ReportWire

Tag: landscaping

  • 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Narcissus – Gardenista

    Nobody ever says “I should have planted fewer narcissus bulbs” when the flowers start blooming in springtime. With their cheery bobbing heads, these happy harbingers of spring lift your spirits when nothing else in the garden has yet dared to declare victory over winter.

    Narcissus—or do you say daffodil?—is one of the most familiar flowers in any garden or supermarket. I defy you to find one person who can’t identify a yellow narcissus (or even a white one). And yet there’s so much more to know. We could spend a week on jonquils alone! Let’s get started, with 10 things nobody tells you about Narcissus:

    1. Narcissus and daffodil are the same flower (despite what snobs say).

    Narcissus at Madresfield Court. Photograph by Kendra Wilson, from Garden Visit: Daffodil Days at Madresfield Court.
    Above: Narcissus at Madresfield Court. Photograph by Kendra Wilson, from Garden Visit: Daffodil Days at Madresfield Court.

    Daffodil is the common name of Narcissus (a Latin word), and therein lies the daffodil’s image problem. It sounds more highfalutin to invoke Latin. When snobs say they don’t like daffodils, what they may be trying to say is they don’t care for the looks of the big, yellow, common varieties of Narcissus sold in supermarkets. That unloved trumpet flower, by the way, is Narcissus pseudonarcissus.

    Read more on this topic in Order the World’s Best Narcissi Online: But Please, Don’t Call Them Daffodils.

    2. There are 40 different species of Narcissus—and thousands of varieties.

    Above: “The multi-headed Narcissus tazetta, a genus and species which includes the celebrated ‘Paperwhite’ cultivar, are stimulated into growth by heat and smoke. The Narcissus tazetta bulb is Mediterranean and the bulbs expect intense heat as well as bush fires,” writes Kendra. Good luck growing this flower outdoors. Photograph by Howard Sooley.

    Jonquils are also narcissi, in case you were wondering. Varieties of the species is Narcissus jonquilla are known for their small, delicate flowers and intense fragrance.

    Source link

  • 10 Ways to Save Money on a New Patio – Gardenista

    If you’re upgrading an existing landscape, you can reuse pavers from an old path or patio to create your new outdoor space.

    7. Build a patio in stages.

    Above: Photograph by Brett Wood, courtesy of Dirt Queen NYC, from Before & After: A Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, Backyard Reimagined.

    To save money on construction costs, build a patio in sections. If you need to have soil compacted to create a solid base for a patio, plan ahead by leveling the entire area. Then build the patio in stages, as your budget allows for expansion. In the meantime, you can cover the unused area with mulch.

    8. Mix and match materials.

    The concrete pad at the edge of the deck was existing when the homeowners bought the house. Photograph courtesy of Terremoto, from Before & After: From Desert to Redwood Forest, the Essence of California in One LA Garden.
    Above: The concrete pad at the edge of the deck was existing when the homeowners bought the house. Photograph courtesy of Terremoto, from Before & After: From Desert to Redwood Forest, the Essence of California in One LA Garden.

    “The first thing you do in a small garden project is to take inventory to do an analysis, so you can make decisions about the things that are existing and are good,” says landscape architect David Godshall of Terremoto, who elected to salvage an existing concrete patio as part of a garden rehab (shown above) in Los Angeles.

    Mixing materials—such as redwood decking and poured concrete—can add interest and texture to a patio (while saving money).

    9. Create a focal point with inexpensive furnishings.

    Ikea chairs flank a ceramic stool-turned-side table. Photograph by Matthew Williams.
    Above: Ikea chairs flank a ceramic stool-turned-side table. Photograph by Matthew Williams.

    Instead of expensive outdoor furniture, you can hang a hammock to create a focal point for the patio. Create a seating arrangement with flea market finds or outdoor furniture from Ikea—versatile pieces can do double duty indoors in the off season.

    1o. Define a patio’s perimeter with potted plants.

    Above: See more at Enchanted Garden: Whimsy and Wit at Palihouse in Santa Monica. Photograph by Bethany Nauert.

    Building a fence or wall around a patio is an expensive undertaking. A budget-friendly alternative to create privacy is to group together a few tall potted plants.

    See more ideas:

    N.B.: This post was first published January 2019; it has been updated with new photos, prices, and links.

    (Visited 3,735 times, 209 visits today)

    Source link

  • Expert Advice: 9 Tips for a Moody Winter Garden – Gardenista

    In fall the Instagram feeds of many of our favorite gardeners, quite understandably, start to wither or move indoors. Not so that of Dutch garden designer Frank Heijligers. Indeed, much like the dames of imperial Russia, who, rather that retreating from the cold, donned furs and tiaras in anticipation of the social high season, Frank’s winter garden seemed to reach the height of its sparkling charm.

    Enchanted, we decided to ask Frank, who grows grasses, perennials, trees, and shrubs at his nursery, Plantwerk, to divulge his secrets for a successful winter garden. Here are his nine tips for adding sparkle and moody color:

    Photography by Frank Heijligers.

    Embrace black.

    Above: Now a dramatic black, the once purple cones of Agastache ‘Black Adder’ still stand tall in the frosty winter garden.

    “Successful winter gardens need a lot of plants with good structure in them,” says Frank. “The plants have to be strong and have more than one interest: nice foliage, bloom, color, seed head, change of color in fall, strong skeleton in winter.”

    Showcase long-lasting seedheads.

    Like spectators at the ballet, crowds of Monarda ‘Croftway Pink’ seedheads watch a changing fall landscape.
    Above: Like spectators at the ballet, crowds of Monarda ‘Croftway Pink’ seedheads watch a changing fall landscape.

    Fill the gaps.

    Because plants with good structure tend to bloom later, Frank notes that the successful four-season garden �220;starts with having a little more patience in spring.�221; To fill in the gap, he uses bulbs. Alliums, which maintain a sculptural seed head after they have gone by, are a good choice.
    Above: Because plants with good structure tend to bloom later, Frank notes that the successful four-season garden “starts with having a little more patience in spring.” To fill in the gap, he uses bulbs. Alliums, which maintain a sculptural seed head after they have gone by, are a good choice.
    One of Frank�217;s gardens in summer. Though lust and leafy, it still maintains a textured feel.
    Above: One of Frank’s gardens in summer. Though lust and leafy, it still maintains a textured feel.

