A Lazy Gardener Gets Climate-Smart

MY, HOW TIMES have changed. That’s what I keep thinking, looking around my own garden in recent years. I’ve been struck by the same thought over and over as I read “The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year,” the latest book by Margaret Renkl (illustrated with gorgeous collages by her brother, Billy Renkl, like the one above), which takes us through a year in her garden 1,000 miles to the south of mine in Nashville.

A few weeks ago, frequent GPOD contributor Cherry Ong took us along on her visit to Bellevue Botanical Garden in Bellevue, Washington (GPOD on the Road: Bellevue Botanical Garden) but she sent too many photos to share that day, so we’re going back today to see some more of the beautiful images of this inspiring public garden.

Several times a year a visitor to our garden is shocked to find a rogue steak knife pierced downward in one of the beds, as if it were an escapee from our kitchen knife block. I’m always quick to tell them that it’s indeed where I meant to place it, and that I haven’t found any tool as great as a serrated knife when it comes to removing grass or root systems. It’s perfect for edging small areas or pulling up entire sheets of grass; all I have to do is start on one side and pull up as I carefully saw back and forth. It can be a cheap purchase from a thrift store—or in my case, the way I finally convinced my husband that we needed a new set of kitchen knives.

Today we’re in Portland, Oregon, visiting with Zeah.

Moss campion plant (Silene acaulis) is a rock garden plant native to the Arctic tundra and high mountains of Europe and North America. In the U.S., it is confined to the Western mountains and New England, particularly Maine and New Hampshire. Its mat-forming, evergreen foliage is found tucked away in elevations too high for trees to grow, with harsh winters and short summers. While it cannot survive in the shade, it prefers moist soil.

Here are key autumn garden tips plus 7 top suggestions of plants to plant now.

We’re in Holland, Michigan, today visiting Terri Holden’s beautiful garden.

Whether you’re hiking, picnicking, or working in your garden, ticks are a year-round risk in the South. These blood suckersfind a host by sensing odors, heat, vibrations, and shadows or by “questing” on the tips of grasses with their front legs extended—waiting for a person or animal to brush by them.

Denmark continues to rank as one of the happiest nations on earth. If you want what they have, it’s time to learn about hygge garden ideas. Hygge is a concept that seems to escape Americans with our hustle and bustle and “go get ‘em” attitude, but it seems we could learn a thing or two from our Danish friends. They celebrate the concept of hygge outdoors or inside. A hygge outdoor space may include a hygge patio and hygge backyard, but don’t misconstrue the idea behind hygge — it belongs with you wherever you go. Keep reading to learn about hygge and how you can incorporate it into your lifestyle.

Reblooming Thanksgiving cactus is easier than you may think and it is possible to encourage them to flower every year.

With Winchester and its medieval cathedral at its heart, Hampshire is a large county south-west of London. Of its attractions, Highclere Castle, home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and the filming location of Downton Abbey, draws the crowds, but there is much more to this enchanting region besides.

Arianne gardens in a small city lot in chilly Minneapolis (Zone 4B) and fills her space with an abundance of beautiful flowers. Even more impressively, she grows many of her plants herself from seed.