Much adored and written about in Japanese haiku, the peony blooms beautifully in our region, too. Learn the different hybrids to plant and then enjoy the breathtaking peony all season long.

'About to bloom, and exhale a rainbow: the peony!' Learn to grow this flower, revered in haiku

Each week, Charlie Nardozzi joins Vermont Public’s Mary Engisch for a conversation about gardening, and to answer your questions about what you're seeing in the natural world.

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"Glads" are tall, showy perennials and are part of the iris family. Their tall stems flower with multiple blooms along the stalk and come in many colors and heights.

Tall or small, grow cheery gladiolus and learn how to overwinter the bulbs

Wetter weather suits some garden critters, like slugs and snails. Slugs, especially, will eat your basil, lettuce, marigolds and more. Certain pesticide-free techniques can save your garden from becoming a slugfest this summer.

With beer, wool and seashells, you can deter slugs from taking over your garden

Some garden plants grow quite large and take up lots of space, like cucumbers and pumpkins. But summer squash — like zucchini and yellow crookneck — can be grown vertically if you have limited real estate in your garden.

Go vertical to save space when growing summer squash this season

Their heady fragrance can transport you; plant tall or smaller flowering shrubs for color and scent all season.

Plant some flowering shrubs close to your house so you can enjoy their color and fragrance for years

The trend of "No Mow May" follows the logic that leaving your whole lawn unmowed for the month can help pollinators. The birds, bugs and bees will use the overgrown weeds and flowers as food and shelter. Instead of doing this for a month then mowing it all down, consider dedicating a small portion of your yard to pollinators for the whole season.

'About to bloom, and exhale a rainbow: the peony!' Learn to grow this flower, revered in haiku

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