    Consider frost-proof plants.

    A similar border garden in winter, when the regal heads of Phlomis take on a silver sheen.
    Above: A similar border garden in winter, when the regal heads of Phlomis take on a silver sheen.

    “Hosta or Alchemilla mollis are plants that look good early on in the year, but with the first bit of frost, they collapse,” Frank says. “You need plants like Phlomis, Aster, Eupatorium, Veronicastrum, and Anemone combined with grasses like Deschampsia, Miscanthus, Sporobolus, and Festuca mairei to make the garden look good until March.”

    Another sculptural favorite: Veronicastrum ‘Pink Spike.’
    Above: Another sculptural favorite: Veronicastrum ‘Pink Spike.’

    Bonus: Birds love all the leftover seedheads in Frank’s hibernal garden.

    Source link

  • Magic in Maidenhead: An English Garden That Glows in the Winter – Gardenista

    When Sarah Pajwani and her family moved into their house near Maidenhead (an hour from London) in 2011, it was surrounded by an “overgrown field.” Having created a design rationale with the help of professional landscapers, Sarah set about filling her garden with plants of her choice, border by border. Despite her best efforts, in winter she would gaze out of the windows and still feel that there was nothing to look at.

    Now, every garden-facing room in the house frames a different aspect of the winter scene, and the house has a lot of windows. Dare we suggest that winter is the garden’s best season? We can report that Saint Timothee, as it is called, was the first garden of the year to be open for the National Garden Scheme and Sarah gave us a tour.

    Read on for 11 clever design ideas from Sarah to make the garden glow in the winter:

    Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer, for Gardenista.

    1. Red Twig Dogwood

    A row of glowing red Cornus sanginea �216;Midwinter Fire�217; brings out the best in Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. Famously vivid in spring, the euphorbia holds on to its structure and excellent leaf color in winter.
    Above: A row of glowing red Cornus sanginea ‘Midwinter Fire’ brings out the best in Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii. Famously vivid in spring, the euphorbia holds on to its structure and excellent leaf color in winter.

    Saint Timothee is a picture of 1930s gentility, with an Enid Blyton kind of name. Yet the garden is not in a time warp. Sarah uses colorful stems, scented shrubs (such as Lonicera fragrantissima, Viburnum x bodnantese ‘Dawn’, Sarcococca confusa), sparsely flowering trees (Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’) as well as grasses mixed with evergreens to brighten the winter scene. Several paths and borders lead the eye from one of the inside windows, across the garden.

    2. Mixed Grasses

    Smoldering dogwood stems draw attention to the drama of super-sized pampas grass, flanking a pond.
    Above: Smoldering dogwood stems draw attention to the drama of super-sized pampas grass, flanking a pond.

    Source link

  • Resolutions Roundup: Garden Pros Share the 10 Ways They’re Changing Their Landscapes in 2026 – Gardenista

    With the start of the new year, our minds are a-swirl with ideas for what we’ll do in our gardens come spring. For inspiration, we asked garden and landscape professionals to tell us the changes they’re planning for their own gardens this year. Their answers run the gamut from ecological resolutions to fixes for eye sores, but one common thread runs through them: landscapes are always changing—and these garden pros aren’t bothered by that. They simply have to keep up and change alongside them.

    Rethinking lawn removal.

    Above: One of Evans’ students, Rosa, hosted a spring planting party; she and her friends planted plugs directly into her lawn. By the following summer, native wildflowers had filled in the entire area (seen from the opposite side, right). Photograph by Heather Evans.

    Heather Evans, co-founder of Design Your Wild, a newsletter and online community, says she’s not removing gras—even though she’ll be decreasing the amount of lawn in her new yard by more than 50 percent. “Instead, I’ll be planting hundreds of native trees, shrubs, and perennials into the existing lawn. The turf will act like mulch while the natives grow in and will eventually be crowded out by them. After trying every method of killing lawn before planting, I realize it’s often not necessary and even harmful, inviting invasives, disturbing the soil microbiome, and causing compaction.”

    Trying a new palette.

    Above: These native flowers are all on Evans’s moodboard for her new garden. Clockwise from top left: Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (photograph via Texas Master Gardeners); Oenothera speciosa (photograph via Wildseed Farms); Lonicera sempervirens (photograph via Native Plant Trust); Salvia coccinea ‘Coral Nymph’ (photograph via Gardenia.net).

    Evans is also making an aesthetic change in her new Florida garden: She’s thinking in pink. “I’ll be planting species—and even cultivars!—from beyond my native range to execute my white-pink-coral floral palette,” says Evans. “I’m loving Texas natives like showy primrose, Drummond’s phlox, and pink Turk’s cap, in addition to Florida native trumpet honeysuckle, pink scarlet sage, and Pinxter azalea.” While maintaining her palette, Evans is planning to plant “two thirds for the birds” (at least 70 percent locally native species to support birds and butterflies). “I’m relying heavily on locally native shrubs and trees. I’m especially excited about white-flowering fringe tree, flatwoods plum, and Walter’s viburnum.”

    Dealing with an eyesore.

    Above: This photo shows the section of garden before Norris installed the heat pump. He says, “This project feels manageable, if not also challenging. How will we disguise this equipment without drawing more attention to it in the first place?” He plans to relocate some Joe Pye weed deeper into the border for a starter.

    The biggest change author, horticulturist, and garden designer Kelly Norris will embrace in 2026 is disguising an ugly addition to his yard: A newly-installed heat pump and exhaust vents. “It’s a reminder that home improvements, however necessary, can significantly change the experience of a home garden,” says Norris. “After lots of hand-wringing and probably much eye-rolling from our plumbers, we located it in a spot we deemed least visually consequential. It’s still a bit of an eyesore that will require reworking our prairie border, but the upside is that the old A/C condenser unit is no longer in our outdoor entertaining area.”

    Learning a new skill.

    Source link

  • Jo Thompson’s ‘The New Romantic Garden’: Design Ideas to Steal From Her New Book

    All week, we’re revisiting the most popular stories of 2025, including this one from March.

