When maintenance becomes too burdensome, gardening ceases to be a pleasure. My idea of the straw that breaks the camel’s back is a businessman who comes home tired after a day’s work and then has to put in a couple of hours at the end of a garden hose. When we built our home, I … Read more
It is raining this morning as I write this—a light, gentle sprinkle that began sometime after midnight. The wind is carrying the rain through the screen onto my floor, but I shall not shut out the music of the falling drops by closing the door. It is the most wonderful sound we have heard in … Read more
Thousands of additional gallons of valuable rainwater can be easily and economically spread on your lawn each year. Here is a method you may use to build a new home or rebuild your lawn. You may use this method without further approval if you are located in a non-restricted rural area. However, in most metropolitan … Read more
Lawns, like buildings, must be constructed with a good foundation to withstand time and remain in good condition. Materials to start a good lawn include 6” to 12” inches of good topsoil over a well-drained (or tiled) subsoil. Along with this must come proper slopes for good surface drainage. Next, we need good seeds, fertilizer, … Read more
You hear a lot about “chain reaction” these days. But, believe it or not, the rain here this noon is affecting you, whether you are living in Maine, Florida, or Montana. That may sound a bit mysterious or like a most powerful rain. Actually, it was hardly more than a good sprinkle. But after getting … Read more
When I read about people who let the hose run all night, I feel like saying, “There isn’t that much water in the world.” It is a sure thing that there isn’t that much water in our immediate neighborhood. We had a space under the living room windows on the south side of our house … Read more
Sprinkler systems for lawns and gardens had come a long way since a generation ago when they were afforded only by the very rich. In many parts of the land where natural rain is a rarity, they are frequently planned into new home lots from the beginning. Even when rains are more plentiful, the homeowner … Read more
Bottomless buckets, rusty cans, and decrepit bushel baskets become commodities of value when plants need umbrellas. I once used (with much success) an old bushel basket to shade a white deutzia transplanted while it was in bloom. It needed shade and wind protection while recovering from the shock of being moved and while it was … Read more
Do spring’s incessant showers bewitch you into thinking that midsummer will be just as kind to your garden? For most climates, drought in varying degrees of severity is a certainty for the months of July and August. By using today’s innovations for applying water to plants, you can guarantee that your garden will never know … Read more