Ground Ideas, Tips & Guides

When to Plant Succulents in the Northwest

The summer before lockdown, I visited Ibiza and stayed at the Atzaró Agroturismo Hotel. My pre-conceived ideas about the island, known famously for its night clubs, were blown away by how beautiful, authentic and calming Ibiza actually is. A hidden gem of beautiful beaches and rolling hills, most of the island is an escape from modern distractions and wonderfully quiet.

Heaths and heathers are easy to grow if you give them the right conditions. They only loathe clay soil and summer humidity (although you can find exceptions), and you can’t do much about those. Other than that, you can provide the conditions or find the species or cultivar that suits your spot. The best source for in-depth information is Gardening with Hardy Heathers by David Small and Ella May T. Wulff.

Every year, new trends and tricks pop up for holiday decorating. And this year, one holiday question that is perplexing us is: should you be washing your artificial Christmas tree?

Hi, I am Belinda Smith Lawson. I live in Riverview, Florida, which is Zone 9.

Early in the fall, I was delighted to find this fallen redbud leaf with this unusual, sculpted edge. This leaf is evidence of bee activity much earlier in the year. This is the work of female leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) who cut out leaf semi-circles with their strong mandibles. Each leaf piece becomes a nursery for a single egg provisioned with a pollen loaf. Leafcutter bees often nest in hollow stems and other cavities, sometimes in the ground. Unlike other bees who store pollen on their legs, leafcutter bees carry it on the undersides of their abdomens. These are solitary bees, so each nest is typically individually situated, and the bees are generally gentle and non-aggressive.

Greenhouse Gardening 101: How to Get Started

<use xlink:href="#trending-icon" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»> Trending Videos <use xlink:href="#close-icon" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»>

Offering some of the closest beaches to London, Essex has a reputation for kiss-me-quick resorts and dormitory commuter towns. The truth is that this flat county, defined by slow-flowing rivers, estuaries, salt marshes and oyster beds, abounds in subtle charm. The Romans settled in Colchester and evidence of their occupation can be found in many coastal settlements. In the 1560s Flemish protestants brought their silk-weaving skills to the town, while the Dutch reclaimed swathes of land for farming. 

During winter your garden and yard might be out of sight, either dead or under a blanket of snow, but spring will come again and everything will be in bloom once more. Though you've likely assumed you're probably just do the same thing next year with your outdoor green space, look to the 2024 yard and garden trends experts are predicting for some ideas of how you can switch it up.

With their lush, plump leaves and vibrant hues, these Succulents that Look Like Lips can add an unexpected twist to any garden or indoor plant collection!

Yellow flowers with four petals offer a blend of simplicity and elegance. They are ideal for both gardens and pots and envoke a sense of positivity.

Few plants generate more revulsion in the garden than junipers. The mere suggestion of planting one often musters a similar reaction to that of saying a dirty word. Maybe we’ve grown weary of their use as ever­green blobs in foundation plantings. Perhaps the thought of meticulously shearing them into the perfect shape sounds daunting (see pruning tips). It could be an early memory of an itchy rash from an up-close encounter with a juniper’s prickly branches. Or it could be boredom with the sea of creeping blue rug junipers (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’, Zones 3–9) planted in every big-box-store parking lot. Although junipers are a midcentury-modern garden staple, generations of gardeners have since decided they have had enough of these controversial conifers. While it’s easy to dismiss them for their deeply ingrained negative traits, junipers have many merits that make them worth reconsideration.

Stormwater runoff, and the damage it can leave behind, has become a seemingly unmanageable problem for
gardeners from coast to coast. The perfect mix of 
unpredictable and changing weather patterns, urban infill that plots houses just feet apart, and disturbed soil stratification due to poor grading practices can turn a beautiful garden into 
a ­chaotic mess in short order. Fortunately, we gardeners have several ­options for mitigating the problem. These include
installing mass plantings of rhizomatous grasses or shrubs
that hold the ground in place and slow down stormwater, rebuilding soil structure, and installing dry creek beds.

Robins can lose up to 10% of their body weight keeping warm over a single winter’s night. With reports that the La Nina weather system may bring harsh cold spells in winter 2022-23, added to the problem of disappearing food sources and habitats over the UK, robins – and other garden birds – could do with some support this season.

Henry Mustin popped open the trunk of his electric Volkswagen to reveal his arsenal: Loppers, pruners, saws and trowels, tucked into bags. Taking up the most space was Mustin’s weed wrench, an L-shaped specialty tool branded The Extractigator, which leverages the ground to yank deeply rooted vegetation from the earth.