    Anyone who knows British garden designer Jo Thompson’s work will not be surprised by the title of her book, The New Romantic Garden. Over the decades that Thompson has been working as a designer she, has always created atmospheric gardens with a softness and sense of atmosphere and mystery. The 30 gardens that fill the book show how a modern romantic aesthetic can be applied anywhere—from a tiny city garden to the meadows of a country estate. Thompson’s text is delightfully laced with romance, too, with references to fairies, sun goddesses, and Narnia.

    Benton irises and roses mingle in this romantic London garden designed by Thompson. Photograph by Jason Ingram.
    Above: Benton irises and roses mingle in this romantic London garden designed by Thompson. Photograph by Jason Ingram.

    The “new” in the title reflects the fact that while Thompson’s work may feel nostalgic in some regards (there are many an English rose in this book), it is firmly of-the-moment. A longtime advocate of organic gardening, Thompson designs to support biodiversity and soil health, which are on all gardeners’ minds today. There’s also a looseness and a naturalness that will appeal to fans of the new perennial movement and more naturalistic styles. This book is a fresh perspective on what a “romantic” garden is today.

    Photography courtesy of The New Romantic Garden by Jo Thompson (Rizzoli).

    1. Start with the story.

    Romantic and natural, this garden has a real sense of place and to whom it belongs (writer Justine Picardie and her husband, Philip Astor). The wildflower meadow of mostly native grasses is peppered with a few nonnatives to extend the season of pollen and visual interest. Photograph by Rachel Warne.
    Above: Romantic and natural, this garden has a real sense of place and to whom it belongs (writer Justine Picardie and her husband, Philip Astor). The wildflower meadow of mostly native grasses is peppered with a few nonnatives to extend the season of pollen and visual interest. Photograph by Rachel Warne.

    For all of her designs, Thompson develops a story for the garden based on her clients’ desires and the place itself. For Thompson this involves “beating the bounds of the place and really getting to grips with the space,” plus trying to understand its history and what might have been there before. But she says, storytelling can be a delicate dance. “You want to avoid creating a pastiche,” she cautions. “If I’m working with a Tudor cottage near Canterbury, I’m not going to create a little Tudor medicinal garden, but there might be elements, like medicinal plants within the planting.” Likewise, Thompson says she trusts her intuition not to take a garden too far from its roots.

    Source link

  • The Year in Gardening: Looking Back With Joy (and Looking Ahead With Hope) – Gardenista

    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, ecological gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.  

     . . . Do not raise
    your small voice against it. And do not 
    take cover. Instead, curl your toes
    into the grass, watch the cloud
    ascending from your lips. Walk
    through the garden’s dormant splendor.
    Say only, thank you.
    Thank you.
    —Ross Gay, Thank You 

    Even for the most optimistic of us, it can be hard to stay positive these days. But hope, it is “the thing with feathers,” and there are moments that can make us soar with joy, propelling us forward: the successful bans on pesticides like neonicotinoids; the sweet burst of a juneberry still warm from the sun; the return of the whooping crane after it teetered on the cusp of extinction. We asked a selection of our ecological gardening friends to share what keeps them going—plus one small thing we can all do in our yards next year to keep the momentum going. 

    Jeff Lorenz and Kayla Fell of Refugia:

    Above: The fluffy seedheads of the grass Andropogon ternarius ‘Black Mountain’ almost glow in the winter light along with the red branches of the red-twig dogwood (Cornus sericea) & ‘Shenandoah’ switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the background and dense blazing star (Liatris spicata) in foreground. Photograph courtesy of Refugia.

    “At this time of year, we are enamored by the stories laid bare in the landscape. Perennials that are left standing through winter are permeated with narrative: tales of shelter and sustenance, dynamic encounters of fullness and decay. While seemingly silent, they are instead performing amazing feats of survival and renewal out of sight—just like us!—silvery-white seed tufts, seedheads glittering with frost. Winter celebrates delicate details that we often miss during the showier exuberant summer months.  

    “One simple thing that everyone can do to make a difference this year is to talk to their neighbors: Gift a plant when dividing perennials, add educational signage that speaks to the jobs your garden is heroically doing (habitat! stormwater!), and label plants for curious gardeners-to-be passing by. We are not defined by the division seemingly sown around us! Instead, we can inspire others. Connectivity for plants, wildlife, insects, and people is the most powerful tool we have. Don’t be surprised to find your lawn-loving neighbor carving off a sliver to plant milkweed and coneflowers next summer, and then some.“

    Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust:

    Above: Photo: Hummingbird clearwing moth visits a wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa). This beautiful perennial also attracts birds, including hummingbirds, and butterflies. Photograph by Uli Lorimer.

    “December is a time of reflection as we look back on the growing season past and ponder what the upcoming season may have in store. I want to zero in on a single image that embodies what ecological horticulture means to me and why practicing its tenets gives me hope for the future. The pink firework blossoms of Monarda fistulosa reliably draw hummingbird clearwing moths to the garden, and this image I find absolutely magical. So many things lie behind the picture of a moth captured mid-air with its proboscis curled. The garden provides an appropriate host plant for the larval stage. The plants were grown and managed without pesticides, ensuring the moth isn’t harmed in its pursuit of food. Lastly, this image is a source of wonder and awe, helping me feel connected to this place and motivated to keep my eyes and heart open. So many moments in nature are ephemeral, but mystery, spirit, and magic abound when we slow down to watch. My spirit can’t wait to see what magic awaits next year.”

    Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture at the High Line:

    Above: Jasper at the Turtle Pond in New York City’s Central Park. Photograph by Richard Hayden.

    Source link

  • The Beauty of Decay: 10 Perennials to Add Structure to a Winter Garden – Gardenista

    As gardens fade and the days darken, it’s tempting to forget about what’s going on outdoors until early spring when everything jolts back into life. But this is a missed opportunity. Careful plant choices can reap major benefits in the winter.

    It’s well known that certain trees and shrubs can play a leading role in the coldest season, but the right perennials and grasses also can look mesmerizing. By focusing on a plant’s structure and its ability to retain its shape, you can create schemes that look incredible in the fourth season. Read on to discover which plants will maximize this effect and learn to embrace the beauty of winter decay:

    Thistles

    Thistles in February. Photograph by Feathering the Nest via Flickr.
    Above: Thistles in February. Photograph by Feathering the Nest via Flickr.

