Heat, frost, wind, and hail can wreak havoc in the garden. Learn how to protect plants from the elements, whatever Mother Nature throws your way.
Follow these 25 perfect garden tips to sketch out garden landscapes that are sure to flourish with minimal upkeep and without pricey do-overs.
Create a beautiful landscape with these xeriscape plants that need little water and are low maintenance too.
Estos días de calor se prestan para escribir y compartir fotos de jardines, patios y terrazas, ¿verdad? Pero hoy, quiero ir un poquito más allá, para contarles sobre un tema que, de unos años para acá, me ha venido apasionando: la xerojardinería, es decir, la creación de jardines que consumen poca agua. I’ve said it before, warm, Summer days make me want to write about gardens, courtyards, patios, and any other kind of outdoor project. However, today I want to go a little further and talk about a subject I feel very passionate about: xeriscaping. In other words, the creation of water saving gardens, or actually gardens that require no suplemental watering. En realidad, el concepto no es nuevo. Este término extraño se acuñó en Estados Unidos a principios después de la sequía de 1977 y también como respuesta al crecimiento de jardines tipo “pradera verde”, es decir, de pasto o césped. Y es que, el 50% del consumo de agua en los hogares norteamericanos corresponde al mantenimiento de las áreas verdes. This concept is actually not new. This bizarre term was coined after the 1977 drought, and the later recognition that 50% of the water used by the average household […]
Construido en 2010 en Japón. Imagenes por Daici Ano . Se trata de un proyecto de extensión de una vivienda de 35 años de edad, para una hija y su marido. Los árboles Azelkova y Camphor estaban en el...
These water-wise plants grow effortlessly in droughty conditions and bloom in an array of colors—and best yet, they aren't all succulents.
Xeriscaping shows you do not need to spend a fortune on your water bill when you want a thriving garden in your outdoor space. Despite how a ‘low water garden’ may sound, xeriscaped landscapes are full of colorful and aromatic plants.
Plano's first and my garden's first landscape tour was last Saturday. I am not sure anyone knew what to expect. Based on the turn out and response received to my garden, I think the tour went well. At least 243 people passed through my garden during the six hours the tour was open and more continued to stop or drive by for the next couple of hours. Somewhere around 3:20, the doorbell rang and a woman that said she had a late start wanted to ask questions and look around. I was exhausted after being outside in the heat since 7:00 AM and I was hungry. I declined as politely as possible and directed her to this blog. While I was turning her away, another couple walked up. I told them they could look around, but I was going inside because I was tired and hungry. Here I am speaking about asparagus or drip irrigation or squash bugs or something. I have no clue. It was a crazy day. This photo was taken by my co-worker, Elaine, sometime around 11:30. I started placing plant tags around the garden an hour before the tour officially began and I was still carrying the last handful that I picked up as people started coming into the garden. Up until a few minutes before this photo was taken, I was without my hat, sunglasses and water. I thought I would have had an opportunity to go back inside before this time, but I was answering questions non-stop from the time the first visitor arrived. At one point, I just had to excuse myself and run inside. The volunteers and several visitors thanked me for having the plant tags. I thought they would be a good idea since most of my plants would be unknown to most of the visitors. By the way, thanks to the three Live Green in Plano volunteers that helped answer questions. I would have been in trouble without you. The next photos were taken as the sun was setting on tour day. I had hoped to get a few pictures while the tour was taking place, but it was just too busy. As I mentioned, visitors had a lot of questions. Often, I would be in the middle of answering one question when someone else would come up and ask another. My apologies if I did not get everyone's questions answered fully. I tried. I think the most asked question of the day had to be "How old is that cactus?" Everyone was surprised that it is only about six years old. I spoke to a couple of people that said they read the blog, but nobody ever mentioned my comment in a post where I said I would give a cactus pad to the first three people that asked for one. Since no one was asking for them, I started offering them to people that expressed an interest in the cactus. Another subject of many questions, comments and photos was the horsetail reed growing in a stock tank in the front yard. There may be more stock tanks showing up in