Category Archives: Gardening Basics
Zinnias for a Riot of Summer Color
With their bright, cheerful flowers, long bloom period, and easy-going nature, Zinnias are an old-fashioned and time-honored favorite in the summer garden. These vibrant annuals, native to Mexico, come in a riot of colors, a variety of forms, and a range of sizes, making them incredibly useful in an assortment of sunny summertime settings. Usage […]
How To Succeed At Seed-Starting
It’s easy to buy seedlings, but there are many reasons why you may wish to start your own plants. By starting your own seeds, you have a much greater selection of flowers, vegetables, and herbs to choose from. For example, old favorites like hollyhocks and less common varieties of herbs and perennials as well as […]
Vertical Gardening for Small Spaces
It’s easy to maximize even the tiniest garden space when you look up – and up, and up, and up. Whether you have a balcony, deck, small terrace, raised beds or container garden, vertical gardening is a great way to increase your cultivated ground and enjoy a more abundant harvest no matter how small your […]
Creating a Backyard Ecosystem
A complete ecosystem can nourish and shelter plants and wildlife alike, and you don’t need extensive acreage or a large lot to create a thriving, healthy habitat. Creating a backyard ecosystem is an easy way to enjoy and support nature right at home. What is an Ecosystem? By definition, an ecosystem is a “bubble of […]
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 […]
Seed Starting
Starting seeds indoors is a rewarding gardening experience and can help extend your growing season to include more plant varieties than your outdoor season may permit. Furthermore, a larger selection of seed varieties doesn’t limit your opportunities to growing only those transplants that are available at planting time. The key to success in growing seedlings […]
Healthy Soil: Winter Cover Crops
It’s fall and our annual and vegetable gardens are winding down for the season. Now is the time to invest a little extra time and effort to prepare your soil for next year. Whether your garden is large or small, all annual planting beds will benefit from the addition of a winter cover crop.
Trackable Tools
It’s the beginning of a new gardening season. Hopefully you took out last year’s journal in January or February and reviewed your notes. Now is the time to begin implementing some of those great ideas.
Mowing. Do It Right
If you have a lawn then you need to mow. If you need to mow then you may as well do it right. Here are the basics...
Fire Escape Gardening
Is it possible to nurture a thriving urban garden when your garden space is simply just a narrow passage, stunted landing, and metal railings of a fire escape? Indeed, it is! Fire escape gardening can be fare more pleasant and productive than you may realize, if you adapt your gardening techniques to the unique challenges […]