    Spiky plants and thistles including teasel, echinops, and eryngiums tend to hold their structure brilliantly in the winter.

    Echinops

    Globe echinops. Photograph by Tobias Myrstrand Leander via Flickr.
    Above: Globe echinops. Photograph by Tobias Myrstrand Leander via Flickr.

    In winter, the stiff purple-blue heads of echinops turn brown and maintain their posture.

    Grasses

    Grasses and perennials in December at Torrey Pines Nature Reserve in La Jolla, California. Photograph by Anne Reeves via Flickr.
    Above: Grasses and perennials in December at Torrey Pines Nature Reserve in La Jolla, California. Photograph by Anne Reeves via Flickr.

    Play off these strong forms with billowing clumps of airy grasses such as Deschampsia cespitosa or Molinia caerulea which will fade to blond and buff colors over late autumn and early winter.

    Source link

  • South Orange Middle School Plants a Rain Garden to Soak Up Stormwater

    Here in New Jersey, we have a stormwater problem. Due to climate change, the state is getting heavier and more intense downpours from hurricanes, nor’easters, and intense summer thunderstorms. We also happen to be the most densely populated state in the country, with a high percentage of impervious surfaces. All those houses, roads, and other built-up areas don’t allow water to soak into the ground. Not only does that water have nowhere to go, but those parking lots and streets, and the vehicles that use them, are the largest source of water pollutants in the state.

    But one middle school in New Jersey is learning about stormwater and its runoff—and doing something about it. The South Orange Environmental Commission, with the help of the Rahway River Watershed Association (RRWA), recently created a rain garden at South Orange Middle School, in South Orange, New Jersey. The money to build the garden came from a grant from Sustainable Jersey and funds from South Orange Village. Students at the school are learning first-hand about stormwater runoff and how rain gardens can help solve the problem of pollution. The garden will be a part of the middle school’s science curriculum.

    Above: Volunteers planning and planting the garden. Native species that like wet feet were chosen for the project, including red twig dogwood, Virginia sweetspire, switchgrass, and showy goldenrod. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.

    Located between the school parking lot and the East Branch of the Rahway River, this rain garden is special. “It is one of very few rain gardens that is equipped with monitoring instruments to measure how much runoff is captured,” says Kirk Barrett, Ph.D., president of Rahway River Watershed Association. “Moreover, middle and high school students will be involved in collecting and analyzing the data.”

    The garden in late fall, collecting and filtering the stormwater runoff. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.
    Above: The garden in late fall, collecting and filtering the stormwater runoff. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.

    “The students will collect the data from the instrument that measures water level and calculate how much stormwater runoff was captured by each storm.” Barrett continues, “They will also measure rainfall to determine the percentage of runoff that is captured on an annual basis.”

    The rain garden ribbon cutting with students and community members. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.
    Above: The rain garden ribbon cutting with students and community members. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.

    This site was selected for maximum environmental benefit, as a rain garden here will capture the polluted runoff from the parking lot into the East Branch of the Rahway River. It’s estimated that it will absorb more than 100,000 gallons of stormwater runoff over a typical year.

    Barrett describes how the garden works, “Before the rain garden, this runoff went directly into a stormwater inlet and then into the river. The rain garden will allow most of the runoff to soak into the ground, filtering out the pollutants. Furthermore, by reducing the volume of runoff, the rain garden helps reduce the physical disruption of habitat in the stream caused by high flows in the river.”

    The rain garden at work during a heavy downpour. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.
    Above: The rain garden at work during a heavy downpour. Photograph courtesy of Kirk Barrett.

    Barrett hopes that this rain garden will inspire people to put in their own rain gardens, since 95 percent of NJ’s waterways are considered impaired, meaning they don’t support one or more of the following uses: drinking water, biological habitat, or recreational uses.

    See also:

    (Visited 1,615 times, 22 visits today)

    Source link

  • Jake Hobson’s Garden: A Tour of the Niwaki Founder’s Mini-Forest Backyard

    Jake Hobson is a master pruner. He’s written two books on pruning: Niwaki: Pruning, Training, and Shaping Trees the Japanese Way and The Art of Creative Pruning: Inventive Ideas for Shaping Trees and Shrubs. And he’s the founder of Niwaki, a Japanese-inspired garden tool company headquartered in England. So, it should come as no surprise that his home landscape in Dorset is full of artfully shaped, precisely pruned shrubs and trees. But it isn’t your usual English garden with clipped hedges—nor is it a replica of Japanese gardens.

    “Everything I do is inspired by Japan, but I’m deliberately not making it all Japanese,” explains Hobson. “There’s no koi pond or red bridges.” Not only does Hobson eschew any decorative Japanese elements, he avoids ornaments altogether. “For me, a Japanese garden is creating a sense of a landscape—an idealized landscape—within the plot. If you bring in ornaments, you ruin the magic of scale. Whereas, if all you’ve got is plants, you can create a sense (if you squint and after a couple of drinks) that maybe you’re looking out into a deep forest.”

    Hobson has successfully created this illusion of landscape within his small space. Looking out the windows of the home he shares with his wife, Keiko, and their son, or gazing at photographs of Hobson’s green, layered garden, it’s hard to believe that it’s not much bigger than a tennis court. 

    When Hobson and his wife bought the house, the backyard had four sheds, a mismatched bunch of overgrown conifers, and a ton of concrete paths. They ripped it all out, leaving just the evergreen hedge that blocks the view from a neighboring building. Hobson commissioned a local carpenter to build a single new shed inspired by a Japanese “summer house” at the back of the plot. Then he planted dozens of evergreen and coniferous shrubs and trees that he has been training and pruning for the last fourteen years. The result is a garden that feels like its own miniature world, full of living sculptures.

    Let’s take a tour of Hobson’s garden, which he photographed himself. (You can follow him on Instagram @niwakijake.)

