Over the last few years Iâve come to a greater appreciation of begonias, both in conservatories and outside in the garden. Because my main garden is on the north side of a four-story building, Iâm always interested in ways to bring colors other than green to the shade. Like many gardeners, I used to rely […]
Stephanie Niedermyer is a bean farmer. Granted, hers is miniature-scale farming operation in her Eugene, Oregon backyard. But still, she manages to produce at least 26 different kinds of beans each summer. She says, âIâm a magpie, attracted to pretty bright thingsâthatâs beans!â A road trip to the Southwest was the catalyst for her bean-farming […]
On a sunny August day, as I weed among the bee balm and tickseed, some of my favorite garden companions are likely to bustle by: bumblebees. They never move fast, but they never stay still. Every moment of a bumblebeeâs day is busy, collecting nectar for food and pollen to feed the young. I love […]
It may be old news, but only in parts; continuing research is revealing even more about the benefits of green as in “green space“. Turns out that you don’t need acres of green to feel the benefit of plants and nature; even a small patch of grass or a houseplant on your desk has theraputic […]
Inside the greenhouse or out in the garden, the tools you use will either make gardening a chore to be put off until tomorrow, or the pleasure that it truly is, luring you into the garden for your daily connection to nature. Itâs an unwritten law that while the usefulness of a tool is in […]
Each month in this âRooting for Youâ column, I seek out experts on some aspect of gardening. But this time Iâm turning to a different authorityâthe plants themselves. Plants are good teachers. They give you quick feedbackâare their needs met or not? Theyâre excellent storytellersâyou can see the history of a tree by the scars […]
Whenever I see lawn grass start to go dormant in the summer I remember a guy I once met in a Chicago suburb who had replaced his front lawn with a carpet of prickly pear cactus. It kept kids and dogs out of his yard, he said, and he didnât have to water it. Doing […]
