Protect your Pond from Predators

Q: Could you please recommend a good peat-free seed compost? I’ve tried a few over the last few years but haven’t had great results. I’d really like to do the right thing environmentally but am now at the point where I’m sorely tempted to go back to using a conventional peat-based compost. CF County Kerry

Sketch image from a garden planting plan recently created for a GardenAdvice client

I love growing interesting flavors in my garden and bringing them into the kitchen to cook with. That is why I added shiso to my seed list a couple of years ago. I first tried this fragrant herb in a restaurant in Western Canada (where I was also introduced to parsley root). It has a very distinct flavor and is very ornamental. Growing shiso from seed is pretty easy and if you let it go to seed in the fall, well, you won’t need to grow more next year.

Collaborative post

Dated cabinets, dingy backsplashes, and forgettable generic light fixtures, oh my—designing any room on a budget is a challenge, but that’s especially the case with a kitchen. Every element in a kitchen, from appliances to tiles to cabinets, can becostly to replace. Still, there are easy and wallet-friendly ways to create a classic kitchen that looks expensive—without maxing out your credit card.  For insiders’ knowledge, we asked interior designers how to make a kitchen look expensive, even if it’s not. Your secret’s safe with us—no one has to know.

An even temperature around the roots and a steady supply of moisture in the soil are all important to growing plants. A mulch, applied in early summer after hot weather begins, tends to maintain these conditions as well as to control harmful weeds.

PHOTO: Rachel Marek, PROP STYLING: Sophie Babcock

Now that 2024 is in full swing, it’s time to refresh more than our calendars and wardrobes—our homes could use some love, too.

AS SHE OFTEN DOES, naturalist and nature writer Nancy Lawson—perhaps known better to some of you as the Humane Gardener after the title of her first book—caught my attention the other day.

Gardening jobs are just like any other job; sometimes, they seem daunting. Where to start? What is more daunting than starting with a weed-filled field?

Flittering, twittering, and singing—birds bring so much life to a garden. Apart from their beauty and pleasant songs, they also add to the biodiversity of our landscapes by spreading seeds and eating insect pests. How can we encourage birds to not only visit our yards but to nest there? Here’s a hint: it goes beyond hanging up a bird feeder. You must provide sustenance and shelter for birds to truly thrive in your garden. Here are some tips to attract them and make them want to stay.

Little is more discouraging than discovering healthy and recently-planted spring borders and developing vegetable crops damaged or eaten by rabbits; it’s enough to bring the Elmer Fudd out in the mildest of gardeners. Annoyingly rabbits are most active feeders early in morning and at dusk, and so often hard to spot; they also seem attracted to newly-planted areas. But by employing a range of tactics it is possible to reduce problems.