Did you know that some of the most delicious and nutritious fruits don’t actually grow on trees? From ground-hugging strawberries to climbing passion fruits, there are many more to discover in this article!

Himalayan maidenhair fern

‘Twisted Tongue’ agave 

Lifelong saxifrage 

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

As winter begins to focus in our rear-view mirror, you’ll start to see your garden change. If you have tender summer-flowering plants in your garden, it's time to start thinking about whether to lift and store them or protect them from the harsh clutches of winter.

Cooler temperatures and calm breezes help keep evaporation to a minimum. It also keeps the turf cooler during the hottest parts of the day, which means less stress on the grass. If it’s not convenient to water in the morning, late afternoon is the next best time. Waiting to water until too late in the evening keeps lawns wet overnight, which can make the grass susceptible to diseases like fungus.

The festive season is upon us, and what better way to spread joy and warmth than by adorning your outdoor spaces with dazzling Christmas lights? Outdoor Christmas lights have become an integral part of the holiday tradition, transforming ordinary surroundings into enchanting winter wonderlands. In this guide, we'll explore the magic of outdoor Christmas lights and share tips on creating a stunning display that will leave your neighbours in awe.

It can be easy to get swept up in the merriment of Christmas: buying lavish gifts and an abundance of food and decorations. And that’s before you’ve even considered the tree. But there are ways you can reduce the waste your household contributes to this year and be more sustainable by focusing on natural resources.

What Are Underground Pit Greenhouses?

Juniper ground cover is a great way to fill in garden gaps around borders, patios, pathways and rockeries. Different juniper varieties offer a wide range of dense, mat-forming foliage in heights to suit any need. These plants come in steely blues, minty greens, cheerful golds and variegated options. In winter, juniper foliage takes on purple, burgundy and copper tones to add interest to quiet corners.

Skunks are easy to identify from appearance—and smell! But these handsome mammals typically mind their own business and are more interested in excavating their dinner than in what you’re doing. “They’re primarily insectivores so they provide a useful ecological service, digging up insects in the soil,” says Sheldon Owen, PhD, wildlife extension specialist atWest Virginia University. “The issue is if they decide to den under your porch or crawlspace.”

While there are lots of shrubs that will do perfectly fine over the winter, sometimes they need a little help to make it through. And that may not be just as a result of cold temperatures. Hungry wildlife could be after some of those tender branches, too. My cedar hedges in the backyard are consistently turned into lollipops because the deer enjoy nibbling the lower branches if they pass through our yard. Winter shrub covers are a great way to protect vulnerable bushes. In this article, I’m going to share tips on choosing winter covers, and how to safely wrap your shrubs.

Hardy fuchsias are commonly grown in UK gardens, and it’s no surprise – many flower from June to November and need very little care. Native to Central and South America, most hardy fuchsias survive UK winters (RHS hardiness rating H4), although some may still require protection from the harshest weather (RHS hardiness rating H3 or H2). In milder parts of the UK, hardy fuchsias can grow into a shrub up to 3m in height but in colder regions they may be damaged by frost and require cutting back to the base, from where they regrow in spring.

With their vibrant red leaves, these plants are more than just a festive holiday decoration – they can be a gardening project where you can experiment with their leaves (bracts)!

We’ve got the scoop on Chicken Dust Bath Ideas for Homesteaders that’ll make your feathered friends flap joyfully! What are you waiting for? Scroll for easy and simple ideas.

Creating a garden is, initially, an introverted process. It takes a while to imagine a garden and to develop it into its final form. For much of that period your thoughts are just part of an evolving dream of a future reality. It takes longer to build a garden and a whole lifetime, or more, for that garden to mature. To embark on making a garden is an act of faith. The creative journey is made unique by the relationships we have with those we enlist to help us. Without other people there would be no garden. Together, we generate a great alchemical soup of ideas, we consider constraints and we discuss details that ultimately coalesce into the new garden. Landscape gardens can express themselves in myriad ways. I have always enjoyed the freedom landscaping offers to explore what the land, the people and the circumstances ultimately reveal.

Growing these Cold Hardy Vegetables in your garden will ensure you enjoy a fresh harvest in the midst of the chill, right from your backyard!

Growing healthy and vibrant plants is every gardener's dream and goal. It is also crucial to preserve the environment and use resources responsibly. Water management is one of these responsibilities. Thankfully, advancements in technology have paved the way for sustainable gardening practices. 

If traditional Christmas carols were given a modern spin, «Deck the Halls,» would really mean deck the halls, roof, porch, and lawn. While a Christmas tree in the living room is still the star of interior holiday decor, front yards are often the next hot spot for holiday decor displays.