Welcome to our blog’s advice on growing plants. Here you’ll find tips to green your thumb, whether you’re new to gardening or want to take your skills up a notch.
We dish practical guidance from planting to harvest. Learn how to start seeds, deal with pests safely, and reap abundant veggies and blooms.
Our farming experts break information down into simple steps. Follow their instructions to grow thriving container or raised bed gardens that fit your space.
Stop by regularly as we add new posts to help your garden thrive! We want to see you succeed at urban farming right at home.
A wheelbarrow is a staple, a must-have tool in any garden that lets you move heavy loads quickly. It can move large shrubs, rocks, soil, and other materials from one place to another and dispose of garden debris, so it’s fair to say it’s an essential item in your toolset. Choosing the right one is…
Until we solve many of our current pollution problems some urban gardens will suffer. Here are smog tolerant options for gardens in dirty cities. Sometimes plants in large, smoggy cities suffer because of the air and rain pollution. Tender plants, some tropicals and edible plants can all do poorly, show stunted growth and decreased flowering…
If your forsythia, rhododendron or weigela has no flowers it’s most likely caused by cutting it back at the wrong time. Knowing when a shrub blooms will solve the problem. In Rhode Island (USDA Zone 6), the forsythia blooms in April. If it was looking shaggy last July and you sheared it back, you can…
Successful gardeners know vegetable and flower gardening is a year-round endeavor. Even in the deepest winter there is plenty to be done to ensure a bountiful harvest. Garden maintenance begins from late fall into early winter. This is the time to prepare plants, soil and equipment to weather the harsh winter months. Work compost and organic matter…
Consider home garden designs to include interesting and colorful trees, shrubs and even vegetable plants that need little winter care and bring ife to the cold months. While many North American gardens fall into a deep sleep over the colder winter months, the color and interest of winter gardens complete with winter flowers should not…
Winter is right around the corner, which means plants are going to become scarce. Unfortunately, a favorite meal of hungry deer during the winter is personal gardens! Pre-made garden covers are usually overpriced, and there might not be one out there to fit your specific gardening needs. That’s why we’re covering how to build a…
Monarda didyma is highly attractive to hummingbirds, honeybees and butterflies, as well as providing weeks of colorful blooms each summer and early fall. Learn more! Monarda is a great way to invite hummingbirds to any garden landscape naturally. Relatively easy to grow, with large, colorful flowers, it is no secret why this herb is popular…
Hummingbird gardens attract pollinators by offering food, water and a place to rest. It is helpful to understand a pollinator’s habitat to grow a hummingbird garden. Hummingbirds are tiny birds also known as pollinators. They transfer pollen by moving from plant to plant, rubbing against a stamen then carrying pollen to the next plant. Hummingbirds…
Indoor plants such as the Peace Lily, Fern, and Cheese Plant, require plenty of watering, and can significantly contribute to a healthy living environment. Human beings were born to be outside surrounded by nature, but the urban society in which most people now live only allows them to spend a limited amount of time outdoors….
There is little information on when to start garden seeds indoors for the best results in outdoor gardening plants. True gardeners are thinking and planning the spring garden in the dead of winter, while snow is covering the ground. January is the time to start planning, selecting, and maybe even planting some seeds for the…
Planting a medicinal herb garden is an excellent way to have a constant supply of healing plants on hand for the treatment of common ailments. The use of medicinal herbs is a time-honored way of treating everyday conditions such as coughs, colds, scrapes, burns, and other minor ailments. Growing medicinal plants at home guarantees that…
There are a number of uses for lemon balm: it can be infused in oil, used in tea, or dried for cooking and crafts. Lemon balm can also be frozen in ice cubes. Lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) is part of the mint family. Like many mints, it grows robustly and is best grown in zones…
The easily grown lemon balm herb, made into a tea, bolsters mood and alertness. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), known by practitioners for over 2000 years, has many common names including Melissa, balm mint and sweet balm. Melissa is Greek for honeybee. It is an easy –to-grow garden herb, in fact, this perennial is so prolific…
Using lemon balm frequently for cooking and medicinal purposes makes this herb a rewarding addition to the home herb garden. This lemon-scented herb attracts honey bees and is a useful, prolific garden plant. Lemon balm, or Melissa Officinalis, is a member of the mint family. It’s easy to grow and easy to use for cooking…
A simple how to guide to create a butterfly garden. Environmentally friendly herb gardening to attract bees and butterflies. Insect pollinators are in serious decline. Bees and butterflies are dying. They have been in decline for some time, but recently the honeybee crisis, the disappearance of swallows from London, and the decline of butterflies has attracted…
Planting Butterfly Weed Butterfly weed is hardy in zones 4-9 and flower from midsummer to fall. The milkweed-shaped pods appear in fall and can be a winter interest. The multi-colored flower clusters are a combination of yellow, gold and orange. The upright plant grows 1-2 feet tall. The butterfly weed is a host plant because…
Allium plants are garden flowers that deter foraging deer and rodents. Ornamental onion plants are drought tolerant, a necessary asset in today’s flower gardens. Allium species include chive, garlic and onion plants. They are used as ornamental flowers or herb plants and are excellent deer and rodent resistant. Mix ornamental onion plants with other bulbs, like…
Fall bulb planting during autumn gardening is sure to be rewarded with masses of spring flowers. Narcissus, commonly called daffodil, has many bulb ideas to choose. Narcissus is the botanical name for daffodil, spring flowering bulbs planted during autumn gardening. Gardeners should consider the types of daffodil flowers and gardens they want to plant before buying….
Solidago, Helenium and Rudbekia are some favorite fall perennials that give a splendid array of flowers. Brighten up Fall gardens with red and white favorite perennials. As the russet days of Fall begin to take over the garden some summer perennials, such as aster and anemones will still be in bloom and will continue to…
If you’ve searched “landscaping without grass” before, you’ve probably hit a wall of articles promising 40, 50, even 70+ ideas. Most of that is padding. Strip out the duplicate photo dumps and stock filler, and the real playbook for replacing a lawn comes down to a handful of genuinely different approaches, plus a few things…
Below are 25+ awesome DIY Fall Garden Ideas that you can try this Halloween. 1. Tipsy Pumpkin Planter 2. Fall Front Porch Source 3. Pumpkins & Marigolds 4. Fall planter with colorful lettuce, grass and orange leafy pretties 5. Pine Cones and Acorns: Fall Inspiration for Your Front Entry Source 6. Flower Pot Pumpkin~T~ a cute idea for fall…
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