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 year will go down in history as the year I not only started seeds on time, organized all seeds by category (direct sow, indoor starts, and never-going-to-grow-it-so-trade-it-already), AND managed to draw up some kind of “plan” beyond casual (and quickly forgetten) mental lists. I rule. For now. We’ll see what happens when transplant buying …
Guest post by Kelly Gilliam So you’ve just moved into a new place. You look around, and find yourself in a jam. Maybe your new yard doesn’t come with a garden plot, or perhaps the plot there is so overgrown with weeds that it looks like it hasn’t been touched in ten years. Whatever your …
Guest post by Anne Boyer I planned my first garden for ten years. I fell asleep fantasizing about what I would do with land when I finally owned some: there would be the blue room, exploding with morning glories and delphiniums, the fruit room surrounded by a thick patch of brambles, the grandmother room full …
Guest post by Kelly Gilliam Make this budget conscious compost bin for your deck or small outdoor space. One benefit to having your own yard and garden is plenty of room. However, some of us live in tight apartments and are forced to have container gardens. Because of space, the urban dweller may conclude that …
Guest post by Hillary Rosner “Using goats to battle weeds is gaining popularity in the West, where noxious and invasive plant species are pervasive and poor management has left a lot of land in bad shape.” The lawnmower was broken. Not that I knew how to use it, anyway, as I’d spent my whole life …
Guest post by Beate Schwirtlich Method Hitting the road with a cup of coffee in a travel mug, my search for wild roadside apple trees begins. I find what I am looking for, a row of gnarled, unpruned wild apple trees growing side by side on a gravel road. I can see right away that …
Your parents probably tried to instill the virtues of sharing when you were in your formative years. The reasoning is that it’s a nice way to treat your peers and it teaches you to be unselfish and thoughtful. When it comes to gardening, sharing plants through propagation isn’t just a friendly gesture but is actually …
There are a variety of reasons for harvesting your own seeds; some personal, some environmental. Perhaps you have a variety that you like and you are concerned that seed companies may discontinue stocking it. You saw some wildflowers while on an outdoor hike that you’d like to grow in your own garden. You have a …
This fall, while strolling through my neighbourhood, I caught out of the corner of my eye two cactus plants sitting next to the garbage bins of a large high rise. Not being one to shy away from free, discarded stuff, I casually veered off path to check it out. What I discovered were two, fairly …
Guest post by Felicia Friesema Gardening, as you may well know, is a constantly changing learning process that tests our willingness to give in to the natural world, to submit ourselves wholeheartedly to a process that denies us what we think we want in favor of what the garden wants. You want fresh zukes? Battle …
Guest post by Zesty “Now is the winter of our discontent” -Richard III, By: William Shakespeare Ah yes. There is nary more apt a quote when it comes to gardeners. Last Sunday, I reconciled myself to the inevitable and commenced getting my garden ready for winter. It’s not a tedious task with particularly a lot …
Guest post by Andrea Crisp As everyone knows, each plant has its own unique smell. Scents can alter your mood in subtle ways, so when you plan your garden, why not let your nose decide the arrangements for you? If you’re planning a quiet, private garden, a mix of mild-scented flowers like lily-of-the-valleys, lilacs, and …