New Year’s resolutions that many of us won’t be keeping
“Next year I promise not to buy any more plants until I have planted all the ones that are currently stored in the garage because I didn’t get around to [...]
GardenRant Guest
Planting for Persuasion
Experiencing such a garden is the best way I can coax those new to gardening or the natural gardening movement to swap part or perhaps even all of lawn, beds of ground cover, or stands of invasive honeysuckle for plants that are more beneficial to nature and more attractive.
Vigilant gardening, or how I made my peace with sugar sand
Beach with weeds Guest post by Amelia Grant Ten years ago, my husband and I bailed out of traffic infested Atlanta, GA and moved to a small town [...]
Connecting kids with nature—a continuing struggle
Guest post by Doris Settles “What could our lives and our children’s lives be like if our days and nights were as immersed in nature as they are in technology?”—Richard [...]
Human-produced fertilizer—why not?
Guest post by Natalie Levin Composted manure, blood meal, bone meal, and fish emulsion are popular soil amendments. We routinely use these materials in our gardens. But consider adding your own [...]
Bad Reputation
"I don’t give a damn about my bad reputation.” — Joan Jett Joan Jett’s predecessor, legendary rocker, Patti Smith, got pigeonholed as “Godmother of Punk.” Now a respected poet and [...]
Why Real Christmas Trees Are Better for the Environment Than Artificial
Guest post by Joe Lamp'l Photo: Courtesy of The National Christmas Tree Association Buying an artificial Christmas tree and reusing it for years may seem like a more [...]
A cemetery is the liveliest place in town
Guest post by S. B. Julian If you want a bit of life, go to the cemetery. You'll never be alone there, and I'm not talking about “dem bones dem [...]
Gertrude and the whale
By guest blogger S. B. Julian Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1933) is credited as one of the founders of England's lush, flower-rich, painterly cottage garden style of horticulture (she was a painter [...]
Shared-space plantings don’t have to be boring
A guest rant by Kelly Baldry Our towns and cities are made up of thousands of individuals, many of whom will never pay to visit a garden, and perhaps have [...]
Step away from the sprinkler
Guest post from Heather Olsen It was March 17. We had to leave the park earlier than the four-year-old wanted because the one-year-old needed a diaper change and a nap. [...]
That time I started a “native” prairie
Guest rant from Jack Kramer Our current home of eighteen years is sited on a one-and-a-half acre lot, originally part wooded and part field. I had told the builder to [...]