Birds disperse the seeds of invasive plants that often crowd or even kill native plants. Yet, these berries are often essential, providing birds with needed nutrients. Hikers walking along the edges of woodlands in late fall and early winter are often amazed by large masses of red berries on shrubs and trees. These berries serve…
Learn some guidelines for using evergreens in the garden to provide winter interest. Look at the types of evergreens available, and variety of uses for your landscape. In the winter, evergreen plants move from the background elements we build the rest of our gardens around, to the primary players that are hugely important. A winter…
See the best of the new perennial plants available to home gardeners. New colors, healthier plants and interesting flower forms can all be found. This new year finds gardeners with many new plant choices to use in their gardens, containers and flower borders this year. Here are some of the best and most unique new…
See the best of the new annual plants available to home gardeners. New colors, healthier plants and interesting flower forms can all be found. Annual plants add quick color, long-lasting flowers and great accents to garden beds, borders and containers. Here are some of the best new annuals of the new year. 1. Ginger ‘Tahitian…
Whether gas, corded or cordless (battery), the grass trimmer’s string feed system is critical. Here’s how to choose the best for your purposes. Grass trimmers are used for precision cutting of grass that has been missed by mowers. Instead of steel blades, nylon string is used to cut the grass. This is safer and…
The charming Japanese Painted Fern is a hardy and colorful addition to any shade garden design. It is easy to see why the Japanese Painted Fern variety “Pictum” was chosen Perennial of the Year in 2004. Rising in a graceful arch, its lacy silvery-green fronds unfurl from a blood red stem to display a soft…
Heart-shaped pink and white flowers delicately dangling from graceful arching stems of lacey foliage make Bleeding Hearts a favorite flower in the spring garden. The distinctive heart-shaped flowers of Dicentra spectabilis have inspired a romantic tale of love and loss. Carefully separating the flower blossom, the ears of a pink rabbit, a pair of delicate pink slippers…
A sustainable collection of flowering plants begins with lamb’s ear. Stachys, Geranium, Nepeta, Salvia and Monarda are sun loving perennials for a summer garden. Stachys is the soft wooly lamb’s ear plant gardeners like brushing their hands against. However, the Stachys called common betony is a lamb’s ear too, but with larger stiff green leaves and tall flower…
Plant a special garden filled with colorful, sun-loving flowers. These easy-go-grow favorites will keep it looking good all season long. Plants have different light requirements, and to ignore them is folly. Choosing flowers for a sunny garden will be a rewarding experience as long as the plants’ light requirements are compatible with the light available…
Perennial flowers once tall can now be found in shorter varieties fitting a petite garden. These small plants will bloom spring through summer in a sunny border garden. This perennial idea will fit in a petite garden because it uses shorter more compact plants. Planted together in full sun, this bloom sequence runs spring through…
These half hardy herbaceous plants give a stunning garden display and are easy to grow, but at risk from winter frost. However, overwintering dahlia tubers is quite easy. Dahlias are one of the most popular and versatile of ornamental flowering plants. They have a long history as garden plants; today there are over 50,000 different dahlia…
Divide tubers and root cuttings to increase dahlia plants and provide masses of cut flowers from late summer through to the first frost. There are two schools of thought on dahlia tubers: Leave them in the ground through the winter, or dig them and store them. For Tubers that Have Wintered Over in the Garden…
Dahlia flowers are popular landscape plants known for their wide range of colors, heights and forms. These versatile flowers are ideal for novice gardeners. Dahlias, which can grow as either annuals or perennials, are plants that produce striking colorful flowers. These easy-to-grow plants make excellent flowerbed additions as their flowers come in one of the…
Composting worms do need moisture, but too much can kill. Overly wet bins can also foster pest insect outbreaks. Give worms adequate moisture, but not too much. The ideal moisture content for worm bins is material that feels like a wrung out sponge. Undoubtedly, enclosed worms bins will often be moister than a wet sponge….
Most preschool Christmas crafts need only paper, glue, and paint, but the right prep and one small-parts check keep them fun for kids and calm for you.
Looking for creative, inexpensive gifts for the family, friends and others on your holiday shopping list? Read on! With so many family members and friends to buy gifts for at Christmas, it’s essential to budget a reasonable amount to spend on the many presents you’ll purchase. Here are some creative, inexpensive ideas for festive holiday…
Compost is a vital element in the organic garden, so you mustn’t let the absence of a bin stop you from harvesting black gold. If you’re new to organic gardening, you may have yet to acquire the perfect compost bin for your property. To some observers, compost bins seem to fall into two categories. Some…
Learn three methods that will speed up the rate at which your compost pile generates viable compost. This article details how to compost effectively. There are several practices and methods one can implement while composting that will increase the productivity and health of one’s compost pile. In this article, one will learn about three methods…
Organic gardeners can create odorless compost indoors using modern bins and composting methods. No red worms are required. Indoor composting is nothing new to organic gardeners. In the past, gardeners have employed the use of red wiggler or manure worms to turn kitchen scraps into humus for gardens or houseplants. However, not every gardener is…
People associate composting with hard work, rodents and dirty smells. Nothing could be further from the truth. Reduce your kitchen scraps and enjoy a bountiful garden. Compost is often called Black Gold and for a reason! This precious resource is so easy to produce with ingredients that abound in every family’s home, yet composting is…
A teapot makes a charming little garden, as long as you give it drainage, check the glaze before you plant herbs, and bring it in before a hard freeze.
