Sometimes I carelessly throw around the word tropical where it doesn’t apply—referring to plants that merely require warmer temps than I’ve got. But when you’re as far south in the Caribbean as Barbados, you can use the word tropical with a fair amount of confidence. I saw plants here that I would only see this [...]
Read more in: Real Gardens
While reading the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I stumbled upon a new (to me) trend in outdoor living: Outdoor Televisions! Phew! It’s. […]
Body: Posted by Bert CreggLast week I posted about some horticultural disasters I witnessed in the Czech Republic. This week the chamber of horrors. […]
Biodiverse Lawn by Coalition Member Thomas Christopher Like other members of this group, I believe that the contemporary model of lawn has got to go.. […]
Why is shovelling snow so much less enjoyable than shovelling dirt?
Read more in: Real GardensAs soon as I saw the cover of this book, I knew where we had to go for our annual winter break. Such a thing is necessary when you live in Western New York—at least I find it so. Nothing says you’re really away from it all like a...
Read more in: Real GardensWe know it won’t be your top pick for the “What I’m thankful for” moment at dinner today, but at GardenRant we’re all ears on the subject of public gardens we know and love. Mine is Brookside Gardens near me in suburban Maryland, and I hope you can see...
Read more in: Real GardensI live in a neighborhood that has pretty relaxed standards about landscaping and upkeep. And personally, I'm charmed by flowers that find their way into cracks in the concrete and bloom there. It's a metaphor for–something, right? Urban beauty? Bloom where you're planted? Grace in the face of adversity?...
Read more in: Real GardensWe use an online form to request trees from the varieties offered, but this one is sort of faked; these addresses really do not need trees. But you have to give an address to get a tree. Yesterday was tree-planting day in the neighborhood, fall edition, and it had...
Read more in: Gardening on the Planet, Real GardensWisteria has surprisingly nice fall color. Agreed. Trend surveys are little more than marketing fodder and often are blatant advertising of certain products. However, I still like to look at them because I always found something interesting, or something that, regardless of why it’s named as a trend, I...
Read more in: Designs, Tricks, and Schemes, Real GardensBoy, was I wrong about Fritz Haeg and his Edible Estates. You know, those front-lawn-to-veg-garden make-overs he's been doing across the country? I remember dissing the Baltimore demonstration site based on a photo like this one – because it didn't meet my design standards (such as they are). I...
Read more in: Eat This, Real GardensHere's a guest rant from Michelle Clay/The Clueless Gardeners. In July, against their wishes, the city of Bartlett, Illinois mowed down Donald and Benia Zouras’s garden. And Don and Benia have to pay for it. I’ve sifted through their record of what happened, and I’ve read the relevant parts...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Real GardensHere's a guest rant from Chris/Flatbush Gardener Community garden supporters on the steps of City Hall In New York City, every square inch of space is scrutinized, and land use discussions often devolve into war games. Community gardens, unique uses of open and green space, are not spared such...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Real GardensHere’s a guest rant from Bob Baxter/co-contributor, Fading Into Myth Every April in the Greater Niagara area over 2 million daffodils bloom. This is known as the Festival of Gold because the daffodils are yellow. The origin of the festival is fading into the mists of antiquity (20 years ago?) which...
Read more in: Guest Rants, Real GardensGreetings from Maine! This week, I had the incredible experience of sailing on my friend Tom's Catboat from Somesville Sound to Little Cranberry Island. I contributed nothing to the sailing endeavor, but I did have a profoundly satisfying nap in the romantic little cabin on the boat. And then...
Read more in: Eat This, Real GardensWhat IS it with these northern cities and their appreciation for gardens? We’ve covered Buffalo thoroughly here, and posted photos of Chicago’s Millennium Park especially its Lurie Garden from our Gardenblogger Spring Fling there in 2009. But what struck me on this visit, in mid-August, were the street gardens…everywhere. ...
Read more in: Real GardensIt’s kind of cool that Popular Mechanics is still around. Friends of mine collect it; in fact, I found all kinds of stuff in the May 1963 issue, including a full report of the effect of classical music on corn plants and cool photos of women in Jackie-O outfits...
Read more in: Real GardensLandcraft is a Long Island nursery specializing in tropical and green roof plants, and it's the baby of a very cool guy named Dennis Schrader. And beyond cool is the back garden of his and partner Bill Smith's home next door, images of which you see here from my...
Read more in: Real GardensThere's a great story by Adrian Higgins in today's Washington Post titled "Lose the Lawn" – and look at it on the cover of their Local Living section! Here's the introductory story, in which Higgins weighs in with his own conclusion on the subject: "Toss the turf." (As if...
Read more in: Lawn Reform, Real GardensPhoto by Cheryl Jackson. Here’s a hastily posed question as I prepare my property for this weekend’s onslaught of Garden Walk visitors. Can garden tourism provide a previously unexamined economic boost to cities (like mine) not ordinarily known as tourism destinations? According to a book fellow Buffalo blogger Jim...
Read more in: Garden Walk Buffalo, Real GardensThat’s what a bloggers’ meet-up is good for. Not too many people here in Buffalo really want to hear my pet plant peeves—for very long anyway—but during last weekend’s Buffa10 meet-up, I was able to freely vent with such equally outspoken gardeners/garden writers as Susan Cohen, Michele Owens, and...
Read more in: Everybody's a Critic, Garden Walk Buffalo, Real GardensIn two days, 70 of YOU will be filing into my garden, with (I am sure) highly critical eyes. It’s not the first time, though; every year I open my garden up to many more people than that—during Garden Walk Buffalo—and, although the common remarks include “very nice,” “beautiful,”...
Read more in: Real GardensWhile we're on the subject, take a look at these photos of a lawn replacement project by BIlly Goodnick. He says this shot above was taken "looking over a border of roses and breath of heaven. I like the juxtaposition of wildness and civility. This photo was snapped before...
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Commented on OG Mag on Wildlife-Friendly Gardens: What's Wrong with this Picture? { Hello There. I discovered your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back... } – May 23, 1:31 AM
Commented on Got Gnomes? { It is very funny, and also a bit of an inside joke. There is a very funny book "Yew and Non-Yew" by James Bartholomew that... } – May 22, 11:44 PM
Commented on In Defense of Plant Critics { It's not worth going back to quote it exactly, but the crack in the article about the man who loved his impatiens, but didn't know... } – May 22, 11:03 PM
Commented on OG Mag on Wildlife-Friendly Gardens: What's Wrong with this Picture? { Wait - you think a domestic cat is not "part of the ecosystem"? I suppose we humans aren't "part of the ecosystem" either? How exactly... } – May 22, 8:58 PM Commented on OG Mag on Wildlife-Friendly Gardens: What's Wrong with this Picture? { Oh I TOTALLY agree with you! And thank goodness they didn't publish that photo that had a CHILD in the wildlife-friendly garden! Imagine the destruction... } – May 22, 8:54 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