    Every year Hobson lets the grass grow long and mows a new path through it. “Zigzagging through the garden is a really Japanese thing,” he notes. “You never just go straight into a house.” At right are some of Hobson’s undulating boxwood and a Phillyrea latifolia, which Hobson calls a “cloud-pruned tree.” (He had been growing it for years at his parents home before moving it to the garden.)
    Above: Every year Hobson lets the grass grow long and mows a new path through it. “Zigzagging through the garden is a really Japanese thing,” he notes. “You never just go straight into a house.” At right are some of Hobson’s undulating boxwood and a Phillyrea latifolia, which Hobson calls a “cloud-pruned tree.” (He had been growing it for years at his parents home before moving it to the garden.)

    Source link

  • Cues to Care: How to Design Ecological Gardens that Look Neat and Tidy

    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, ecological gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.  

    “What does aesthetics have to do with ecology?” asks Joan Nassauer. Turns out a lot. A professor of landscape architecture at the University of Michigan, Nassauer has been studying how to make ecological gardens more acceptable and accessible. Several decades ago, she coined the phrase “cues to care,” which has now become a catch phrase among ecological gardeners. (Read her paper “Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames” and a recent review paper “Cues to Care: A Systematic Analytical Review”.)

    Cues to care are the key indicators that a landscape is intentional and being looked after. Think: mown turf; visible, unimpeded windows; and prominent, recognizable flowers. Most people find these things comforting. “We want to affect human-dominated landscapes to protect and increase biodiversity, increase their capacity to store carbon, and ensure human comfort with rising temperatures,” says Nassauer. But the key to acceptance and success lies with our ability to “create landscapes people are happy to inhabit.”

    The size of your property does not matter. Every bit of land can make a difference. “The 1/4 acre or even 1/8 acre is in some ways the most important, because from the standpoint of a seed, or a pollinator passing by, or a migrating bird being able to stop and rest, these small pieces all contribute to a larger matrix that is the functioning landscape,” says Nassauer.

    As more people learn about the dangers of conventional landscaping with its toxic lawns and “ultra-processed plantings,” as Perfect Earth founder Edwina von Gal calls them, they’re discovering the benefits of a healthier, looser, chemical-free approach, where lawns are diminished, native plants replace unsustainable ones and are allowed to grow freely, and dead trees or snags are celebrated as sculpture. Cues to care become an important bridge linking the wildness of nature with the intentional. Nassuer notes that cues to care are “not universal, but culturally contingent.” Experiment on your own property, talk about them with your neighbors, and take some cues from these ecological designers who share with us how they show they care.    

    Incorporate straight lines and right angles. 

    Above: In her garden on Eastern Long Island, von Gal created geometric beds and filled them with an array of native plants that she lets grow freely with wild abundance. Photograph courtesy of Perfect Earth Project.
    Above: In her garden on Eastern Long Island, von Gal created geometric beds and filled them with an array of native plants that she lets grow freely with wild abundance. Photograph courtesy of Perfect Earth Project.

    Source link

  • Review of Stihl HSA 26: The Hedge Trimmers Are a ‘Game-Changer’

    Pruning shrubs and topiary is an exhausting business—especially if it requires being perched on top of a ladder or spending an entire day to complete the work. Large hedge-trimmers are simply far too heavy and unwieldy, and—apologies to the purists—traditional topiary shears, too slow for the impatient gardeners among us.

    Which is why electric shrub shears are a game-changer for me. I’d first seen the Stihl HSA 26 battery-powered pruners last year but held off buying them until I visited designer Sheila Jack in her Wiltshire garden, where the neat power tool is an essential for trimming her fast-growing Lonicera nitilda domes that need to be clipped every few weeks.

    The Stihl shears come with two attachments: a 20cm shrub cutter and a smaller 12cm “grass” cutter. It’s become my go-to tool, gliding through and tidying multiple overgrown hebes, a large topiarized pittosporum, and the many boxwood balls in my garden. It’s lightweight enough to work with all day—although a charged battery will get you about 110 minutes of clipping. (To recharge the battery will take about an hour; having a spare battery would avoid this issue.)

    Above: The shrub cutter blade, which is perfect for gliding over topiary and all sizes of shrubs.
    Above: The shorter grass cutting attachment.

    Crucially the HSA 26 is nimble enough and with a strong enough blade action to make clean and precise cuts. Like any bladed power tool, it needs to be used with care. But it’s extremely easy and intuitive to use, with simple blade changes and a rubberized grip for comfort. Stihl claims the shears can cope with branches up to 8mm thick (if you want a tool for chunkier branches, the brand’s cordless pruner—the GTA 26—is a mini chainsaw that is equally lightweight).

    Above: The Stihl HSA 26 is $170 at Ace Hardware.

    As we head into winter, I’m anticipating that the shears are going to be equally transformative when it comes to the big winter deadheading, especially for ornamental grasses which can be time-consuming to cut back. Like the very best tools, this one has made my gardening life a pleasure instead of a pain.

    See also:

    (Visited 46 times, 45 visits today)

    Source link

  • Lawn-Free Front Yard Ideas: 10 Tips from ‘Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden’

    Happy pub day to us! Today, Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden finally hits bookstores! We can’t wait for you to crack it open and enjoy the contents. Whether you’re a new homeowner looking for landscape guidance or a seasoned gardener in search of fresh ideas, you’ll find a wealth of inspiration inside.

    To celebrate the release, the book’s indefatigable author, Kendra Wilson, offers another sneak peek, this time sharing all the cool lawn-free front yard ideas she encountered while working on the book. 

    Front gardens, stoops, driveways, and parking courts have the potential to spread cheer, absorb storm water, and harbor insects and birds. When there’s a clear design rationale at work, other people on the street will want to get on board. Here are some of our favorite ways to have a front garden that is more than “low-maintenance” (though it can be that, too). All the ideas are from our new book, out today.

    Photography by Caitlin Atkinson.

    Grow a sponge garden.

    Above: The Philadelphia front garden of Kayla Fell and Jeff Lorenz, of design and maintenance practice, Refugia.

    Jeff and Kayla removed their front lawn during their first year living in their house in Pennsylvania. Stormwater that used to flow over their compacted grass into the basement is now soaked up by closely planted perennials with mixed root profiles, and an absorbent swamp cypress.

    Balance sharpness with softness.

    Above: A mid-century house in Pasadena, which saw a light landscape renovation in the hands of Samuel Webb and Kara Holekamp of design group Terremoto.

