Edging can make or break a garden, yet it is one of the most frequently missed steps in planning out your flower bed. If you’re tired of traditional edging or want to express your personality, try these creative, out-of-the-box ways to section off your garden and give some definition to your yard.
As more and more people embrace organic gardening that works with the earth rather than against it, tilling is finally falling out of fashion. For decades, tilling was seen as the only viable option for spring planting. However, this method actually damages the delicate balance of the soil by causing soil compaction, harming microorganisms, and increasing erosion. But if tilling is out of the question, what other options do you have when creating a garden? Read on to find out.
Aside from the occasional barbeque, do you really embrace your outdoor living space? Yes, your garden may look great, but how often do you actually enjoy it? Whether you have an uninspired simple concrete slab, a toasty deck off your back door, or a tiny apartment balcony, it can be hard to find inspiration to create your dream patio. However, it is possible and not nearly as difficult as you may think. Here are a few ways to ramp up your outdoor living space and take advantage of those warm summer evenings.
Though onions are usually easy to grow, gardeners who want to plant onions face a universal problem known as bolting that can plague even the most skilled gardener. So what is bolting and how do you keep it from happening to your onions? Read on to find out.
It would almost be easier to list what echinacea can’t do rather than what it can. This vibrant purple plant is a veritable gold mine of healing properties and has been used for hundreds of years to treat many issues including pain, inflammation, migraines, and can even act as a remedy for the common cold and flu. So what exactly are the health benefits of this wonder herb and how can you grow it today?
The concept of a moat to protect a piece of property is not a new one. In medieval times, a wide, deep trench was dug around the perimeter of a castles property and usually filled with water. This ditch or moat served as a unique natural defense system and deterred enemies from approaching the stronghold. This same concept can be applied to the modern garden. However, instead of using depth and water as the natural barrier, you use chickens.
All soils are not made equal. Seasoned gardeners know this only too well, but newbie gardeners often learn it the hard way, and the bad experience may even turn some off for life.
When you think of bees, it probably isn’t your first instinct to want to attract more of them to your yard. These striped insects often get a bad rap due to their rather painful natural defense mechanism and are often shoed away from the garden by harsh insect repellents and pesticides.
When planting your vegetable garden, it can be challenging to keep all the advice straight, “build a raised bed,” “make sure that you try companion planting,” “always use fertilizer,” “never use fertilizer.” Eventually, the overwhelming words of well-meaning fellow gardeners go in one ear and out the other, and you usually end up winging it. That works for a time, and usually, you will see a harvest, but here are a few essential things that you should be doing differently to maximize yield and encourage healthy growth.
When it comes to garden pests, an ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure. Healthy plants that have been adequately fed and watered can generally tolerate a few bugs without any trouble.
There’s no doubt that winters with bone-chilling, sub-zero temperatures are challenging, but if you’re a zone 5 gardener, you definitely aren’t alone. A fairly substantial chunk of the United States falls into zone 5, including parts of states as diverse as Alaska, Oregon, New York, Minnesota, and California.
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