How Brambles Grow
As with any plant, pruning reduces the chance of pest invasion and infection, allows better air circulation and light exposure, and so ultimately, more fruit. Pruning most brambles is a necessity simply because they are rampant growers. Since the ... [... more]
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Making permanent beds.
Raised beds are popular because they are relatively easy to build, plant, weed, and maintain. Since the soil can drain sooner and warm up faster in spring, they enable you to plant earlier in the season. You can make a garden of permanent or ... [... more]
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Stake a claim.
Gardeners love to share their interest in gardening, and sharing with their children can be particularly rewarding. Even 2- and 3-year-olds can help plant their own little patch, and watch as life unfolds around them. Here are some suggestions ... [... more]
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How-To Project: Preserving Cut Flowers
There's nothing like fresh flowers around the house whether they come straight from your garden or from a florist. But when you take the time to put together an arrangement, you'd like it to last forever or at least for more than a few days! Here ... [... more]
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How-To Project: Dividing Perennials
When an established perennial produces fewer flowers, or the center of the plant looks sickly while the margins thrive, it could be time to divide the plant. Or even if the plant is healthy, perhaps you'd like to share it with a friend by ... [... more]
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Eliminate hiding places.
Growing your own apple trees is relatively easy, but avoiding insect and disease damage to the fruit requires pruning and prevention. Sprays of horticultural oil, liquid sulfur, Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, and perhaps phosmet(Imidan) Prune ... [... more]
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Remove grass and weeds
A meadow of mixed flowers and native grasses can replace your lawn, cover a slope, or enhance a roadside. Most meadows require much less water and fertilizer than lawns do, and they rarely need mowing. For best results, prepare the soil ... [... more]
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How-To Project: Drawing a Landscape Map
Before you design or improve your landscape, the first step is to inventory what you have. The best way to do that is to draw a base map of the site, accurately recording the size and location of permanent features. On a large notepad, sketch out ... [... more]
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Repellents.
There are quite a few products with flavors and odors offensive to deer that gardeners can spray on plants or spread on the soil. Some (fermented egg yolks) offend deer's sense of smell; others (predator urines) frighten them. More of these ... [... more]
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Inspect for pests and problems.
Perennial gardens require less maintenance than lawns, but they do need regular care to look their best and stay healthy. The following tasks are arranged in order of frequency from weekly to annually. Using scissors or hand pruners, snip off ... [... more]
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Prepare plants.
Tomatoes need at least six to eight hours of sun a day to produce well - and full sun is best, especially in cooler, more northern climates. Provide well-drained soil with a pH around 6.0 to 6.8. In cold-climate areas, plant in spring after frost ... [... more]
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List your needs.
Landscapes that require minimum time and money to maintain require thoughtful planning and installation. Invest early in planning and structures, and you'll pay (and work) less later. Choose structures, plants, ground-coverings, and systems that ... [... more]
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