Growing a lawn is one of those pastimes that have begun to fall out of favor due to environmental concerns, yet it won’t be going away any time soon. Your turf is a cultivated weed that, on its own, isn’t necessarily bad for the environment. However, as many species can become invasive and lawns require … Read more
Unlike most types of gardens, your lawn is one you probably never associated with gardening. However, caring for a lawn can be a lot of work and require many (or even more) chemicals to maintain, compared with a flower or vegetable garden. Herbicides are practically essential for maintaining your lawn, and you’ll likely need to … Read more
A garden needs dramatic accent plants! Use them sparingly so that they will be effective. In contrast with its surroundings, a plant becomes an accent piece. Color, texture, shape, and size all enter the picture. The tall spires of a verbascum plant punctuate a long flower border. Coleus plants make a Persian carpet of rich … Read more
Use steps to make your garden more convenient and interesting. Practical types do the dutiful work of getting you up and down from one level to another. At the same time, garden steps offer many artistic opportunities. Friendly steps invite visitors along the path, whether up or down from the parking area to the front … Read more
Dependably hardy, at least as far north as southern New England, Japanese holly is also easy to grow in the mid-South. Like American holly, the Japanese make a larger plant there. In fact, it can become a small tree in that mild climate. Ilex crenata and its varieties remain handsome throughout the most bitter New … Read more
Photographers might be amazed to learn that a very old garden perennial could furnish enough light to be photographed at night long before the modern flashbulb or speedlight was invented. Such a plant is the Dictamnus albus, appropriately called the “gas-plant” or “burning bush.” The flower stalks of Dictamnus (pronounced dick-TAM-nuss) are heavily coated with … Read more
Few plants have everything— neat foliage, fragrant, attractive flowers, the possibility of fruit, and the case of culture. Yet the one which comes closest to this perfection, in my opinion, is Carissa grandiflora, specifically its variety, Nana compacta, the dwarf, spineless Natal plum. Carissa Grandiflora’s Striking Features This particular variety of carissa has dark, shiny, … Read more
Expanses of unadorned walls are becoming a part of our American scene. This is equally true of residential as well as business structures. To the designer, these large unbroken areas represent today’s concept of functional design. To the builder, they mean faster production. To the gardener, these blank walls may be considered new canvases against … Read more
Although you may have rampant color in your shady garden in spring, summer flowers that bloom prolifically there are scarce. So you turn to other ways of making a shady garden interesting and of keeping it that way all season. Accessories As Focal Points For Your Shady Garden First of all, you can introduce such … Read more
When you arrange your patio, throw away preconceived notions. Work with a free hand and a free mind, confident that with patioscaping, anything goes and everything grows. For once, in gardening, you create the environment and are not the unwilling accomplice to it. If you want the patio in partial shade, roof it over with … Read more