Text by Kate Brandes Illustrations by Tom Maxfield Social scientists have looked at how people feel about their yards, and their research shows that preferences are determined mostly by people’s desire to fit in with the neighbors. Unfortunately, native plants have developed something of a bad rap among homeowners as messy and hard to manage…
Gardening Basics
Leave the Leaves!
October 15, 2018 in Gardening Basics, Landscape Maintenance, Mulching
by Justin Wheeler Reprinted with permission from the Xerces Society’s blog. Besides providing the right plants, and protecting your garden from pesticides, one of the next most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the winter cover they need in the form of fall leaves and…
The Garden in Every Sense and Season
September 14, 2018 in Gardening Basics, Landscape Design
by Tovah Martin Taken from The Garden in Every Sense and Season© Copyright 2018 by Tovah Martin, photographs by Kindra Clineff. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Grape Nuts You suspected autumn was in the air. Maybe you even feared fall’s inevitable arrival. But you didn’t come…
Drought Tolerant Container Gardens, Beyond the Traditional
July 16, 2018 in Conservation, Gardening Basics, Native Plants
by Irene Brady Barber When people think of the plants for drought tolerant container gardens, immediately succulents come to mind. Succulents are great for that purpose, but there are many other plant options. Consider the opportunity of using native plants in place of the exotic succulents.
Connect with Nature and Grow Your Own Food
June 16, 2018 in Edible Landscaping, Gardening Basics
by Ben Barkan Think of time spent in nature as a nutrient that we are all deficient in. It used to be normal to grow our own food, spend time in the forest, and connect with the seasonal changes. For many of us, that’s no longer the norm, but we have options. By growing and…
The Pleasures of Butterfly Gardening
June 16, 2018 in Beneficials/Pollinators, Gardening Basics
by Cathy Rooney For those of us who love to garden, whether for necessity, pleasure or both, an added dimension of the challenge and pleasure is to provide flowers that also attract butterflies along with beneficial insects and other pollinators.
Book Review: Practical Organic Gardening
May 15, 2018 in Book and DVD Reviews, Gardening Basics
Practical Organic Gardening: The No-Nonsense Guide to Growing Naturally Written by Mark Highland Published by Cool Springs Press, 2017 Reviewed by Rie Macchiarolo Practical Organic Gardening is a great book for gardeners, farmers, and horticulturalists of all skill levels. In the first chapter author Mark Highland notes that while organic farming and organic gardening share…
Ergonomics: What’s the Right Tool for You?
March 15, 2018 in Gardening Basics
by Liz Brensinger Ergonomics, principle #1: If a tool is labeled as ergonomic but no one can tell you what makes it so, it probably isn’t. Ergonomics, principle #2: If a tool doesn’t make your work easier, more comfortable and/or safer, it definitely isn’t!
Sowing Native Seed
January 15, 2018 in Gardening Basics, Native Plants
by Heather McCargo The seeds of wild plants have a different set of needs than those of common garden and vegetable species. Most gardeners think of spring as the time to sow seeds, but for most native plants in Maine fall to early winter is the best time. Many wildflowers, trees and shrubs have seeds that…
Dry River Beds: Possibly Your Property’s Best Feature
December 15, 2017 in Gardening Basics, Rainwater Harvesting
by Marie Chieppo For centuries water has been used as a focal point in gardens. Fountains, waterfalls and reflecting pools provide a symphony for the senses and add interest to any landscape. The extreme weather conditions we have been experiencing remind us of the ecological balance we need to work towards with many issues. Using…
For the Birds
November 11, 2017 in Gardening Basics, Landscape Design, Wildlife Habitats
by Karen Bussolini Bluebirds brighten any day, but their blast of blue and muted melodies especially lift my spirits in winter. On sunny mornings they’re like blue-clad clowns catching drops of snowmelt mid-drip as they hang upside down from the eaves of my garden shed. When every feathered creature around descends on the big old…
A Word About Weeds
November 11, 2017 in Gardening Basics, Invasive Plants
by Teri Dunn Chace Excerpts taken from How to Eradicate Invasive Plants © Copyright 2013 by Teri Dunn Chace. Published by Timber Press, Portland, OR. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Worldwide Weeds Culturally, we live in a global village, thanks primarily to a dazzling array of technological advances in transportation…
