It’s every gardener’s dream to have a garden that looks vibrant and healthy throughout the year. While most gardens look their best during the spring and early summer season, it’s a different story once winter comes. But what if you can maintain a pretty landscape all year round? If you know the ins and outs of seasonal gardening, you can have healthy crops, colorful blooms, and robust trees throughout all four seasons. Spring is the best time to prep your outdoor space since it sets the foundation for gardening success, so if you’re just about to start a garden, plan on […]
Author: James Johnsen
10 Steps to Creating a Productive Vegetable Garden
Do you want more control over where your food is coming from? Are you looking for a way to spend more time outdoors and get some exercise? Vegetable gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby that benefits your physical and mental well-being. Follow these 10 steps to create a garden that will provide your family with fresh produce you can enjoy all season long. 1. Start Small If you are new to gardening, start small. Tasks such as planting, weeding, watering, disease control, and harvesting can quickly become overwhelming. Limiting the size of your garden and the number of crops […]
Garden Myths vs. Facts
With so much information at our fingertips, it’s easy to find advice. However, this also makes it easy for myths to spread. A wide range of gardening myths have been around for a long time. And while these myths are common, the horticulture industry continues finding answers to these claims. Let’s dig in! Myth: You can add pebbles or rocks to the bottom of a container to help with drainage. Truth: At first glance, this idea sounds good. During the last 100 years, studies have shown the extra material makes it harder for water to move through the soil. There […]
Groundcover Plants for Sun & Shade
Do you have problem areas in your garden? It could be that spot under a tree where the soil is dry or a slope with erosion. Groundcovers are a living mulch that can fill these tricky spots with colorful blooms and unique texture. They also control weeds and help your garden stand out. Like any planting, the right groundcover depends on your site conditions. How To Use Groundcover Plants Years ago, my family put in stepping stones in our backyard. Between the stones, we had wood mulch that kept the weeds in check. After a couple of years, the wood […]
How To Protect Your Roses In Winter
Should I protect my roses in winter? We often hear this question, and the short answer is “It depends.” From shrub roses to hybrid teas and floribundas, roses have different levels of cold tolerance. Roses also come in two categories: grafted or own root. Grafted plants consist of two parts: a rootstock and a scion. The rootstock is the lower portion of the plant, including the base of the stems and roots. At the same time, the scion is the upper portion that creates flowers. When a grafted rose dies back, it often sends out new growth in spring from […]
Succulent Care Made Simple
Succulents are hard to kill. I’ve heard that phrase many times and it’s mostly true. Still, I’ve managed to lose a few plants over the years. While they love being neglected, succulents have a few needs that should be addressed. Like all plants, they grow best outside but can add new life to your home with their unique shapes and colors. Here are tips to get you started, along with some plant ideas. Succulent Care Tips 1. Light For succulents, more light is better. If you’ve ever grown seedlings in your window, you may have noticed them stretching for light. […]
From The Garden To The Living Room: Adapting Your Outdoor Plants For Indoor Living
There are many reasons why people love to putter around in the garden. Some people adore it because it gives them a way to grow their own food, while others can’t get enough of gardening because it’s great for their mental health. Since the presence of plants helps to fight seasonal depression and bring a sense of life into a room, many gardeners are now bringing their favorite plants indoors to enhance productivity and wellbeing, and make their shared spaces look and feel livelier and happier. Growing your outdoor plants indoors takes more than just transferring them into pretty plant […]
Make Your Landscape A Winter Wildlife Refuge
Have you heard the phrase “things are not as they appear”? Our gardens look quiet in winter, but they’re full of life. From birds to squirrels and insects, these critters are fighting for survival. Check out these tips for supporting wildlife during the coldest time of year. And for patio gardeners, there are tips for you, too! How To Provide Winter Shelter In Your Garden Perennial Stems As winter settles in, you can provide shelter for animals. For birds and other small creatures, consider leaving the old stems of perennials until spring. Those stems look unimportant, but they’re often filled […]
Solving Common Winter Garden Issues
Do you look forward to winter? On the one hand, the quiet days and fresh snowfalls can be wonderful. However, those cold conditions create challenges for our gardens. Let’s check out some common problems and how to prevent them. Winter Burn Have you ever noticed brown leaves on your evergreens in spring? This problem, known as winter burn, is caused by the leaves drying out. Winter burn mainly affects evergreens like boxwood, yew, and junipers. Several factors can impact the severity of winterburn, like a plant’s age. New transplants have smaller root systems that are prone to drying out. In […]
Plant Now for a Beautiful Spring: Tips for Fall Bulbs
When is the best time to plant? For spring blooming bulbs, it’s fall. From tulips to daffodils and crocus, these colorful plants lead the transition from winter to spring. And if you crave variety, bulbs come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. There are over 26,000 varieties of daffodils in the world! Today, we’ll focus on different types of bulbs and how they add color to the garden. Fall Bulb Types In my home state (Wisconsin), winter holds its grip on spring. And that’s why these early bloomers are such a welcome sight! While each bulb only blooms for a […]