Articles
Over-Wintering Container Plants Outdoors
All containerized plants that are considered hardy in your zone can spend the winter outdoors, but you do need to take a little special care to keep them safe and comfortable as temperatures drop. Despite their hardiness, winter is still a challenging season, but it is possible to keep your container plants healthy until the days grow longer and warmer again.Read More...
Fairy Garden Magic
Do you think your tiny balcony terrace means you can't have a grand garden? Are you looking for a clever and imaginative way to introduce a child to the world of plants? Have you ever dreamed of your own "McGregor's Garden?" One of the newest gardening trends can do all these and a whole lot more!Read More...
Japanese Beetle Reduction Methods
Japanese beetles can be a scourge of the garden and landscape, but what can you do to keep these pests at bay?Read More...
Birdscaping
As wildlife habitats are threatened by development, the creation of a bird-friendly environment that provides food, water and shelter is crucial to the existence of our wild bird population. Caring for our feathered-friends is an educational and enjoyable activity for the entire family that brings beauty and song to our lives.Read More...
Grasses With Gusto
Ornamental Grasses lend a unique dimension to any landscape with their texture, sound, motion and architecture. By planting ornamental grasses, you can also add multi-seasonal excitement to your landscape.Read More...
Think Outside the Window Box
Do you want to add more plants to your yard but think you're out of space for any more gardening? No matter how large or small your outdoor living area, no matter what types of plants you favor, you can always find the space for a new garden when it's housed in a container – and that container doesn't have to be the same old window box or boring planterRead More...
The Enabled Gardener
As we age, many activities that have brought us joy are lost as physical limitations set in. Gardening does not have to be one of those lost hobbies. With a little planning, gardening can be made accessible for everyone. No matter what your needs or abilities, there are ways to modify your practices, situations and tools so that you can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening.Read More...
Pruning Red Raspberries
There's an unfounded rumor that raspberries are difficult to prune. This isn't true if you understand the type of raspberry in your garden. Summer-bearing raspberries produce only one harvest per year while everbearing, or fall-bearing, raspberries can produce two harvests.Read More...
The Fall Herb Garden
The end of the summer doesn’t mean the end of deliciousness from your garden, not when a fall herb garden can add tantalizing tastes to all your meals. As the season changes, give your herbs a little tender loving care to ensure that they thrive through fall and into winter. Caring for Perennial Herbs Perennial […]Read More...
Get Started Composting
Fall is an excellent time to start a compost pile with all of the leaves falling, and if you develop compost now, you will have a rich source of organic material for your garden and flowerbeds in spring. Read More...
The Fall Vegetable Garden
Fresh vegetables don't have to end as the days grow shorter - fall is a great time to plant an autumn garden to extend the growing season.Read More...
Grow a Salad in a Single Pot
You don’t need a large, sprawling garden to enjoy a crisp salad fresh-picked from your own plants. With careful choices and proper care, you can grow a healthy, delicious salad in just one pot! Best Pots for Growing Salads Ideally, larger pots with ample room for a variety plants are best for growing container salads. […]Read More...
The Sweet Scents of Spring
Each year, we gardeners grow antsy as winter draws to a close but it seems spring will never arrive. Daily, the season teases, tempts and enchants us with the slightest offerings as the temperatures rise, a balmy breeze brushes our cheeks and the days grow a bit longer, but all we see is a world […]Read More...
The Great Squirrel Battle for the Bulbs
Autumn is the catalog time of year, when gardeners devour and drool over the spring-blooming bulb catalogs, eagerly fantasizing about next year's flowerbeds.Read More...
Delightful Daffodils
Spring flowering bulbs are a must for every garden. They provide cheerful early-season color at a time when it is most needed, both in the landscape and by our winter weary souls. Daffodils are some of the most delightful Spring flowering bulbs! What makes them so delightful is their ease of care, diversity in their […]Read More...
Fall Lawn Care
Fall is the best time of the year to overseed your existing lawn or establish a new lawn. If your lawn is a bit thin, has bare patches or needs good care, now is the time to take care of it so it can become thoroughly established before warm temperatures arrive in spring.Read More...
Problems With Your Compost Pile? Fix Them!
A compost pile should be part of every gardener's yard, since it adds so many benefits for recycling and providing organic material in the garden.Read More...
Watering When Away
It’s vacation time! You’re going to be gone for two weeks or more, your friends, neighbors and family members are all busy and the weatherman says it’s going to be “hot, hot, hot.” What about your houseplants? Fear not! A few minutes of thoughtful planning and a quick trip to the garden center will ensure […]Read More...
Light Up Your Landscape
When the sun goes down, your landscape doesn’t need to go dark with it. There are many energy-efficient, attractive options for landscape lighting that can showcase your favorite specimen plants, prized flowerbeds and unique landscaping features even long after dark. Why We Need Light Plants don’t need light 24 hours a day, so why is […]Read More...
Color Combinations
It can be tempting to create a rainbow of riotous shades in container gardens, but are they as pretty as you imagine? Too many colors can be distracting and disjointed, giving your containers a haphazard, messy look. Instead, create a unified look in your container plantings by selecting two or three colors, rather than trying […]Read More...
Protecting Trees From Drought Stress
Summer can be the most stressful time of year for landscape plants with heat and drought being the main offenders. When not receiving sufficient moisture, plants are much more susceptible to insect and disease damage. Trees are the most valuable landscape plants and can be the most difficult to replace, so it is sensible that […]Read More...
The Cottage Garden
English in origin, the primary function of the cottage garden was for growing vegetables, fruit and herbs for the home. Most herbs were used for medicinal purposes while the vegetables and fruit were a food source. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, however, the use of the cottage garden went from utilitarian to […]Read More...
Shrubs for Summer Color
Many gardeners assume that the brightest flowers are only seen in spring, but there are many stunning shrubs that have great color all through the summer. Some feature outstanding blooms while others have equally showy foliage and can brighten up any yard. But which will look best in your yard? Top Summer Color Shrubs There […]Read More...
Lighting Up Your Nighttime Garden
Do you work all day in an office, on the road or even in the garden, but never have the time to enjoy the beautiful plants you spend time nurturing? Evening gardens are meant to help us relax, encourage savoring a refreshing evening and wrap us in their brilliance, and one of the best ways […]Read More...
Lyme Disease
For those of us who work and play outdoors in deer tick-infested areas, Lyme disease is a reality. If caught early, the disease is usually cured with antibiotics. If not detected and treated early, Lyme disease can be a debilitating condition that may linger for months or years. Lyme disease is transmitted through the bite […]Read More...
