Planterra LLC

Planterra LLC John M. Burdick, Owner. Horticultural Services Provider for the Discerning Estate & Home Owner.

Fortunate to have results to share with our clients…Tree Peonies, Azaleas, Clematis and more…
05/24/2026

Fortunate to have results to share with our clients…Tree Peonies, Azaleas, Clematis and more…

It is the time of year the bees are swarming. They are in a very docile state when they are on the move as a group like ...
05/19/2026

It is the time of year the bees are swarming. They are in a very docile state when they are on the move as a group like this. They are searching for a new place to call home with the queen from their old hive leading the process. Remember to protect the honey bees and call a bee keeper to easily remove a swarm. The photo below was in my yard and became a new beekeeper’s hive; eventually putting honey on your shelf!

Five caterpillars most gardeners remove on sight. Every one becomes a butterfly or moth worth more alive than the leaf i...
05/07/2026

Five caterpillars most gardeners remove on sight. Every one becomes a butterfly or moth worth more alive than the leaf it's eating.

The same organism appears in two books — beauty and pest — and most gardeners never make the connection.

- Tomato hornworm — becomes the five-lined sphinx moth, a hummingbird-sized pollinator that works the night shift. If it's covered in tiny white cocoons, leave it — those are parasitic wasps that handle next year's population for youa
- Parsley worm — the green-black-yellow caterpillar on your dill and fennel is a black swallowtail. One parsley plant yields five to eight adult butterflies. The parsley costs two dollars
- Eastern tent caterpillar — the silk web tents in cherry and apple trees feed over 60 species of songbirds during the exact window when they're raising nestlings
- Gulf fritillary — bright orange with spines that look dangerous but are soft and harmless. Strips passionflower vine to bare stems. The vine regrows in a week
- Woolly bear — the fuzzy one crossing roads in October. Eats weeds. Threatens nothing you planted. Survives winter by freezing solid

The garden that protects the larva gets the butterfly. The one that removes it gets neither.

The weeds in a bed are one of the most reliable indicators of what the soil beneath them is doing.Before modern soil tes...
05/06/2026

The weeds in a bed are one of the most reliable indicators of what the soil beneath them is doing.
Before modern soil testing kits, farmers and gardeners read the land the old way—by watching what naturally grew. These so-called “weeds” are not random invaders; they are living indicators, quietly revealing the hidden chemistry and structure of the soil.
This visual guide highlights how common plants act as natural diagnostics:
• Ribwort Plantain → Compacted soil
• Dandelion → Compaction and low calcium
• White Clover → Low nitrogen
• Chickweed → Moist, fertile soil
• Wood Sorrel → Acidic soil, low calcium
• Common Dock → Moist, compacted, acidic soil
• Horsetail → Moist and acidic soil
• Fat Hen → Fertile and nitrogen-rich soil
• Purslane → Dry and disturbed soil
For centuries, this kind of ecological knowledge shaped agriculture across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Medieval farmers, for example, often judged land quality not by maps or instruments, but by plant communities—a tradition that still echoes in modern permaculture and regenerative farming.
The message is simple but powerful:
“Observe weeds before planting — your soil is already giving you clues.”
What looks like disorder is often information. Nature rarely wastes space, and every plant growing in a patch of earth is responding to conditions beneath the surface.
Understanding these signals connects us to a much older, quieter form of “mapping”—one where the land itself tells the story. - credit

APPLE TREE PRUNING…. It is that time of year. The following are examples of our work on two 50+ year old apple trees in ...
04/09/2026

APPLE TREE PRUNING…. It is that time of year. The following are examples of our work on two 50+ year old apple trees in Barkhamsted…before and after.

Fertilize fruit trees primarily in early spring, just before or at bud break, to support new growth and fruit set. A second, smaller application can be done in late spring or early summer (around June). Avoid fertilizing after July to prevent tender new growth from being damaged by winter cold.

Insect Control…Dormant oil spray should be applied soon. Dormant fruit tree sprays are proactive treatments applied during the winter and early spring to kill overwintering pests and disease spores before they "wake up" in the spring. By targeting these issues while trees are leafless, you can reduce the need for more aggressive chemical treatments during the growing season.

There still is a bit of my kind of snow remaining…. Snowdrops! Spring has sprung!
04/05/2026

There still is a bit of my kind of snow remaining…. Snowdrops! Spring has sprung!

Happy Easter! A flower this time a year that reminds us of “new beginnings” - glory-of-the-snow
04/05/2026

Happy Easter! A flower this time a year that reminds us of “new beginnings” - glory-of-the-snow

Right now, in wet woods across the Eastern US, a plant called Skunk Cabbage is generating its own body heat — up to 70°F...
03/04/2026

Right now, in wet woods across the Eastern US, a plant called Skunk Cabbage is generating its own body heat — up to 70°F above the surrounding air temperature — and MELTING through frozen ground from below.

This isn't photosynthesis. This is thermogenesis. The same process your body uses to stay warm.

- Skunk Cabbage is one of the only plants on Earth that produces metabolic heat
- It burns stored starch at a rate comparable to a small mammal
- Its internal temperature holds steady at 68-77°F even when the outside air is 15°F
- It pushes through snow and frozen soil by literally melting a tunnel from underneath
- The heat volatilizes its chemicals — producing a rotting-meat smell that attracts the first flies of the season

Those early flies crawl inside the hooded spathe, get warm, pick up pollen, and carry it to the next furnace down the creek.

While you're still wearing a winter coat, this plant is running a heated pollination station in a frozen swamp.

March's first bloom doesn't wait for warmth. It makes its own.

“We come from the Earth, we return to the Earth, and in between we garden" - Alfred Austin (1835–1...
02/14/2026

“We come from the Earth, we return to the Earth, and in between we garden"
- Alfred Austin (1835–1913)

Winter touches to the gardens
01/03/2026

Winter touches to the gardens

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New Hartford, CT
06057

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