Gardening

Some years it feels like fall comes and goes with a few blinks of the eye. One week there are green leaves on the trees, then, unexpectedly, cold nights come, …

If you’ve got houseplants, chances are you own an aloe vera. Aloes are simple to care for and easy to get your hands on, making them one of the most …

As the temperatures lean toward the cooler side and the growing season is winding down, strawberries are usually the last thing you’re thinking about. However, if you want to ensure …

If you’ve ever seen houseplants planted in LECA and you thought to yourself “why would anyone use cocoa puffs to pot their plants in?”, let me assure you that you’re …

When it comes to a bountiful garden harvest, one doesn’t often stop to think, “the smaller, the better.” Yet, it depends on what you’re harvesting. Everybody loves an enormous pumpkin, …

Earwigs are abundant in the moist and dark nooks of the garden. Moving a flower pot or overturning a stone can be a startling reminder of their presence, revealing dozens …

Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) aren’t native to Jerusalem, nor the Middle East, as their name suggests. They have been cultivated as native plants in North America and Canada for hundreds …

Let me start with a weird question: have you ever tried to drink a glass of water while holding your breath? It doesn’t sound like a good idea, does it?* …

At first glance, plants might appear totally helpless against insects, herbivores, and other leaf-gobbling predators. Like sitting ducks, plants are rooted in one spot so they can’t do the whole …

Learn from my mistakes – always, always survey your working area before packing it in for the day. Or else…this will happen: Yup, gardening tools left outside to weather the …

All gardeners make mistakes. It could be sowing all your seeds at once – who has time to spread out planting while at the same time remembering where the seeds …

As summer evenings start to edge on the cooler side to make way for fall, you can put your ear close to the ground and hear the percussive march of …

Have you ever heard of anise hyssop? I hadn’t until a few years ago when a generous gardening friend shared an extra plant she had oversown. That first spring, I …

As it often happens, this article was inspired by a leisurely puttering session in my garden. I was collecting seeds, as you do in late summer, and wondering how many …

I hate to say it, but the end of summer is drawing near. Yup, we all blinked, and here it is. The shadows are growing longer each afternoon, and we’ve …

You know you can stop digging your garden anytime, right? It’s not a must to create a lush, backyard garden full of nutritious edible vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruits. Gone …

What is compost? Compost is, in essence, decomposed matter that can be fed to plants.  We’ve found that many people are overwhelmed by the idea of composting and are afraid …

Beets are a cool season crop to love or loathe. While some of us adore the earthy flavor, especially in pickled beets, others claim the roots taste like dirt – …

As gardeners, it’s often necessary to wear different hats for all the various jobs that tending a garden entails. Depending on the day (and time of year), we’re site planners, …

We’ve already discussed the many ways that Castile soap can save you time and money inside your home. So, how about you grab your favorite bottle of liquid Castile soap …

I love summer squash, don’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever had a garden that didn’t have a zucchini plant in it. And why not? Zucchini and summer squash are …

Propagation by division is the name given to the technique where gardeners divide perennial plants to make new ones. Division is one of the easiest methods of propagation, and is …

Fruit-bearing trees that are left to grow just as nature intended will become massive over time. Although beautiful, mature fruit trees with large spreading canopies and dense crowns will shade …

Good friends are hard to come by. But good neighbors? Harder still. So, when you’ve grown tired of staring out your kitchen window at the neighbor’s collection of “classic” cars, …