A thoughtful way to live a greener life in the new year is to make your landscape eco-friendly and plant trees. Planting a tree is one of the most immediate green steps you can take as trees absorb CO2 and other dangerous gasses while replenishing the atmosphere with oxygen. Canopy trees, and Deciduous trees that grow tall and full in the summer, will add shade [...]
Ease of movement and flow are essential when connecting your indoor and outdoor spaces. Think of your outside space as a room, and what's the first question that comes to mind? "How will I get there?" This can easily be achieved, especially in an older home, with a few additions. Replace a solid door with a door with glass, add some wooden stairs, and your journey begins. [...]
Late spring is a great time to take a close look at your garden to decide where you need to make some changes. Truly memorable gardens get their character from lovely bones -- benches, water features, garden accents, sculptures, containers and planters, stone work, arbors/pergolas, custom fences and gates, terraces, patios, garden lighting, and edging around your plant beds. Many first time [...]
With the snowing falling once again... my thoughts turn to spring and one of my favorite plants I distinctly remember from my childhood; Lilacs And for many of us, nothing says "Spring" quite like the scent of lilacs. There are new hybrids and species of Lilacs that make me want to write this blog post [...]
When a gardener asks, "How can I make my garden 'green'?" The journey has begun. A thoughtful understanding that an outside space can have a positive impact on the environment is the first step to a green garden makeover. An exciting weekend project that will bring immediate and amazing results is to reduce your lawn area by at least half. [...]
GardenWise on Winter Garden Repairs As the snows piles high, frigid weather wraps stealthily around us, and your gardens must sleep through the bombardment of winter. But our work is never done. As more snow storms approach many areas, here’s a short list of what you can do right now to repair snow damaged gardens and prepare your garden for the [...]
Icicle Pansies and Violas are GardenWise! You can plant these fantastic, eye-catching Icicle Pansies and cover yourself for the following Spring, GUARANTEED. You've gotta love a flower that comes with a guarantee! Garden beauty in summer '11 and Spring '12 from spectacular ICICLE Pansies and Icicle Violas, which are bred for cold climates. This tough breed will survive the harshest winters, which means, again, you'll [...]
GardenWise - Container Plants that Don't Defy Odds We love a quick Q&A, especially when the question involves some- thing a gardener sees with their eye that actually doesn't match with what's really happening. Here's the question: Q. I have a dracaena spike plant that is in a porch-railing container outside. I am amazed that it's still alive and looking great. I read an article [...]
I was going to do a lengthy post today about fantastic colors for your spring garden, pointing to the Red Prairie Coneflower, pictured, which is a beautiful coneflower that will add fantastic and eye-catching color to your garden. You won't be able to pass by this beauty without stopping to get a closer look each time you [...]
It's the second day of spring, and I'm thinking about water features! There's nothing more inspiring than a well designed water feature blended into the natural environment to transform your garden into a destination. Let's revisit an informative LOWE's story by Jake Fowler from last year on water feature - water fountain trends that continue with full force into 2011.
