How to Easily Make DIY Pool Chairs For Sitting & Paddling

Last week Kathy Sandel shared her former garden in Calabasas, California, and today we’re back visiting her current garden in Sacramento:

A fishbone cactus is easy to care for, durable, and fast-growing which makes it ideal for beginners.

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Today we’re visiting with Harriet Robinson:

The colours of autumn are so evocative. Russet, ochre and translucent crimson can look magnificent against a clear blue sky – or more importantly they can light up a dull grey day, catching the eye and cheering the heart. It is fascinating to know a little about the science behind the colour change in the second half of the year, as explained by Chris Clennett at Kew: ‘Trees, like most plants, use chlorophyll to photosynthesise…In autumn, trees that lose their leaves for winter go through a process to shut down photosynthesis and reclaim as many valuable chemicals as possible. Chlorophyll is constantly breaking down and being replaced through the summer, but the process slows down in autumn. This reveals all those other chemicals that were hidden by the presence of the dominant green chlorophyll…yellow flavonols, orange carotenoids and red to purple anthocyanins.’

These DIY Pothos wreath ideas offer an artful way to decorate your home for the festive season with a nature’s touch!

While some may be familiar with Japanese sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, Zones 6–10), Rohdea pachynema is an uncommon species that is indeed a Rohdea less traveled. Found only in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, it is an intriguing member of the Asparagaceae family that is slowly becoming more available to gardeners. It was formerly known as Campylandra sinensis or C. pachynema, but recent DNA work has moved it into the genus Rohdea, whose name commemorates German botanist Michael Rohde. We can find no documented common name for this species, so we have dubbed it “yellow thread rohdea” since pachynema means “thick thread” (referring to the colored central stripe on the leaves). 

You know that old saying that “friends don’t let friends grow annuals”? I now ignore that sentiment. Some of the best plants in my garden are annuals, and they are more than worth the effort of growing them every year. Annuals add bold color to my containers and beds, fill in spaces beautifully, and bloom for longer than any coneflower (Echinacea spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) or phlox (Phlox spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9), so they bridge the flowering gaps between my perennials’ bloom times. But over the last few years as I’ve strolled the ever-more-homogenized aisles of the garden centers in my area, I’ve found myself bored silly, and in sticker shock. I always buy a few standard sweet potato vines (Ipomoeabatatas cvs., annual), calibrachoas (Calibrachoa cvs., annual), and coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides cvs., Zones 10–11), of course, but if I want something a little different, I grow it from seed.

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.

‘Marian Sampson’ hummingbird coyote mint

Coleus plants are easy to care for, low-maintenance, and grow quickly, which makes them ideal for beginners.

DIY Porch Pots with Spruce Tips & Evergreens Watch and learn how to use spruce tips, pine branches and more evergreens to make gorgeous winter porch pots! Plant porch pots with spruce tips and evergreens for winter interest