    The sharp lines of this classic house are made even clearer, not from subtracting but by adding lively planting around the edges. This, in turn, is in dialogue with towering trees that seem to be held back by the immaculate walls. Loose symmetry on either side of the doorway adds more contrast, with a pair of Arbutus that refuse to be identical.

    Above: The preexisting parking grid lets its hair down around the edges, with a generous perimeter of permeable gravel and plants with varied root systems that soak up rain.

    Re-wild the stoop.

    Above: A front stoop in Brooklyn, the former home of horticulturalist Rebecca McMackin and her arborist husband Chris Roddick.

    In pots on Rebecca’s stoop, long-lasting foliage of easygoing, northeastern perennials (Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ and Aquilegia canadensis) offers rest stops and shelter for small creatures. “Even in this tiny spot, it’s not hard to attract wildlife,” she says. And why let a tree pit go to waste? This one is fenced off with ad hoc railings and planted with tough natives that tolerate neglect as well as dogs. A sign directs dog owners’ attention to a couple of large rocks on the side, with the request, “Pee on me, not the tree.”

    Say good-bye to mulch.

    Above: With so much texture, green is never dull. Supported by trilllium, columbine, aster and ferns, the glaucous star is Fothergilla x intermedia ‘Blue Shadow’).

    Source link

  • Quick Takes With: Michael P. Gibson – Gardenista

    Recently, we published a story on the trend toward more naturalistic-looking shrubs in garden design, but Michael P. Gibson’s Seussian topiary art may singlehandedly stem that tide. Michael is a renowned  topiarist based in Columbia, SC, who has an undeniable way with shrubs, mostly evergreens, which he shears and prunes into delightfully otherworldly forms. The son of a hairstylist (his mom) and an artist (his dad), he seems to have inherited their talents, alchemizing them into a skillset that’s entirely his own.

    Michael and his work, particularly his role in restoring Pearl Fryar’s Topiary Garden, have been featured in the New York Times, Garden and Gun, Magnolia and Moonshine, as well as podcasts. He was even a contestant on HGTV’s topiary competition reality show Clipped, with Martha Stewart as a host. “I have many projects coming up, but one I’m really excited about is next spring with The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, MA, creating topiary sculptures from existing mature boxwoods,” he tells us. “I’m also in the process of working on my first book.”

    While you wait for that book to be released, here’s a peek into his topiary-obsessed brain.

    Photography courtesy of Michael P. Gibson.

    Your first garden memory:

    My first garden memory is, when I was around five, being fascinated watching my dad meticulously trim the shrubs around the yard into perfect geometric shapes. I was determined to learn and started clipping by age seven.

    Garden-related book you return to time and again:

    The Art Of Creative Pruning by Jake Hobson is a game-changer, highlighting pruning styles from around the world. The Night Gardener by Devin and Terry Fan (my kids love this children’s book). Topiary by Twigs Way.

    Instagram account that inspires you:

    Anyone posting about topiary! @topiarycatblack always has creative ideas. @amir_topiary_vrn is doing amazing work. And @hedgelover_ does a great job at showcasing topiary inspiration from around the world.

    Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

    Refined. Imaginative. Peaceful.

    Plant that makes you swoon:

    Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata is a gorgeous, variegated holly with creamy yellowish green leaves. The new growth emerges with pinkish margins. A beauty in any landscape.

    Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

    That’s easy: Berberis thunbergii. Not a fan of the thorns. Although I’ve created some interesting shapes, I would not recommend for topiary. This was actually the very first shrub I clipped.

    Favorite go-to plant:

    Evergreens make the best topiary, so I tend to stick to Ilex varieties, with Ilex vomitoria being one of my favorites. Grows nice and dense and can be sculpted like stone.

    Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:

    Always follow the vein of the branch when doing inner pruning to make sure you make the right cut and not pruning away a large amount of foliage. Also, avoid pruning in the rain or even after heavy rain, branches will be weighed down and will spring up when dry, potentially messing up your design.

    Unpopular gardening opinion:

    You can get a smoother, more refined look to hedges by avoiding swaying the hedge trimmer back and forth and just brush in one direction. Just like brushing hair. Changing directions in the right areas will make it look like shadows or shading.

    Gardening or design trend that needs to go:

    Planting the wrong shrub or tree too close to a building structure. Do research on the plant before planting to understand growth habits.

    Old wives’ tale gardening trick that actually works:

    Pinching buds will actually help encourage the side shoots to grow, allowing a denser plant.

    Favorite gardening hack:

    Pruning up a tree can add not only more space, but also prevent anyone from hiding behind it. That’s called the 3-6 rule. Keep smaller shrubs below three feet, and limb up branches to at least six feet on taller trees.

    Favorite way to bring the outdoors in.

    During the holidays, I find rosemary, lavender, or lemon Cypress shrubs from a local nursery that are around a foot in height and clip them into small table-top topiaries like spirals to have around the house.

    Every garden needs a…

    Focal point to draw visitors in. Consider topiary, a living sculpture that will enhance any space and continue to impress as it matures. Every garden should have at least one topiary.

    Tool you can’t live without:

    Tobisho Topiary Clippers allow me to use hand shears like a pencil. Feels like Edward Scissorhands, or a barber adding the final details.

    Go-to gardening outfit:

    Moisture wicking pants and long sleeve shirt, a safari hat, Gamecock neck gaiter, nitrile gloves, and Sketcher boots.

    Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

    Reese’s Plants in Columbia, SC, is my go-to nursery. A unique plant shop I recently visited was Elizabeth Stuart in Charleston, SC, which has a little bit of everything in their showroom and nursery.

    On your wishlist:

    Tobisho Shears from Niwaki.

    Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

    Fellows Riverside Garden in Youngstown, OH; Earlewood Park in Columbia, SC; Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI; and Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center in Bronx, NY.

    The REAL reason you garden:

    Incredibly therapeutic to work in nature daily, especially for someone that grew up with ADHD. I have a true passion for beautifying public spaces with topiary and creating peaceful more loving spaces for all.

    Thanks so much, Michael! (You can follow him on Instagram @gibby_siz.)

    For our full archive of Quick Takes, head here.

