Leaf Mulch: How to Make and Use Leaf Mulch in the Garden

Whether you want to set up a springtime garden or explore edible plants—or even just test the waters with houseplants—the prospect of becoming a plant parent can be intimidating. Luckily, there are countless handy apps that hold the answers. Getting started doesn’t have to be so daunting. With just a few taps on your phone, you’ll be one step closer to growing the greenery you’ve always dreamed of. 

When one thinks about a production garden designed to yield copious amounts of vegetables and flowers, it’s not often one with perfectly manicured rows overflowing with color and paired with thoughtfully organized spaces for gathering. Practicality and function are usually the focus, not a dedication to stunning surroundings. This is where the team behind Oakland-based Pine House Edible Gardens stands out with their impeccable layout and design philosophies, showcasing the ability to implement important functional garden systems with incredible style.

Gulla Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic architect known for her dynamic forms that have found their way into award-winning projects in the West like the La Peer Hotel, Palmilla in Newport Beach, and Sandbourne Santa Monica, the latter of which just opened. From her Los Angeles-based design studio, she shares insights on how to integrate organic beauty and function into your own home.

There’s nothing nicer than being outside on a beautiful late spring day, especially if it means you get a whole day away from your desk. Danielle, Carol, and digital editor Christine Alexander recently played hooky from their editorial duties and went on a horticultural adventure at one of New England’s great public gardens. Located in Boylston, Massachusetts, Tower Hill is filled with fun places to explore, including formal gardens, woodland trails lined with native plantings, and two conservatories. After exploring the grounds and chatting about some of the great plants they came across, Danielle and Carol sat down for a chat with Tower Hill’s director of horticulture, Mark Richardson. We hope this episode inspires you to get out and enjoy a field trip to a public garden near you!  

Summer is here—the perfect time to go outside and enjoy all the work you’ve put into your garden. Unfortunately, summer also comes with plenty of unwelcome guests. There are birds that eat seeds, bugs that leave holes in leaves, and rodents that steal fruits and vegetables.

Petunias have long captured gardeners’ hearts with their stunning colors and bold blooms. Get the most out of these beloved annuals by learning how to deadhead petunias to promote new growth and continuous flowering. Deadheading is a simple pruning method used to remove flowers after they die back, which encourages plants to produce more blooms by preventing seed formation. Taking the time to deadhead petunias will keep your plants blooming all summer long.

Looking at your latest bountiful harvest, you may realize that you need to learn how to freeze broccoli. This is a great problem to have! When your garden efforts pay off with a bumper crop, you can preserve your vegetables to enjoy year-round. There are several steps required to freeze broccoli, but it’s pretty easy. All you need is a good knife and cutting board, along with a large pot and a large bowl. In this article, you’ll read tips for harvesting broccoli, all you need to know to prep broccoli, and finally, how to freeze broccoli that you grew yourself. Why freeze broccoli from the garden Eating “local”—meaning from the garden—is an aspiration for many of us. While season-extensio

Happy Monday GPODers! Today we’re visiting Heidi’s beautiful garden in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Her yard ranges from full sun to part shade, and (from the looks of these pictures) she has absolutely filled every corner possible with sensational blooms. A feast for the senses, a kaleidoscope of color can be found from annuals and perennials.

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Q: We have anemone in our front garden. It has spread uncontrollably, and we want to get rid of it. We have tried digging it up, pulling the new shoots and spraying Roundup, all to no avail. What do you suggest? RK, Co Dublin

As many of us know by now, there are lots of great ways to repurpose and reuse old items at home. Rather than tossing things in the trash, reusing can be an ideal option to be more sustainable—and it's a great way to save money.

Life, as I like to remind my sons, isn’t always fair. All things are not equal, no matter how much we’d like them to be and some are in fact far better than others, a truth brought home to all of us eventually. Hence the expression “garden-worthy”, that brilliantly concise description used to sum up a particular cultivar or variety’s outstanding qualities.