Grow Like an Organic Gardening Pro with Joe Lamp'l! | joe gardener® Smith & Hawken is Dead. Long Live Smith & Hawken. Taking Your Gardening Dollar Smith & Hawken is Dead. Long Live Smith & Hawken. Co-founder Paul Hawken, (indeed, there is a Smith) imbued the catalog with a new gardening persona, making organic gardening a “hip to be square” hippie pastime—still a waft of patchouli, to be sure, but still refined, mysterious, and sexy.
Every tool, every garden clog, every piece of gorgeous, pricey teak furniture came to represent for me a vision of organic garden glam, magnified by the sumptuous photography of pretty people getting dirty and having fun doing it. Hawken, a superb writer, honed his craft on the garden porn that sold thousands of tools, trugs, and boots. As Hawken pursued his true calling as an green visionary—beginning with the publication of The Ecology of Commerce—the company continued to grow, but profits slagged due in part to an overly optimistic focus on the clothing line. The newly capitalized company moved on to open 25 retail stores throughout the country. Do-It-Yourself Landscape Design: Practical, Aesthetic. Of what does do-it-yourself landscape design work consist? To be sure, both "landscape" and "design" are common, everyday words -- not terms that would send you scurrying to a dictionary.
But asking ourselves exactly what this sort of work entails is a useful exercise: By exploring all of its ins and outs, we may discover an aspect of this diverse field that we've been overlooking all this time. Let's begin answering the question with a basic definition that considers both aesthetics and energy conservation. Further, let's call this a definition specifically of do-it-yourself landscape design, so as to keep our discussion distinct from professional concerns: Definition The definition of do-it-yourself landscape design is the art of arranging or modifying the features of the grounds around a home to improve the property from an aesthetic and/or practical standpoint.
This definition, however, raises the questions, "Aesthetic for whom? " How will your yard be used? Aesthetic Considerations. Commit to be PlantWise | Invasive Species Council of British Columbia | ISCBC Plants & Animals. Join the movement to be invasive-free across BC! Help us protect our province from the impacts of invasive plants through horticulture. Make your commitment by entering your information below and Be PlantWise.
Here are some things you can do to make a measurable difference in your community: Select non-invasive plants Use the Grow Me Instead booklet to help you choose only non-invasive plants. Select the right plant for the right place Be suspicious of exotic plants, bulbs and seeds promoted as 'fast spreaders,” “vigorous self-seeders” and/or “drought resistant.” Invasive plants often have the very characteristics we seek the most in plants. Be aware of ALERT species These plants are either present in BC in very small numbers or have not yet made it into BC. Use wildflower seed mixes with caution Importing seeds individually and in mixtures is one of the primary pathways of introduction of invasive plants to BC, and a critical pathway to target for prevention. Invasive plant control. Butterfly Day in Lyndhurst brings awareness to Monarch's plight.
New Jersey's population of Monarch butterflies is declining, but there are steps everyone can take to save it. Wochit LYNDHURST — Logan Fay looked through the wall of a mesh cage, as a caterpillar inside nibbled on a leaf. "Its head is moving," the 4-year-old boy proclaimed to his mom, Lorraine Fay, who stood by his side at the Meadowlands Environment Center on Sunday. For Logan, the subtle movement of a Monarch butterfly caterpillar was an innocent observation. To scholars trying to protect the species from further decline, it is a sign of life. Logan and his mother attended Butterfly Day at the environment center, which is managed by the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority.
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, the number of monarchs has plummeted by 90 percent in the eastern United States during the past two decades. "There's something just about everyone can do," said Caryn Shinske, a DEP spokeswoman. Email: devencentis@northjersey.com. Gardening Tools Everyone Should Have. How to Plant a Culinary Herb Garden! DIY Kitchen Garden. The Easiest Way To Grow Tomato Seedlings. Bury An Egg In Your Garden Soil, What Happens Few Days Later Will Surprise You. January 2010: Propagating Cordylines or Ti Plants | John&Jacq~s Garden. We had planted a beautiful Hawaiian Ti (Cordyline terminalis) before, probably about a decade ago. It grew from a stem cutting (also known as ‘log’) that was presented by a dear couple who returned from holidaying in Hawaii then.
But was eventually discarded when it became leggy and unsightly. Seeing a vibrant variegated pink/maroon beauty during our recent vacation to Felda Residence Hot Springs, Sungkai in Perak, has surely rekindled in us a strong yearning for one! We’ve never seen this variety of the Ti Plant before with such intense colours, the shocking pink on the glossy foliage is absolutely striking and truly spectacular, in fabulous contrast with the dark maroon and in lovely random blotches.
