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50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants
EDIT: Patrick is the winner of the giveaway! You all remember my excitement recently to have discovered this lovely new book from Timber Press. Ruth Rogers Clausen shows off 50 top picks for deer-resistant gardens, and gives about two pages of in-depth information about how to design with each plant, what other plants look best…
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Lawn Hacks for Organic Gardening Geeks
Lawn care, at first glance, seems pretty straightforward. Mow, water, apply various bagged items, and take the time to frolic playfully on your fancypants expanse of greenery. But after owning a lawn for any period of time, most of us start to ponder the deeper questions surrounding lawn. Questions like, “dang, why does my water…
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Drift Roses, the Dwarf Knockout Relative
As an organic landscaper, I’ve long been annoyed by those weakling, disease-prone roses that are pesticide junkies from day one. Yet when roses are done right, the colors, fragrance, and luxuriant flowers are hard to resist. They have that old-fashioned, secret garden-type appeal that makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside. That’s why…
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The Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower
This review is of the premium StaySharp Max reel mower. There are also two budget models available that have different features. Read a comparison of the three mowers in the Fiskars StaySharp line here. Lately, I’ve been realizing just how much I hate mowing my lawn with my old gas mower. It’s stinky, it’s noisy,…
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Monday Miscellany: Read This Now Edition
This week, it’s all about books. And, um, giveaways. Of books! First off, Timber Press, publishers of so many of my favorite gardening books, is holding a giveaway for the deer-resistant gardening book I profiled recently for the Christian Science Monitor. Not only can you win a copy of the book 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants,…
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Prune Your Hellebores: A Public Service Announcement
Lenten roses, Helleborus orientalis, are gorgeous in winter. They’re gorgeous in spring, too. But if you don’t deadhead them once they’re done blooming, they stop being gorgeous and start looking ratty. Then, they turn into spawning hellcats, dropping masses of seeds that sprout into masses of tiny, slow-growing, hard-to-remove seedlings that, yes, could theoretically turn…
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Monday Miscellany: Sustainability Freaks
Kicking things off, Ginny Stibolt takes P. Allen Smith and others to task for taking the old-skool pesticide philosophy (kill! Kill them all!) and trying to make it eco by using organic pesticides. And sure, if you’ve gotta spray, go organic. But as she points out, poison is poison, people. If you care about supporting…
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Ditch the Sunhat: Sun Protection Tips You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
Hold up, don’t report me to the Melanoma Society just yet. You probably shouldn’t actually ditch your sun hat. But if you’re like me and have never been able to get into wearing hats while gardening, here are two odd things I do to get a bit more protection than the average “slather self in…
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Monday Miscellany: Drunken Shenanigans Edition
Local author Amy Stewart has become my very favorite non-fiction writer, not only because she’s so fun to read, but because her writing is so very practical in everyday life. Case in point: the other day, a mildly tipsy houseguest was about to tell me a story about banana slugs for the third time. I…
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Deer Resistant Gardening Made Easy: a Book Review
Ruth Rogers Clausen, author of 50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants, has some straightforward advice for dealing with deer, and selecting beautiful plants that will go well together in deer country. I share some of her advice for dealing with deer over at the Christian Science Monitor, and give an in-depth review of her new book there…
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New Garden Inspiration: Google Image Search by Image
I’m guessing most of you are familiar with the simple Google image search. You type in what you want, you get to look at lots of pretty pictures. It’s great for figuring out what might look good next to that sleek orange grass you just bought, or narrowing down which variety of Alstroemeria you have.…