Articles Index

Flower and Garden Shows
Just when we need it most, horticultural societies across the country provide us with a breath of spring in the form of flower and garden shows. Whichever you attend, you can expect garden landscape displays, competitions, a vendor area, seminars by garden experts and floral displays. Here is a listing of some of the most popular spring flower and garden shows.

What the Well-Designed Garden Will Be Wearing
Gardening trends may dictate what plants and gadgets garden centers sell each year, but do gardeners really follow gardening trends? Maybe not consciously, but very often we all covet the same new plant or are drawn to the same color palette. Is it the marketer creating these trends or do gardeners?

Ornamental Grasses for Containers
Growing ornamental grasses in containers is a great way to feature grasses without the worry of them spreading or taking over the garden. The downside is that when growing grasses in containers, their hardiness is raised by about 2 zones. An ornamental grass hardy to Zone 5, when planted in the ground, will only survive to Zone 7 in a pot. However, you can always grow container grasses as annuals. Here are my top ten picks for ornamental grasses grown in containers.

Ornamental Grasses for Fall Color
Ornamental grasses add interest and texture to a garden at any time of year. Fall foliage and colorful plumes make ornamental grasses standouts in a fall garden. The following list of ornamental grasses will add bold accents to your fall garden.

Campania International, Stacey Pierson - Contributing Author
What makes a garden statue look like it belongs there and another look completely out of place? Most of us tend to purchase garden art that is just too small and so then we buy a lot of it. Of course, like all art, personal preferences should always be considered. But there are some simple guidelines for choosing garden ornaments that complement your garden and that you won't have to keep explaining over and over to your friends.

Bring Outdoor Accessories Inside this Winter for Year Round Enjoyment
Cold weather used to mean moving all your delicate flower pots and garden ornaments into the garage for safe keeping. Why just store your garden accessories and have them take up space when you could put them to good use indoors. Here are some creative ideas for using garden items indoors during the winter.

Garden Art and Ornaments
What makes a garden statue look like it belongs there and another look completely out of place? Most of us tend to purchase garden art that is just too small and so then we buy a lot of it. Of course, like all art, personal preferences should always be considered. But there are some simple guidelines for choosing garden ornaments that complement your garden and that you won't have to keep explaining over and over to your friends.

10 Ways to Make Gardening Easier
Gardening easier means you can garden more. Use these smart gardening tips to make your gardening chores and maintenance less time and labor consuming and make your time in the garden more enjoyable.

Planning Next Year's Garden
Garden design starts with thinking about how and who will use your garden and what constraints time, money and nature put on you. That’s the basis of good site analysis. Then you can start to consider the garden design elements of color, texture and form. The fun of garden design doesn’t really begin until you know what you are working with and can start choosing plants, flowers, trees and shrubs to fill in the picture.

Garden Design - Evaluating the Site for the Garden
The first step in designing a garden is an honest evaluation of the chosen site. The area should be assessed for soil, sun exposure, problem areas and areas you want to complement. The following cheat sheet will walk you through an evaluation of your garden site.

Xeriscaping: Drought-Tolerant Plants for the Conscientious Gardener
Designing a drought-tolerant, or xeric, garden doesn't mean you can't use plants you already love. Many garden plants are very drought-tolerant, as you can see from the list of plants here and the tips for creating a successful drought-tolerant garden.

Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden
A true butterfly garden is not just designed to attract adult butterflies, but also to afford a place for them to hibernate and lay eggs and for the larva, or caterpillars, to feed. Different species of butterflies have different preferences in plants.

Xeriscape Gardening - Planning for a Water Wise Garden
Xeriscaping doesn’t mean deserts and cactus or even a drought plagued, barren landscape. Xeriscaping is a method of gardening that involves choosing plants that are appropriate to their site and creating a landscape that can be maintained with little supplemental watering. Here are the seven steps of xeriscaping, common sense guides to gardening in harmony with your site that can be applied to any type of garden design.

Budgeting for a New Garden Design
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a great garden, but it sure is easy to get carried away. If you’re not a budgeter in any other aspect of your life, you are not going to change your habit in the garden. But to prevent sticker shock from arriving halfway through creating your garden, let’s look at an overview for you to price out and determine what you can reasonably expect to spend.

Small Space Gardening - Gardening on a Patio or Terrace
Gardening on your patio or terrace creates an extension of your home. An outdoor room that serves the dual purpose of being an outdoor room without walls and a place to indulge in gardening. A patio garden is limited only by your aspirations. Designing a garden on or around your patio or terrace can create a place to enjoy and entertain or a place to indulge your green thumb on a smaller scale.

Clay Busters
Gardening in clay soil is a challenge that can be met. Their are many plants that will grow very well in clay soil and some that will even help improve it. Rugged natives and tough, tap rooted plants can make a garden even in the difficult conditions posed by clay. Here are some to get you started.

Raised Bed Gardening
Raised bed gardening refers to gardening in soil that has been mounded or contained higher than the surrounding soil. Raised bed gardening is an old gardening practice, but it’s currently growing in popularity again because it offers several advantages to simply growing your plants in level ground. Here are some tips on why raised bed gardening should be considered and how to get started with a raised bed.

Gardening Trends 2006
2006 gardening trends sound like good news to avid gardeners. Most of them, like reducing maintenance demands, working with smaller spaces and avoiding fussy plants, have an element of common sense, indicating we're finally starting to work with nature and appreciate the gardening conditions we've been dealt. Here’s what to look for in your garden, in 2006

Tips for Evaluating This Year’s Garden Design
Fall is a great time to take stock of what worked in your garden and what was less than successful. A garden is a work in progress that should get better every year. The following 10 questions will help you evaluate your garden and garden design, so that you can plan for the garden you envision. Good garden design can be as easy as recognizing what made you smile and what made your knees hurt. This year’s garden is full of hints to make next year’s garden even better.

Top Plant Varieties
Need a clay buster? A rose for shade? What to try growing some of those heirloom vegetables you've heard about? Wish your annuals would self-seed? These lists will give you some top plant varieties, whatever your garden needs.

Small Garden Design - Making the Most of Container Gardens
Gardening in containers offers unlimited opportunites to experiment. Container gardens are a perfect match for small space gardenings. You can use the container gardens as the entire garden or make clever focal points. Gardening in containers allows you to control the growing conditions and experiment with different plants at the same time.

Garden Makeovers
Making over a garden can become necessary when the garden becomes overgrown or when site conditions, like lighting, change. Sometimes gardeners simply want to try creating a new garden. Here is some advice for taking a look at where you are with your garden plans and reassessing what you can do to capitalize on what you have.

Late Blooming Perennials for Fall Gardens
Perennial gardens change with the seasons and the fall garden is one of the most colorful seasons in the garden. Many fall blooming perennial flowers display jewel tone blossoms that complement the fall foliage display of trees and shrubs. The choice of fall blooming perennial plants keeps growing.

Garden Design - Creating Focal Points in a Small Garden
Focal points are used in garden design to draw and direct the eye. This can be difficult to accomplish in a small garden when every space is immediately visible and no space can be sacrificed. But it’s not impossible and creating a focal point (or 2) in a small space garden can actually make it appear larger.

Planning a Small Garden
A good site assessment is vital to any garden design. When creating a small garden, every space is important. Where to put the garden, how large to make it and the choice of plants all must be edited, unlike with a small garden. Here’s how to take an honest look at your garden site and what you can hope to plant there.

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