9 Ingenious Aluminum Foil Uses in the Garden

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. 

Boasting some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside, the Lake District, in the north-west corner of England, is a draw for anyone with a love of the outdoors. Its hills and mountains, including England’s highest, Scafell Pike at 978m, attract walkers and climbers, while in the valley bottoms, vast lakes, such as Windermere and Ullswater, invite quiet contemplation.

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.

The biggest epiphany of my horticultural career was learning about plant survival strategies. Like most gardeners, I was accustomed to classifying plants as annuals, biennials, or perennials. But dividing them into groups based on their survival strategies instead got me thinking about how they evolved to grow, which in turn helped me to cultivate them more successfully in my garden in Texas.

Blue moths are not just a mesmerizing sight in your backyard but a symbol of a thriving ecosystem.

A is for annual membership of one of Ireland’s world class great gardens open to the public. Examples include Blarney Castle in Co Cork (12-month adult pass, €100, blarneycastle.ie); Mount Usher in Co Wicklow (€40, mountushergardens.ie); Killruddery in Co Wicklow; (killruddery.com from €60-€100); and Mount Congreve in Co Waterford (from €70, mountcongreve.com).

Small Space Garden Design Ideas from the Pros Learn how to make the most out of small garden spaces from 4 designers. Elevating Small Space Gardens

Mushrooms in the garden can be an unsettling sight, indicating changes in the soil and in growing conditions generally. While growing mushrooms is becoming more popular as a home interest, fungi can be unpleasant in gardens when they arrive out of nowhere. These unplanned garden guests can also be toxic, so you’ll want to remove them if you have curious children or pets.

Most ornamental grasses will stay intact through the latter part of the year, providing useful colour and structure in the autumn, when herbaceous plants are dying back. Some are particularly vibrant, picking up on the colours of the trees to echo their shades of russet and yellow, but with lower, softer silhouettes and lots of movement. Using them is easy. Weave them into a herbaceous border, or create more impact in larger gardens by repeat planting, as Piet Oudolf did at Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire, with his sinuous banks of Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea 'Poul Petersen'. Some grasses are deciduous while others are evergreen. It is the deciduous grasses that can dramatically change colour during the autumn.

We’re in Beeton, Ontario, today, visiting Marina. We’ve been to her beautiful garden before (Marina’s Garden in Beeton, Ontario) when it was just a few years old, and we’re back today to see how it has thrived and grown since then.

Visit the Hampton-Preston House and Garden in Historic Columbia. It was built for Anisley and Sarah Hall in 1818. They lived here until 1823, when the house was sold to Wade Hampton Sr and his wife, Mary Couter Hampton.

Last week, I told you about a garden talk I attended at the Robert Mills Carriage House and Gardens in Columbia, SC. Jim Martin (The Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Director of Horticulture & Landscape) was the second presenter. He discussed using bulbs to create “special little moments” every day.