    (Visited 18 times, 18 visits today)

    Source link

  • All-White Gardens: 15 Favorite Examples of White-on-White Landscapes

    Nature abhors a monoculture, but not necessarily a monochrome culture. Against a leafy green backdrop, a single color stands out dramatically—particularly when that hue is white. Here are 15 of our favorite white-on-white plant palettes for a garden bed: For more monochromatic(ish) gardens, see: 11 Ideas to Steal for a Moonlight Garden Now Trending: 9 […]

    Source link

  • Ditmas Park Backyard: Dirt Queen Redesigns a Brooklyn Garden to Be More Functional

    When a family came to Dirt Queen NYC seeking a backyard makeover, they really just wanted one thing: to be able to use their yard. The existing “garden” was a patchy stretch of grass with garages on three sides. Now that their kids were older, the family no longer felt they needed a lawn for playtime. Instead they craved an adult space for hosting dinner parties and a dedicated firepit area, which might even entice their teens to hang out at home.

    Jarema Osofsky and Adam Bertulli, co-founders of Dirt Queen NYC, took stock of the existing conditions. The family wanted to keep the existing trees, including some arborvitae that were nicely screening the neighbor’s garage and some Norway maples that were creating dense shade on one half of the garden. Bertulli and Osofsky saw an opportunity to give their clients the function they craved, carving out two distinct garden rooms in the small space, while also creating a dynamic pollinator garden.

    Here’s how they did it.

    Photography by Brett Wood, courtesy of Dirt Queen NYC.

    Before

    The yard was nothing but balding grass, arborvitae, and a stand of Norway maples. One impactful move Bertulli and Osofsky made was asking the neighbors if they could paint the back walls of their garages the same color. Luckily, they agreed.
    Above: The yard was nothing but balding grass, arborvitae, and a stand of Norway maples. One impactful move Bertulli and Osofsky made was asking the neighbors if they could paint the back walls of their garages the same color. Luckily, they agreed.

    After

    From uninspired and useless to inviting and functional.
    Above: From uninspired and useless to inviting and functional.
    Native flowering shrubs are the backbone of the new garden. For the garden’s midlayer, Osofsky used Clethra summersweet, oak leaf hydrangeas, and Viburnum dentatum, which she notes provides really beautiful berries for birds.
    Above: Native flowering shrubs are the backbone of the new garden. For the garden’s midlayer, Osofsky used Clethra summersweet, oak leaf hydrangeas, and Viburnum dentatum, which she notes provides really beautiful berries for birds.

    Source link

  • Before & After: A 1940s-Suburban House Grows Up Gracefully in Mill Valley, CA – Gardenista

    In the first decade of America’s post-war boom, a million and a half new houses were built, creating vast tracts of suburbia and giving young families their first opportunity to own a home. Nowadays, however, homebuyers who stumble on a 1940s relic in vintage condition often wonder if it’s worth it to buy a house that needs a major remodel?

    For Raleigh and Michael Zwerin, the answer was yes. In 2004 they bought a circa-1944 cottage in Mill Valley, California. From the moment they moved in, baby in tow, they started thinking about the house they wished they had. Nearly a decade later, after having a second baby (and learning firsthand that the charming creeks that crisscrossed the neighborhood were prone to flood in winter), they asked architect Kelly Haegglund for help.

    For Haegglund, who lives just a few blocks from the Zwerins, the challenge was to design a modern-family-sized house that didn’t loom like the Hulk over the rest of the neighborhood, where one-story bungalows and cottages were built on narrow lots. The result? A modern three-bedroom bungalow with pleasing architectural details borrowed from the Arts and Crafts era. A low-water landscape, designed by Mill Valley-based Bradanini & Associates, surrounds the house in year-round greenery.

    Photography by Mimi Giboin.

    After searching for months for just the right dark stain color, Raleigh Zwerin suddenly saw it by accident when she drove by a house under construction in nearby San Francisco.
    Above: After searching for months for just the right dark stain color, Raleigh Zwerin suddenly saw it by accident when she drove by a house under construction in nearby San Francisco.

    “I went back to that house in the city several times until I met the lead contractor and asked him for the color, but he said the owner of the house said it was proprietary information and he didn’t want to give it out,” says Raleigh. Luckily, though, the contractor took pity on her plight. “He said, ‘I’ll meet you somewhere and give you a shingle so you can match the color.’ We ended up in a rendezvous by the side of the road. He brought two shingles in his truck, I brought a box of cookies, and it was great.”

    The custom trim color? The Zwerins also gleaned it from the same side-of-the-road exchange.

    A curtain of cape rush (Chrondopetalum elephantinum) will reach heights of from 4 to 6 feet, creating an airy screening layer behind the picket fece.
    Above: A curtain of cape rush (Chrondopetalum elephantinum) will reach heights of from 4 to 6 feet, creating an airy screening layer behind the picket fece.

    Source link

  • Garden of Eden: The Most Beautiful Spot in Brooklyn Happens to Be in an Industrial Park (Seriously) – Gardenista

    This week, we’re revisiting some of our all-time favorite stories about gardening in New York City. Cultivating plants in the Big Apple comes with challenges—yards tend to be small and shady, and privacy is rare—but if you have the patience, these urban gardens can produce some big-time magic. Behold…

    High levels of arsenic and lead in the soil, a decrepit factory building, a courtyard roofed over with half-rotted plywood and tarpaper and paved in concrete—we’ve all heard this Brooklyn story at least once. But surprise, there’s a happy ending for one garden on an industrial block in East Williamsburg.

    When FABR Studio + Workshop partners Thom Dalmas, Bretaigne Walliser, and Eli Fernald discovered the skeleton of a 700-square-foot courtyard while remodeling a building for clients, they were able to see beyond the grit. They decided to site their company headquarters in a first-floor studio space (see the interiors on Remodelista) and—in a genius move—to install steel factory doors to connect their office to a courtyard garden. (N.B.: FABR has since disbanded, with Dalmas and Walliser starting TBo Architecture.)

    The problem? The plan required them to create a courtyard garden from scratch, which required a leap of faith. “We dug up the whole concrete floor—broken slabs and dirt—and removed layers of plywood and tarpaper, and rebuilt a garden wall,” said Bret. “At that point we tested the soil—and it was shockingly high with lead and heavy metal. It was essentially a brown field site.”

