The Ultimate Guide to Growing a Vertical Vegetable Garden

Urban Garden Retreat Follow this gardener's journey to cultivate a neglected yard into a joyful (and award-winning!) urban garden retreat in Maryland. Meet our 2020 Reader Garden award winner: Anne Barone!

Annuals are a topic that elicits strong responses from many gardeners. With the word come visions of manicured plantings, most frequently including foliage obscured by a lavish floral display. While some folks love the bright and reliable spreads of color, others meet them with disdain for their intensive use of resources and stiff appearance. Typically, when I think of annuals, I think of a different group and look entirely: increasingly, I usewater-wise annuals as texture-rich fillers that compete with weeds in new or revamped plantings, and as filler color where I expect to have a dull spot in the perennial beds and meadows. I’ve begun using them also as cut flowers, complementing the smattering of perennial blooms I cut for the kitchen counter. Such annuals blend effortlessly with naturalistic and cottage plantings, and reliably reseed each year. Many of these plants aren’t what come to mind when someone says “annuals”; if you’re more interested in annuals that complement your beds rather than replace them, read on.

Herbs are super-easy to grow in garden beds orcontainers, and nothing tastes better than fresh herbs snipped from your garden for all your homecooked favorites. But while you may always plant annual herbs, such asbasil, dill, and cilantro, you’re missing out if you’re not growing perennial herbs. Perennial herbs come back year after year, making them a smart investment in your garden. Many also have beautiful flowers that pollinators love.

If a cup of coffee (or several!) are part of your morning or afternoon routine, it's likely that you've tossed a lot of grounds. Coffee grounds are actually full of organic matter and are wonderful to add to the compost pile to create a nutrient-rich amendment. There have been some misconceptions about used coffee grounds and whether it's a good idea to add them directly to your soil, and your houseplants.

One of the first things to get me hooked on gardening was an illustration of delphiniums in full bloom. The otherworldly beauty of their soaring flower spires in shades of peacock, sky and electric violet was mesmerising and I coveted them instantly. Too many decades later I feel the same way, except now I know how difficult they are to grow well.

Gardening is not just a hobby, it is a way of life that allows us to get closer to nature. In our country, only 50 no deposit free spins in casinos can compete in terms of popularity with gardening, which has a special place in the hearts of millions of people. The history of British gardening goes back centuries, and this activity continues to attract more and more enthusiasts. In this article, we take a look at the best garden centres in the UK that offer a wide range of plants and gardening products, high quality service and many additional services. Whatever your preferences and level of expertise, you are sure to find something useful and interesting for you.

Summer might be the peak production season in your garden, but above-average temps and heat domes don’t quite make for happy horticulture. Even if you’re growing in a mild climate, plant protection throughout the summer is an important practice and can even be helpful when prepping for an out-of-town getaway that might disrupt your usual routine. From keeping an eye on the forecast so you can plot your next move, to knowing which plants need watering and those that definitely do not, we’re sharing all the tips to avoid any summer stress and keep you growing gracefully. Here’s to a resilient garden and not forgetting to protect and hydrate appropriately, yourself included.

As you’re tending to your garden this summer, you might notice a few uninvited guests cropping up in your yard. Mushrooms growing in your garden or backyard are common, but are they something you need to worry about?

IT’S ONE of the best-known naturalistic gardens anywhere, and yet it’s perched in the most unnatural spot imaginable, 30 feet high above New York City traffic on an abandoned elevated railway line. The High Line on Manhattan’s West Side is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of its first section, years that have been filled with expert lessons on gardening in this looser, nature-inspired style.

Header image credit: Texas A&M University Engineering

With garden openings over for 2024, my ramblings around the garden involve a combination of “this is gorgeous!”, “aren’t we fortunate?”, “thank goodness that’s over” and “how can I improve this?”. Already thoughts have turned to potential ‘tweaks’, nothing major, and ways to improve things I don’t feel have really worked – perhaps I will write a post on them in due course…

SOME OF THE many unusual fruits that Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano grow in their arboretum in the Hudson Valley of New York, like goji berries or maybe Schisandra (above), are ones you’re more likely to see on ingredient labels of health food store products than for sale in nurseries or growing in gardens. But grow them you can.