Christina Hall’s Must-Follow Renovation and Design Tips

Today we’re in Phoenix, Maryland, visiting Sally Barker’s beautiful garden:

6 Tips for Designing a Garden from a Pro With these smart ideas you can start designing a garden like a pro! 6 Pro Garden Design Secrets

Ah, the bathroom. This lowly, often overlooked spot in our homes is actually one of the hardest working rooms. If your bathroom has seen better days—we’re talking chipping tiles, constantly-running toilets, vanities with loose, grimy knobs—then we see a bathroom renovation in your future. 

Ponytail palms are not exactly the fastest or the tallest growing specimens out there, so people are always in lookout for ways to make their’s stand out from the rest!

Sowing a seed directly into the ground, nurturing it, and reaping the rewards is one of the easiest gardening activities you can do—yet many gardeners don’t. There are many reasons to direct sow. Often, you’ll have earlier harvests because the seeds will germinate when it’s the perfect time to grow, and stronger seedlings because transplant shock isn’t an issue. Planting seeds in general (instead of buying transplants) gives you more varietal options, and you can also save a lot of money (1 packet of 30 to 150 seeds often costs less than a 6-pack of plants). And then there is the personal satisfaction factor. Ask any child who has planted a sunflower seed how they feel when that flower towers over their head, and you’ll understand what I mean.

For most of the Southwest, “dry” is a normal state of affairs. We live in a complex mosaic of arid, semi-arid, and seasonally arid zones that make most generalizations impossible. And an especially wet or dry season can throw all calculations off, making our usual watering routines irrelevant. We must be willing to adjust to ensure plant health in our gardens.

While we always welcome the chance to deep clean and declutter our homes each spring, we also could use a refresher on how best to approach a huge, home overhaul.

Tips for Growing Cayenne Peppers Capsicum annuum ‘Cayenne’

Now that we’re firmly planted in March, it feels safe to say it out loud: spring is practically here. Along with bluer skies and brighter days, it also brings the perfect time of year for cleaning and organizing.

For gardeners who love to raise their plants from seed, the beginning of March is not unlike the build-up to Christmas. There’s lots of hustle and bustle, with flurries of intriguing parcels from favourite suppliers arriving in the post, accompanied by the making of wish lists and enthusiastic sorting of essential tools and equipment.

1. The Promoter is Immediate Media Company London Limited (company number 06189487), Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT (“Immediate”). The competition is sponsored by Weetabix Limited (company number 00267687) (t/a “Alpen”).

Tips for Growing Saskatoon Serviceberries Amelanchier alnifolia