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Gardening is such an integral part of my life, that I can’t imagine not doing it. That’s why I cringe inside whenever I hear someone say, “If we have a drought and water restrictions this spring and summer, I just won’t plant my garden.” Drought and water restrictions may force us to act differently. It may even force us to […]
Whenever I am asked to disclose my principal formula for a successful garden, I will invariably return the same verdict – to evoke an atmosphere is paramount. Many of the ideas I employ in garden design originate from something I have encountered at some stage in my life. When anything appeals to me for a particular reason, and I later […]
Collards These are small, hardy types of cabbage cropping in autumn or winter and useful as a catch crop following the harvesting of, say, early broad beans, peas or potatoes. They are not widely grown, but are most useful, especially for smaller gardens. They are green throughout, with hearts looser than in the white-hearted cabbages. Cultivation Seed is sown in […]
I have a problem leaving my garden in the spring—even if the weather is chilly and rainy. At the moment a familiar scene is being reenacted in my plant holding area, where root bound potted specimens are crying out to be freed from confinement. My back porch is loaded with seedling trays full of tiny plants that have been hardened […]
Most of us, male and female, know what it is like to be overdue for a haircut. One day you wake up and your hair is going in all kinds of new directions. Old cowlicks return like bad checks, curls straggle over earlobes or shoulders. Waves are in the wrong places, and creating the usual arrangement, which is as automatic […]
The growing scarcity of building land, particularly in towns and suburbs, with the accompanying shrinkage in the size of plots as prices continue to rise, poses difficult problems. Making a worthwhile garden in such restricted areas requires a` good deal of careful forethought. In fact, the proverbial pocket-handkerchief plot has almost become a reality, and this at a time when […]
Hill Side Gardening Dealing with steep slopes can be one of the hardest tasks when it comes to garden design. Mowing a lawn on a slope can be treacherous, and plant borders a real nightmare to weed. The Challenge The original garden had no terracing and the slope of the lawn was proving too difficult to maintain. When the client […]
A lawn is only as neat as its edges so the purchase of an efficient edging tool is an important investment. The choice of tool must depend on the amount of lawn which has to be dealt with. For the more extensive ones, a mechanically propelled type will be necessary to reduce time and labor. This does not mean to […]
The world is full of odors, and some of them are not good. Then again, “good” is a relative term. The source of one person’s aromatherapy is the cause of another person’s allergy attack. The human nose is a complicated thing, and the human brain is even more so. Still, most gardeners are fond of fragrant plants, a fact […]
It is both irritating and encouraging to have a string of rainy days during the busiest season of the gardening year. Irritating because there is so much to do outside, and so little time to get all the planting, weeding, mulching and other chores done. Encouraging because the rain is needed, and, frankly, so is the respite. I like to […]