Plano in the future. There were several plants still in bloom, like this Rock Penstemon which did not begin blooming until the week of the tour. Although I have made a point of including native plants in the garden that will extend the blooming seasons as long as possible, I was concerned that there would not be much blooming by tour date. There was no need for those concerns. The garden was full of blooms. People were surprised to find out that I did all of the design and installation of the garden myself. One woman asked if I had a regular job. I assume she thought it required a lot of time and effort to maintain the garden. The truth is, I do not spend much time on maintenance. Most of the time in the garden is because I am expanding or changing things around. Remember my storage area in the backyard that was filled with rocks, flagstone, and other landscape materials? Here it is after being cleaned up. I moved the flagstone and hid everything else in plain view. One example is the boulder footstool, front and center. Another example of hiding in plain view is my plant shelf made of extra concrete edging. All of my homeless plants that still need to find a place in the soil were clustered in a corner. I made a dry pond out of the remaining boulders. Can you get more water-wise than a waterless water feature? I made this sedum planter out of an old metal bird bath. A hole rusted out of the bottom years ago and it was just laying around in my storage area with the rocks. Somebody asked me how often I watered it. The truth was that I only watered it once because I created it the night before. I think she kind of figured that out and teased me a bit. Here is another view of the sedum planter. The flowering tobacco was an attention getter. The tallest one is about six feet tall and no one had seen this variety before. They were comparing it to the foot tall ones frequently found in the home centers. This variety is Nicotiana sylvestris. It will often return from the roots as a perennial or reseed. It is relatively drought tolerant, even with the large leaves. The Purple Horsemint was a standout in the back garden. It was in peak bloom. I was concerned that some people would be afraid because the flowers were swarming with bees. As far as I could tell, there were no panic attacks and no stings. People loved the Giant Coneflower too. Several people were educated in asparagus gardening. They were unfamiliar with its growth habits and harvesting. For anyone else that is interested, you harvest spears as they first poke out of the ground in the spring. Any spears that are not harvested will continue to grow to a height over six feet tall and produce fern-like foliage. Visitors were also introduced to the many things you can make with cattle panel, such as asparagus cages, tomato cages, and arches for vine crops like squash and beans. I was surprised that there was so much interest in my Wooly Pipevine. The leaves are not especially attractive once they mature and are chewed on by pipevine swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Most of the caterpillars had crawled away to pupate and I had an opportunity to point out the pupa to a few visitors. There was one caterpillar munching away that attracted much attention. One visitor thought I was joking when I called this a pipevine since it was growing on a copper pipe trellis. I am happy to say the garden came through the tour relatively unscathed and a lot of people learned a little about some unfamiliar plants and a different approach to landscaping. More people will have an opportunity to see and learn from my garden in the future as I was asked to participate in tours for two gardening clubs. Maybe the landscape standard in Plano is beginning to change.
Create a beautiful and sustainable water-wise garden with these easy-to-grow, drought-tolerant trees shrubs, annuals and perennials.
How To Pre-Sprout Dahlia Tubers, Test for Viability, and Get Earlier Blooms! Want to get a head start on your dahlia plants for the season? Want to test your tubers for viability? A pre-sprout test is the way to go. First, I will talk about the fastest way to test for tuber viability.
There are plenty of gorgeous drought tolerant perennial plants that waste our water resources. These are some of our favorites!
"Healing is very different than curing, just as the work of healers is very different from that of medical doctors. Healing is the act of ridding your body of the conditions that create and support disease. Most of the illnesses that people suffer from today arise primarily from lifestyle - related causes, such as stress, diet and lack of exercise. changes in these areas can eliminate many illnesses. " Susan West Kurz Reiki/ Energy/Body-Work The statement above is beautiful and succinct, but I'd make it even simpler and say that creating harmony and balance in all areas of your life...
