One man’s 4-year battle to save sunflowers in his front yard
We've seen battles like this across the States - gardeners having to fight local ordinances to keep flowers and other nonlawn plants they so love in their front yard, despite [...]
Susan Harris
Meet the media-savvy garden coaches I’m following
Way back in 2007 I was one of three garden coaches profiled in the New York Times, a story that CBS Sunday Morning picked up on immediately by interviewing me [...]
How one native-plant gardener got started – by hiring a professional!
So many newbies to gardening are motivated by what they've heard about native plants, so naturally they look to the native-plant advocacy groups for the information they need to garden [...]
It took 14 years to create a border I love. NOW I have tips for new borders.
First spring - in 2012. When I moved to a townhouse with townhouse-size front and back yards, I loved starting new in a small space. And boy, was [...]
What are cues to care in garden design and what are they based on? Illustrated.
Did you catch the news about a native-plant gardener on Long Island fined $2,000 because her front yard was too wild-looking? Here's the story in the New York Post, which prompted [...]
White House Rose Garden lawn is paved over and the Internet responds. Now what do we gardeners say?
so Here's the before-and-after visual I'm seeing everywhere online - the lawn at the center of the White House Rose Garden, now ripped up and paved over. Some of the [...]
Great information and truth-telling from horticulturist Larry Weaner!
Look who I found giving talks and webinars for the Wild Ones national website - Larry Weaner - horticulturist, top designer of meadows in the Eastern U.S. That's where I [...]
My Weekend in Seattle: Overlook Walk, Lawnless Front Yards and More
I last visited Seattle back in 2011 for the Gardenblogger Fling. We stayed in the University District and hung out among some exuberant landscaping at University Village, which wows with [...]
My high hopes for ninebark shrubs were dashed!
For years I've added ninebark shrubs (Physocarpus opulifolius) to my various gardens, expecting them to eventually fill out like this one in my neighborhood. But here's what's happened. I planted two [...]
Lawnless Front Yards update and findings: People go nuts for beauty!
In the three weeks since I launched my latest project - a Lawnless Front Yards photo collection on Flickr - the response has been amazing, and so fun! Certainly compared [...]
I visited the USDA Honeybee Lab. Will ANY bee labs be here next year?
Last year I visited the wild bee lab near me, with its funky little building, amazing macro photography, and native plants galore. I got to interview the famous Sam Droege, [...]
Young local plant-shop owner and her surprising horticultural connections
Plants for sale at Lillian Farms. Like most gardeners in my area, I'm still mourning the 2019 closing of our favorite garden center after 89 great years. (Its [...]