Garden Design Articles
Organic Landscaping
Am I seriously going to write a post about Organic Landscaping? Yes. Why? Well, because there is a lot of talk about Organic Gardening, and rightfully so (that is what this site is about, yes?), but not so much talk about organic landscaping. Why might we care? Well, because “landscaping” is kind of another term for the plants …
Fall Color in the Garden
Fall color is at peak in some areas and passed in others. To leaf-peepers at home and on vacation, the fiery red of sugar maples, purples of sweet gums and brilliant yellows of birches is a beautiful mystery. It doesn’t have to be so. Here is an easy primer on fall color.
You Look Lovely in Red
Most of …
Planning a Habitat Garden: North and South
The problem about giving gardening advice on a website that is not region-specific, is that every piece of advice has to be replicated in duplicate or triplicate for it to be useful. That is just fine! Repeating the same advice for three or four climate zones will help with our “Natural Search.” (Ha ha! Another pun! I am bad with the …
Habitat Gardens: Happy Meals and a Home for Garden Critters
“Invite animals into my garden? I don’t THINK so!” I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that from many serious gardeners if asked whether they welcome or shoo away insects, small mammals, birds and other animals to their gardens. Yes, deer herds indiscriminately ripping baby lettuces out of the vegetable garden, and cheerfully eating hostas and stripping arborvitae of their leaves is maddening. …
Garden Paths: Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Garden paths are essential for anyone who is fully bent on eradicating grass from the yard. You might not think that is your goal—but if you are a hard-core gardener, just watch how fast a small flower bed project can turn into a yard makeover. This happened in my yard this spring. What started as a little bed next to …
Go Organic in Community Gardens
Community gardens are, more or less, just what they sound like – large garden plots tended by the entire community. Most often, the large plot is divided into sections, and each section is tended by a different gardener. Community gardens are great places for people living in apartments, townhouses or other areas with little yard space to grow fresh fruits and vegetables, cut flowers and herbs. Community gardens sprout mostly in urban …
How to Create a Backyard Butterfly Garden
Butterfly conservatories are a favorite tourist attraction in any city lucky enough to have one. You don’t have to wait for a vacation to a far-off place to enjoy bountiful displays of butterflies! Planting a backyard butterfly garden is easy and fun. The key to raising your own butterflies is to grow plants for the larva to eat, for holding the chrysalis, …
What Flowers Should I Chose?
Choosing what flowers to put where can be a fun and exciting part of gardening. That said, it can also be one of the most frustrating experiences you’ll ever have. With a huge selection of seeds, plants, and bulbs available, how do you decide what’s best for you?
Research is the best way to figure out what you want and if it’ll work in your garden. There are a ton of gardening sites on the …
The Joy Of Pansies in Your Garden.
When the winter winds blow and I am feeling completely dejected, I make myself feel better, by reading my seed catalogues.
Of all the pictures of flowers that I see, nothing makes me smile more than the pictures of Pansies!. They have such expressive faces, I feel that they are almost human and are smiling out of the pages at me.
I started trays of pansies in my basement some years …
How to Grow an English Garden
In the days of old England, many of the workers in small villages were called peasants, and they owned small houses with very small gardens. These gardens would have to supply the family with all of their gardening needs. The kitchen garden would consist of vegetables and mixed fruits. In amongst this array of produce they would also grow flowers. This was the start of organic gardening as we …
