have changed dramatically. Where once families may have lived in suburban lots with outdoor space for generous vegetable and flower gardens, today they might be living in a large house sandwiched on a small lot or an apartment, townhome or condo with a tiny yard or none at all.    This…

“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.” Henry Van Dyke The name for the fourth month, April, derives from the Greek word for “opening.” This could refer to the opening or blossoming of flowers and trees this month, but it could just as well refer to…

There are times when “patient labor and attention” are not enough. Sometimes, practical research-based knowledge is necessary to solve a gardening problem or answer a question.  That’s where the Penn State Extension Master Gardener Garden Hotline can help. Started in 2009 as an invaluable arm of the extension, the hotline offers free specific feedback…

CENTRE HALL — To prune or not to prune is a continuing dilemma that gardening enthusiasts from professionals to home gardeners have to deal with every growing season. From trees to shrubs, the why, when and how of pruning are among the most difficult aspects of horticulture to understand. The problems spring from…

Please use Lora’s standing header The Avid Gardener: Escaping winter with spring planning  “In a way Winter is the real Spring — the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature.” — Edna O’Brien  With spring still almost a month away, I begin to get impatient with winter weather. Even though…

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” — Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” Sometimes, just the thought of garden pests becomes a nightmare for any gardener. Yesterday, I spotted black and yellow clusters of sawfly larvae on the undersides of my yellow twig dogwood.…