Vermicomposting is the technical name for worm composting, the process of using worms to digest food scraps and turn them into rich garden compost. Commercial worm bins work well, but they cost $100 or more at many retailers, and most gardeners would rather spend that money on plants. A stack of plastic buckets costs a […]
Edible flowers turn a garden into a pantry. They finish salads, garnish desserts, flavor syrups and vinegars, and freeze into ice cubes for summer drinks, and the best examples are the ones picked minutes before serving. That freshness is the argument for growing your own: flowers from a florist may carry sprays, and store-bought blooms
Not every yard has room for a mighty oak, but most properties can fit a tree that matures between 15 and 40 feet tall. Medium-sized trees shade a patio, frame a view, and anchor a landscape without overwhelming a small lot, and they ask for less maintenance than their larger cousins. Homeowners who tackle indoor
Attractive flowers are easy to trust. Many of the most popular garden blooms carry toxins in their leaves, bulbs, or sap, and the risk shows up exactly where families spend time: borders, patios, and play areas. Before adding new plants to a flowerbed, or before trusting the landscaping of a newly purchased home, check which
The strip of ground beneath a mature evergreen often looks like wasted space: bare soil, fallen needles, and grass that never survives a full season. Homeowners reseed it year after year, and each batch sprouts, thins, and dies in the same spot. The tree is not being difficult, it is simply doing what evergreens do.
Few native wildflowers carry a longer garden history than the rudbeckia genus. The plants served first as a medicinal herb used by pre-colonial Native Americans, then moved into cultivated flowerbeds during the nineteenth century, where the brightest selections have stayed ever since. Gardeners plant them for a dependable late-summer show: daisy-like heads in warm yellows
The Pennisetum genus includes ornamental grasses known for their soft, fuzzy flower plumes, all members of the Poaceae family that also gives us turf, bamboo, and cereal crops. Fountain grasses earn their common name from the arching shape of the foliage: narrow blades rise from the crown and bow outward like water from a fountain,
A low mat of green that blooms in spring and takes foot traffic is an attractive alternative to a turf lawn. Creeping speedwell delivers that look with minimal input, spreading into a dense carpet of scalloped leaves and small four-petaled flowers. It belongs to a group of low-maintenance ground covers that includes creeping thyme lawns
Pink Lemonade is a rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei ‘Pink Lemonade’) bred by the United States Department of Agriculture that ripens into firm, sweet, bright pink berries instead of the familiar blue. The bush grows 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, shrugs off summer heat better than most blueberries, and produces the same antioxidant-rich fruit
Panicle hydrangeas deliver what many gardeners want from a flowering shrub: a long season, fast growth, and a show that starts earlier than any other hydrangea type. The cone-shaped flower clusters open white in early to mid summer, then age through pink to deep rose as the season moves toward fall, when the foliage turns
