-
Monday Miscellany: Groundcovers, Werewolves, Trunksters PLUS Fame and Glory!!
I’m starting a new series where every Monday I’ll share some cool stuff that I’m seeing around the web or elsewhere… Gardening Gone Wild’s Groundcover Design Workshop Gardening Gone Wild has a Garden Blogger’s Design Workshop every month, and this month the topic is groundcovers and mulch, a subject dear to my heart. It’s early…
-
Honeybee Love: Keeping Honeybees Safe While Using Pesticides
We’ve all heard about the plight of the honeybees by now – pesticides, hive infections, and other causes are combining to make it a very hard time to be a honeybee. If you’re thinking to yourself that it’s not the worst thing in the world to have one less type of stinging insect around –…
-
Gardening Podcasts: Do You Listen?
Gardening is often a solitary hobby, only shared with friends when they come by for a tour or to take some of our extra zucchini off our hands. But every so often during those marathon weeding days, don’t you wish you had some goofy gardening buddies to keep you company? I mean, the dog’s cool…
-
Coastal Gardening: Groundcover Plants for the Sea Coast
Using groundcovers in sea coast gardens can give you easy low-maintenance color. I love to use ground-covering plants in masses because the waves of color kind of echo the broad waves of the ocean. Planting groundcovers also avoids a lot of the issues found when planting individual shrubs or trees. When planted in masses, the…
-
The GroundHog Rake: A Video Review, and Why I Love it for Mulching
This time of year, I’m adding a fresh layer of bark mulch to many of my gardens to hold moisture in and keep the weeds down. Right now it’s especially easy to do because the plants are still small from winter dormancy, so I can spread it out without having to bend and wiggle to…
-
Best of the Web: Focal Points, Garden Tours, and Houseplants for the Coming Zombie Apocalypse
I’ve seen so many great articles this week that I had to share them with you all. I’ve been out in the garden, trying out some new tools, listening to a delightful new audiobook and enjoying (finally!) a bit of sunshine to garden in. While I’ve been outside, everyone else has been posting some great…
-
Plants to Love: Purple Catmint (Nepeta faassenii)
Simple, lush, gorgeous. This sun-lover attracts bees and beneficial insects, resists deer, takes salty seacoast wind, and looks great with any number of plants. All it asks in return is good drainage and full sun. I love it with just about any ornamental grass, pink or yellow roses (it attracts the beneficial bugs that eat…
-
Coastal Gardening: Shade-Loving Plants for the Sea Coast
Sea coast gardening is challenging enough in full sun, but choosing wind- and salt-tolerant plants for the shade can be downright daunting. Most shade plants didn’t evolve in unprotected, windy zones – they are used to the shelter of trees. Not to worry – there are a few beautiful plants that can help give your…
-
Tender Plants to Plant in Spring, Not Fall
You’ve probably already heard me go on about how fall is the best time to plant, but – it’s not the best time to plant everything! If you’re in zonal denial like me and want to plant a few things that push the boundaries of your climate, or even plants that do great once established…
-
Coastal Gardening: Perennial Flowers for the Sea Coast
Recently I discussed some of the challenges people face when gardening in windy coastal conditions, and some counter-intuitive tips for gardening on the sea coast. The biggest struggle is finding plants that will thrive and bloom even with all that wind and salt. Trial and error is a big part of gardening, but it’s nice…
-
Book Review: The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden by Valerie Easton
You’d think that a landscape designer who also does landscape maintenance would be dismissive of the whole low-maintenance gardening thing. After all, there’s a negative impression of low-maintenance gardens as being dull, static, lifeless places devoid of wildlife or any personal character. But there is a balance in a well-designed garden between hardscape (the patios,…