I believe this is Cordyline terminalis ‘Red Sister’ We’ve searched high and low for the same variety in Kuala Lumpur but not a single one was to be found in some of the garden nurseries we visited. Even Ti Plants of other varieties for sale were sickly-looking, not value for money at all! Garden Design using Plant Texture. There are many elements that go into designing a garden - color, form, sound, fragrance, even the texture of the plants. Texture in garden design, refers to the surface quality of the plant. Plant textures run the gamut from delicate and fine, like a threadleaf coreopsis, to the coarse and bold look of a wide, rippled Hosta leaf. The feel of the foliage is not the only element of texture. Plant texture can change with the play of light and shadow and even with viewing distance. Up close,...MORE feathery foliage looks airy and makes you want to reach out and run your hands along it. At a distance, a large mass of fine texture looks like a fuzzy blur.
Too much of any texture can be inharmonious to the eye. Garden Design Elements. The Hedge Bindweed or Morning Glory - An Invasive Plant | Owlcation. A Beautiful but Invasive Vine The hedge bindweed is an annoying vine that most people hate to see in their gardens. The stem grows rapidly and twines around other plants as it elongates. It eventually forms dense, leafy tangles that are difficult to remove and can interfere with the growth of the encircled plants. The young hedge bindweed grows horizontally at first, its stem winding around other objects that it encounters. These objects may be plants or inanimate objects. If the bindweed encounters a vertical support it becomes a climbing plant and spirals around the support as it climbs. I live in British Columbia, where hedge bindweed is an introduced plant. The Morning Glory Family The morning glories or bindweeds belong to the Convolvulaceae family of plants, which contains many different species.
A very popular member of the morning glory family is the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus). The Hedge Bindweed The scientific name of the hedge bindweed is Calystegia sepium. Stems and Leaves. Plant ID websites | Identify that Plant. An essential website is the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plants Database. This huge database includes a search function utilizing a common name or scientific name, photos and illustrations, geographic distribution maps, and links to other resources with even more information about a specific plant. Although designated as a “weed identification guide” specifically for the southeastern U.S., this website by Virginia Tech includes detailed information with excellent supporting photos.
The guide carefully notes similar looking plants and provides a link to the similar plant’s description. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, located at the University of Texas at Austin, has a wonderful Native Plant Database. Southeasternflora.com utilizes a simple online key to identify plants in the southeastern portion of the U.S.
Plant Files Advanced Search. Plant Files Advanced Search. WeedsBC documents. WeedsBC documents. Grow Me Instead Booklet | Invasive Species Council of British Columbia | ISCBC Plants & Animals. Grow Me Instead Booklet | Invasive Species Council of British Columbia | ISCBC Plants & Animals. Seed Mixtures | Invasive Species Council of British Columbia | ISCBC Plants & Animals. Plant ID websites | Identify that Plant. 8 Steps to Garden Success in Zone 8b. An In-Depth Companion Planting Guide. A companion planting guide is almost a necessity for gardeners when there are so many types of fruits and vegetables to choose from. A companion planting guide such as this one will show you which vegetables and flowers support or inhibit the growth of other plants and/or which pests they deter.
Plant near: most garden cropsKeep away from: rueComments: improves the flavor and growth of garden crops, especially tomatoes and lettuce. Repels mosquitoes. Plant near: beets, cabbage, carrots, catnip, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, marigolds, potatoes, savory, strawberriesKeep away from: fennel, garlic, leeks, onions, shallotsComments: potatoes and marigolds repel Mexican bean beetles. Catnip repels flea beetles. Plant near: corn, marigolds, potatoes, radishesKeep away from: beets, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, shallotsComments: same as for bush beans. Plant near: squash, strawberries, tomatoesKeep away from:Comments: repels tomato worms. Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts Cabbage and Cauliflower Corn. Free online class trial. Attracting Butterflies, Hummingbirds and Other Pollinators.
As a founding employee of Gardener's Supply, I wore many different hats over the years. Currently, I have my own company called Johnnie Brook Creative. The gardens around my home in Richmond, VT, include a large vegetable garden, seasonal greenhouse, cutting garden, perennial gardens, rock garden, shade garden, berry plantings, lots of container plants and a meadow garden. There's no place I'd rather be than in the garden. A honeybee pollinates a raspberry flower. Liatris is one of the many perennials that attracts butterflies. 1. The most important step you can take is to plant a pollinator-friendly garden. Any size garden can attract and support pollinators — from a wildflower meadow to a planter with a few well-chosen species. A patchwork of pollinator gardens in neighborhoods, cities and rural areas around the country could provide enough habitat to restore healthy communities of beneficial insects and pollinators. 2.
An organic approach is both safer and more effective. 3. 4.