If you love to grow vegetables, but find you can never eat all your garden yields, here’s an alternative to researching new recipes in anticipation of your millionth tomato. Grow some decorative gourds in place of a portion of your usual edible veggies. Decorative gourds have potential as centerpieces, serving bowls, storage containers, birdhouses, and […]
Try This Tool for Quick Acorn Clean Up! Anyone who has a mature Oak on their property knows that it’s a love-hate relationship with this tree. The mess dropped from the spring flowers is easy enough to clean up with light raking and mowing, but acorns in the fall are another story. Oaks are beautiful trees and provide […]
Autumn is a wonderful time for planting in the landscape or container garden: temperatures are more moderate, soil moisture is easier to maintain, root growth increases in most trees and shrubs, it’s easier to see where empty or lacking places are than in spring and we plant tenders have caught our second wind! Spring flowering […]
“If you would be happy for a lifetime, grow Chrysanthemums.” (Chinese philosopher) More than just a late-season garden booster, Chrysanthemums are used throughout the world in medicine, pest controls, edibles and teas. They are plants that have continually proved their worth, in both utility and beauty, since ancient times.
The original idea of mixing vegetables and flowers was based not in prettiness, but in pest control. The following are commonly used for this purpose and the petals of the Nasturtiums and Calendula also make a colorful & tasty addition to salads!
The mere presence of a lone Peace Lily tucked in the corner of the living room is nice. But, with a bit more thought and effort regarding placement, arrangement and interaction with houseplants, benefits similar to those received from being outdoors in nature can be achieved. Of course, this is all based on having more […]
Upright (thriller, vertical) plants add vertical interest and a sense of height to planting arrangements, making them more lively and dynamic. Mounding (filler, anchor) plants are used to create stability in planting arrangements. They bring a sense of balance to even the boldest combinations. Trailing (spiller, spreading) plants are the final “accessory” in planting arrangements. […]
Hot, bold hues and diversified shades of foliage are all the rage. From Tangerine Tango, the new Pantone color of the year, to rich jewel tones galore, make this seasons’ garden space your own tropical paradise. Dramatic foliage plants such as Black Lace™ Elderberry or ‘Black Magic’ Colocasia help create that relaxed island feel. Plant […]
For all those who garden, it is common knowledge that gardening is truly therapeutic. However, there may be some folks out there that are unaware of the many impacts that a simple plant can have on one’s state of mind. There have been many studies linking the health benefits of plants in the work place […]
Perennials come back year after year and give an excellent return on a gardener’s investment of time, energy and money. Perennials can provide a beautifully shifting display of texture and color throughout the seasons, without the removing and replacing of plants that would be needed to bring a fresh look to annual plantings. Most can […]
Benefits of Mulching Long before modern day use as a purely decorative element, mulch had an established history of benefitting plants, soil and gardeners. This is still its highest calling. A good layer of beneficial mulch can reduce stress on plants by regulating soil temperatures and reducing moisture loss and competition from weeds. In the […]
Miniature gardens…. a refreshing take on container gardening, an enchanting way to introduce children to the world of plants, and for those of you who must succumb to the changing of the seasons, a miniature garden is the perfect way to continue your love of gardening through the dismal days of winter. These little landscapes […]
Pruning of trees and shrubs can help them stay within a certain size limit to fit the confines and aesthetics of a garden space. More importantly, pruning encourages fuller plants – thus more foliage for photosynthesis, more blooms to attract pollinators, more fruits for you and any creatures you share them with.
Hosta and ferns are standards for the perennial shade garden. They have similar growing condition requirements and the contrast of fine-textured fronds and broad Hosta leaves does bring dimension and quiet contrast. All well and good for a supremely serene retreat, but what if you’d like to energize your shadowy shade realm a bit?
Recycling in the garden can be a trash-to-treasure happy ending for your storage space, the environment and your garden! Here is a sampling of creative ways in which potential discards can be used for containers, edging or fencing, labeling, supports and just plain fun in the garden.