Gardening: Don’t Freak Out!
Today, the Twitter world is all aflutter about this article in the Boston Herald. To be fair, I almost had a heart attack while reading it. Then, I started tweeting in all caps. That is a sure sign of a mental breakdown. But, now all of my twitter friends are going to comment on the article with helpful gardening suggestions. That …
Habitat Gardening: No Need to Destroy
Recent interactions with friends and relatives have made me muse about how wide the gap is between perception and reality regarding gardening, chemicals, weeds, pests and food. Whew, that sounds like a lot to cover during one blog post. I’ll try to be brief.
Not all Bugs are Bad
Yeah, most experienced gardeners are aware that there are beneficial insects and insects that eat everything …
What I Can’t Live Without
I’ll turn 30 on April 24th. I’ve been gardening since I was three years old. I remember picking green beans with my parents at their first house. I remember calling Asiatic lilies “bubblegum flowers” because I thought they smelled like gum. I remember dumping sand from my sandbox in my mom’s flower bed, telling her it “improved drainage.”
I had my very …
Square Foot Gardening, Organically
I have been reading the book, All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew, for another project I am working on. If you’ve been reading this winter, you know that I am [ ] that close to starting my own vegetable garden at my first house. I have grown lots of vegetables before, …
Should I Turn to Organic Gardening? Pros and Cons
You are likely reading this because you wish to know more about becoming an organic gardener, and have this burning question: How much time will this take? Or, how the heck can I keep my flowers alive in a pesticide-free yard without insects and disease destroying them? These are excellent questions, and many of the answers aren’t clear-cut. So, let’s start with the #1 basic difference …
Organic Versus Conventional Gardening – Comparing Fertilizer
We all know that organic gardening is better for your health and better for the environment, yet people new to organic gardening have way too much confusing information thrown at them. Worse, they may turn to organic gardening with the mind-set of a conventional gardener. Many conventional gardeners who go cold turkey and switch to organic fertilizer will …
Garden Tour: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Whenever I travel, I always enjoy visiting Public Gardens. I used to manage public gardens, so I got lots of great ideas for the garden where I worked at the time. Now, I just enjoy the superb horticulture, and the opportunity to get lots of pictures to share with people. I interned at the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in the spring of 2000, and I had not been back since. I was thrilled to see …
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 …
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 …
