The mystery rose that came from my neighbor's garden started sending up suckers throughout the bed, threatening to take it over. What did I do? I sent it to Rose Purgatory.
Design
A Garden Bed Grows Up: The Evolution of a Flower Border
March 24, 2019 – Posted in: Design, West DeckSpring is right around the corner, and I've been going through photos of the garden bed adjoining our back deck. My, has it grown up--but it also needs tinkering. If you're looking for some flower power to get you through mud season, c'mon over and check this post out. Who knows? Maybe you'll get some ideas for your own spring renovation.
Let’s Talk About Color
February 25, 2018 – Posted in: DesignI thought it was the end of the world when I discovered my daughters didn't see the colors in my garden the way I did. A garden I toured in Buffalo helped change my mind. Read the rest of my blog post to find out how.
How To Create And Maintain Trails In Your Woods
January 4, 2018 – Posted in: Habitat gardening, Hardscaping and Projects, How-toI love to walk the path through our woods. And maintaining them as I walk along them, I feel like I'm gardening in the depths of winter. If you have woods on your property, read how I've created these paths and start some of your own!
What Placeholder Plants Can Do For You
July 9, 2017 – Posted in: Design, How-toWhen I finally grasped the concept of placeholder plants, it changed my life. Well, what I mean is, it reduced my garden maintenance load and I enjoyed my garden more, with less work. Not precisely life-changing, but definitely life-improving. A placeholder plant is a garden-worthy plant that you happen to have a lot of, which [...]
The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden: Book Review
September 29, 2015 – Posted in: Book reviews, Habitat gardening, Native/InvasiveI picked up Roy Diblik's The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden from the library shelf because I knew the author supplied the plants for the Lurie Garden in Chicago, working closely with designer Piet Oudolf, and I wanted to learn more about the naturalistic style of gardening that both of these men espouse. Yes, there is [...]
How to Have the First Bloom on Your Block: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day March 2015
March 15, 2015 – Posted in: Design, Mud Season, The Earliest Flowers, What's up/bloomingIt is more important to have the first bloom on your block than the first tomato. The first outdoor bloom is a potent morale booster, signifying that the back of winter has been broken. However, to have the very first flower blooming in your neighborhood is not a matter left to chance. You must employ [...]
Book Giveaway! The Right-Size Flower Garden: Design Solutions for (almost) Auto-Pilot Gardens
February 11, 2015 – Posted in: DesignWe’re busy, we’re aging, but we love gardening! Are you swamped with a job and family; or an over-50 gardener that doesn’t move at the same pace; or a city dweller with a passion for plants but little space to work with? I bet you fall into one of the above scenarios. I fit two [...]
Make That Lingering Snow Earn Its Keep
March 21, 2014 – Posted in: Design, Front of the House, Hardscaping and Projects, How-to, New House, New GardensThe snow is melting, but not fast enough to suit me. I've already taken pictures of where the snow melts first, so I know where to plant my spring-flowering bulbs this fall. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, I realized this lingering snow was the perfect opportunity to outline a new garden [...]
How to Analyze An Area of Your Yard to Improve It: The Parking Pad Bed
March 9, 2014 – Posted in: Design, How-to, New House, New Gardens, Parking Pad BedIn case you are just joining in: About two-and-a-half years ago our family moved from our long-time rural home to a different 19th-century farm house about twenty-five minutes from our previous one. I have been renovating the landscape around the house in a non-systematic frenzy and writing about it as time permits. (Previous posts are [...]
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