Unique plants produce flowers which fry in the heat which the sun gives off in the day. For these flowers, a western exposure may mean certain death. A garden with a Mediterranean exposure — where the sun shines on the ground at the morning and is blocked by structures or trees at the day —…
It’s a natural tendency to want to extend your flower garden to your spaces beneath trees to fill in otherwise bare ground. For the most part, plants that grow below tree canopies must be known to tolerate partial to full shade. Fortunately, there are plenty that take those states provided that you give them routine…
A privacy fence around your property creates defined borders that keep others from entering or looking into your lawn. Planting flowering vines or perennials that need support close to the foundation of this fence is a practical gardening solution that enhances the beauty of the yard. However, there are some variables to consider before you…
A huge tree grows beside a backyard pond, providing shade and a place to rest while watching the water ripple at the end. What this image leaves out is when you are ready to pull out your hair over the maintenance caused by building a pond also near a tree. There’s potential danger and annoyance…
When summer ends, then there’s no reason why you can’t prolong enjoyment of homegrown tomatoes throughout the wintertime. Propagated from cuttings taken out of last season’s plants or opened from seed, determinate or dwarf cherry tomatoes can be grown successfully indoors as long as they’re subjected to as much sunlight as you can. In circumstances…
Lining up your outside trash cans along a bare-soil surface contributes to erosion and uneven ground; trash can wheels gradually dig in the soil to make a ditch that captures water and produces a bad aesthetic. As a solution, you can use inorganic mulch for a ground cover. Typical choices of rubber and gravel mulch…
It is said that the sole difference between a bad haircut and a good haircut is just two weeks, but this maxim does not apply to drastic pruning of maple trees (Acer spp.) . “Topping” a tree is much more like decapitation than the cosmetic process, causing severe pruning wounds and destroying the maple’s natural…
Plan for pear perfection this season by accommodating your gardening program to the development cycle of your pear trees. Every year, pear trees, like the rest of the fruit trees, go through a developing cycle. Being in touch with this cycle for a gardener makes it possible to determine the best times to prune, protect…
When you create a home garden, one of the aims is to make it enjoyable for as long a season as possible. Evergreen shrubs with variegated leaf offer dependable color in a backyard year-round. Even if nothing is blooming, splashes of gold, cream, white and even pink make your landscape a pleasure to check at.…
Possessing a slope between your lawn when the property is sloping down toward another home and conflicts can be caused by a neighbor, and water and mud are being deposited into puddles. To help alleviate the problem, landscape the incline to anchor the ground and divert water. Plants will not simply take in a few…