    The solution? They remediated the dirt below the concrete with ground-up fish bones and fish meal (to render the heavy metals inert) and carted topsoil one wheelbarrow at a time to create a healthy foundation for plants. “It took a week and smelled like low tide for days, but the plants are absolutely thriving,” said Bret.

    The result? Magic. Read on and see if you agree:

    Photography by Matthew Williams.

    Above: “We’ve been building up and layering the palette out there,” said Bret. Potted plants clustered at the edge of a koi pond include tropical caladiums, a decorative orange tree, and a lime tree.

    In a neighborhood where rusting construction cranes and corrugated sheet metal are far more common sights than butterflies and bees, Fabr Studio created an oasis both for themselves and for the next generation of insects and humans (Bret and Tom are partners in life as well as in work, and have two young children who have named all the fish).

    Source link

  • Courtyard Gardens in New York City: Our Favorite Backyards in Manhattan and Brooklyn

    This week, we’re revisiting some of our all-time favorite stories about gardening in New York City. Cultivating plants in the Big Apple comes with challenges—yards tend to be small and shady, and privacy is rare—but if you have the patience, these urban gardens can produce some big-time magic. Behold…

    Courtyard gardens, enclosed on all sides by walls or fences, can transform a cramped space into an oasis. They preserve privacy while welcoming sunlight. And they can make even the smallest townhouse feel larger. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites from New York City, the unofficial epicenter for courtyard gardens.

    Boxwood + Brick in Upper East Side

    Above: Columnar boxwoods and brick walls lend this Upper East Side garden, designed by Lili Herrera, an elegant and somewhat formal look. Photograph courtesy of Fawn Galli, from True Blue: A Jolt of Color Enlivens a Manhattan Townhouse Garden.

    Balcony Views in Flatbush

    When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape, from Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard.
    Above: When garden designer Brook Klausing first saw his clients’ townhouse backyard in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, it looked bleak: a chain-link fence, an old concrete patio, and a patch of hard-packed dirt. No more. Photograph courtesy of Brook Landscape, from Garden Designer Visit: Brook Klausing Elevates a Brooklyn Backyard.

    Sustainable Design in Bed-Stuy

    Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns
    Above: Lauren Snyder and Keith Burns’s Brooklyn townhouse has a rainwater reclamation system (on the roof), a compost tumbler, and permeable hardscaping. Photograph by Jonathan Hokklo, from Sustainable Solutions: A Modern Garden for a Historic Townhouse in Brooklyn.

    A Bamboo Grove in Greenwich Village

    An airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from Before & After: From
    Above: An airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says designer Julie Farris. Photograph by Matthew Williams, from Before & After: From ‘Fishbowl’ Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis.

    Wisteria + Steel in Upper West Side

    “We essentially built the garden around the wisteria,”says Devin O
    Above: “We essentially built the garden around the wisteria,”says Devin O’Neill (O’Neill Rose Architects), of the tree on the left. It’s the only plant they kept from the original backyard. The walls are made from sheets of corten steel, the same type of metal favored by artist Richard Serra. Photograph by Michael Moran, from A New York Story: The Stunning Revival of a Landmarked Townhouse with an Intriguing History.

    Source link

  • Weed Wisdom: What 10 Common Weeds Are Trying to Tell You – Gardenista

    Listen up! Your weeds are trying to tell you something.

    Like all varieties of plants, individual weeds thrive in particular conditions. Some like it dry, others moist. Some prefer acidic soil, others thrive in more alkaline environments. Some will even tell you that your soil is perfect.

    So before you pluck and pull, take note. You can learn a lot about the growing conditions in your yard, based on which weeds are growing where. These 10 common weeds will reveal secrets about your soil:

    Plantains

    Above: Plantains can be your (ugly) medicinal friend; see more at First Aid Kit: 5 Essential Healing Plants. Photograph by Ernst Schütte via Wikimedia.

    Used in traditional medicine to make a poultice against stings, rashes, and insect bites, plantains are nonetheless unsightly in the lawn and garden. Their presence indicates low fertility and high acidity. They also thrive in poorly drained, compacted soil.

    The cure: To prevent plantains, correct the soil imbalance, aerate soil, and raise the level of your lawn mower so tall grass blades can shade plantain’s leaves.

    Crabgrass

    Digitaria sanguinalis (crabgrass). Photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.
    Above: Digitaria sanguinalis (crabgrass). Photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.

    Ever the opportunist, crabgrass thrives in both poor or very fertile soils, and will spring up in times of drought or excessive watering.

    The cure: To combat, raise the height of your mower to encourage “good” grass. Seed control also works with this annual: discourage germination by spreading cornmeal in the early spring.

    Ground Ivy

    Above: Photograph by Marie Viljoen, from Raid Your Lawn for Your New Favorite Herb: Ground Ivy.

    Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), also known as “Creeping Charlie,” is an aggressive weed that can quickly consume an unhealthy lawn. It thrives in areas with poor drainage, low fertility and lots of shade.

    The cure: Ground ivy will take advantage of bald spots, so make sure your lawn and garden have a lush canopy (or mulch), and fertile, well-drained soil. A higher mowing height (from 2.5 to 3 inches) will also help.

    Annual Bluegrass

    Poa annua(bluegrass) photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.
    Above: Poa annua(bluegrass) photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.

    An abundance of annual bluegrass is an indication that your soil is fertile, but most likely compacted and over-watered and poorly drained.

    The cure: To combat, aerate and water less, raise your mower height, and prevent seeds from spreading by spreading a cornmeal gluten in spring.

    Chickweed

    Common Chickweed (Stellaria media); photograph by Hugo via Wikipedia Commons.
    Above: Common Chickweed (Stellaria media); photograph by Hugo via Wikipedia Commons.

    Got chickweed in your garden? Goods news. That means it’s highly fertile. But this spreading annual can also indicate poor drainage and too much watering as well as compacted soil. (Good thing they’re delicious to eat.)

    Dandelions

    Dandelions are welcome here; learn why at The Garden of Magical Childhood. Photograph by Kendra Wilson.
    Above: Dandelions are welcome here; learn why at The Garden of Magical Childhood. Photograph by Kendra Wilson.

    Source link