These trendy indigenous plants will add local flavour to your garden whether you have a meadow, water-wise plantings or a formal garden
Gardens can thrive in times of drought. Here is a practical guide to more productive watering techniques that will help save money and conserve our very precious resource.
Last fall I started collecting eggshells after I read an article on Real Farmacy that touted their usefulness in the garden for everything from fertilizer
Distinguishing between the many rosemary varieties on the market is crazy tricky, but we've got the info you need to choose wisely, based on your climate and landscape.
In Alaska, we make up for our white winter palette with an abundance of vivid, gushing hanging baskets in the summer. How can you get your own colorful basket this summer? One of my favorite
Today’s post features a 1930s Santa Barbara beauty re-imagined by interior designers Richard Hallberg and Barbara Wisely. With three decades of experience, they bring a wealth of knowledge an…
Jane Burrell has created a water-wise green oasis on her property, Woodlands, near Narrabri in NSW's north west. The Burrell family have lived here for three generations and have shaped the garden into what it is today.
www.joergkaspari.com/familiengarten-christmann
Plant smart for a rewarding and engaging garden that doesn’t require a regional dam to keep it healthy.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent, a fact that might scare off some gardeners. Not David Glenn. Two decades ago Glenn, a nurseryman from England
Explore our gallery of beautiful alliums
Australian permaculturist Rosina Buckman has some terrific tank garden tips! She says think of your raised bed as a compost pile! That’s efficient! Place it wisely to get the most sun, lea…
English | Español | Deutsch Kirstenbosch is one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world. Located in Cape Town, it was established in 1913…
Peonies not blooming is a big disappointment. Luckily, we have the solution. Here are the top 6 reasons why peonies refuse to bloom and how to ensure you have plenty of pretty flowers come spring.
Create a beautiful landscape with these xeriscape plants that need little water and are low maintenance too.
There’s no doubt that everyone experiences stress. Sometimes the stress can be so difficult to deal with that people will seek a way to relieve it. Since it’s healthier to find stress relief than it is to live with it, it’s wise to find a way to regain your peace. One of the best ways…
Drought Tolerant Perennials
Learn how to prune oregano here. It grows densely & you need to cut away the old stems to make way for tender, tasty new growth. Bon Appetit!
These plants stand up to coastal conditions beautifully
Sometimes runoff water from impervious surfaces will concentrate and cause erosion problems. Rain gardens harvest this water, filter pollutants, and prevent erosion.
Lavender enthusiast and landscape designer Karen Rhind has crafted a wild and beautiful garden in one of the country’s most inhospitable environments. Words Cheree Morrison Photos: Rachael McKenna Central Otago is a near semi-arid climate. The temperature can range from scorching in summer to bitter in a snowfall. Adding to the level of difficulty, Karen Rhind's ’s block is mostly free-draining pure sand. “There’s no real soil here,” says Karen. “I’ve been adding mulch as the soil won’t hold water. It’s so hot and dry that even the weeds were dying, so I’ve had to adjust to regular watering. Lugging
Starting seedlings indoors in the last weeks of winter provides you with plenty of flower...
GARDEN INTERNATIONAL
Gardening in areas with high wind can be tricky, so it’s crucial to choose your plants wisely. Discover nine wind-resistant plants.
Lewisia Cotyledon (Broadleaf Siskiyou Lewisia) evergreen perennial, succulent, cup-shaped dark green leaves, widely opened conical flowers. [DETAILS]
Here, we'll learn how to create a drought-tolerant garden, or xeriscape landscape...taking inspiration from Palm Springs to Southern France.
Compost is great for the lawn, and the US Composting Council lists compost providers whose products pass a compost-specific quality test.
One of the principal defining features of many of the great gardens of the world...
Learn all about Russian Sage. This low-maintenance, flowering perennial will thrive in gardens with poor, dry soils. Great for the water-wise landscape, use Russian Sage to attract pollinators and to make an impactful visual statement.
