I love to make things with my hands. This section includes building, DIY, upcycling, and craft projects for your garden. It also covers using materials gleaned from the garden or the natural world at large.
This crocheted bag looks like a great project to make for toting your garden harvest or trips to the Farmer’s Market. It’s made using plastic grocery bags cut into workable “yarn” strips. I like that the designer used different coloured bags to create a classier looking bag.
It’s time for me to face the cold, hard truth; my plot at The Parkdale Community Beer Garden is officially crap for growing veggies. With every new year I have found that while my soil continues to improve, the light on my tiny plot has been slowly declining. A couple of overhead trees have been …
Guest post by Renee Garner Never one to adhere to tradition, I have started swallowing my grassy yard up with perennials and edibles. Several factors have prevented total success with the work so far, though, and a major one has been communication between my spouse and myself. This was especially apparent one evening at dusk …
Guest post by Renee Garner Office Manager may sound like a hefty title, for those not in the know, but really I am just a glorified secretary. Sure I have a degree, but that doesn’t equate to a high paying job in my chosen field: art. So I make enough to live off of but …
Growing succulents in the window box on the fire escape portion of my rooftop garden has become a tradition — most likely because they are just about the only plants that can survive the intense sun, heat, and drought. The deck is fully exposed to all sorts of harsh conditions but the fire escape area …
I came across this low fence made of tree prunings while walking through Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. It’s very simply constructed and relies on the v-shape where one branch joins another rather than fussing with string and wire. Mind you this wouldn’t survive five minutes on my block but seems like a viable design on …
I need your help finding subjects for a project I’m starting this spring/summer. I’m looking to photograph gardeners in their gardens. What is a garden? My concept of a garden is very open-ended. It can be anything from a sprawling lush paradise to a single plant growing in a coffee can. Gardens include but are …
Make Herb Tea Fertilizer Did you know you can make liquid fertilizer for your plants using other plants? Sounds like floral cannibalism but it’s not unlike compost when you think about it. Some plants are high in particular nutrients which can be extracted in the same way that you would make a medicinal tea for …
Fruit crates are just tall enough to accomodate leafy greens or herbs with shallow root systems. I decided to fill this one up with a crop of mache. Mache is the de rigour green of the uppercrust and a good choice if growing lettuce feels like a waste of time and space. The succulent leaves …
As if gardening with living plants isn’t enough to keep me occupied, I’ve recently become obsessed with plants crafted from paper. Download and construct your own garden of indoor houseplants, from the Epson Hong Kong site. Patterns include ivy, lucky bamboo, saguaro cactus, and a cute barrel cactus.
So they’re not very stylin’, but these self-watering planters made from junked pop bottles are pretty handy for the well-intentioned but forgetful gardener. The bottom watering system keeps cuttings and seedlings on the right side of moist without the discipline (and hassle) of routine dampness patrol. There’s more talk and experimentation with this concept in …
Guest post by Kelly Gilliam So besides being an avid gardening, I’ve an avid knitter. That means I’m always looking for cool new things to knit up. Today I got the idea in my head “hey, what about knitting plants??” So after a little searching I found these awesome knit plants that you can make. …