Wind Spinner From Soda Bottle

TO A VEGETABLE PLANT, my apartment has to be about as foreign as outer space,” says Britta Riley, who nevertheless gardens it with a vengeance—in a vertical hydroponic system she conceived called a Windowfarm. How to get your own system—and help kickstart the success of this dynamic startup project.

IDIDN’T WASH MY WINDOWS all spring and summer one year, and though I hated looking out through dust and rain splatters and my cat’s many pawprints, it was part of an experiment to see what—if anything—might help reduce the horrible event of window strikes by songbirds, a leading cause of their death.

Ask yourself this: Where do you see your garden from most often, and at what time of year? Where does the magical light happen, and catch your eye? For me, it’s a few places:The best seat in the house is the dining-room table (above), where I often plunk my laptop and heaps of messiness when writing and just generally like to be. (So does Jack the Demon Cat, who adores the west view.)I can see a long way due west from that old Chinese wooden chair, and also pretty far south, with a short east snapshot as well…so those directions, starting at the point of my favorite chair and emanating outward, are the primary axes of my garden. Fr

Wind, which most simply described is the motion of air molecules—the air in motion—bring us more than just extra leaves to contend with.  It is a powerful pollinator, for example.The US Forest Service says that about 12 percent of the world’s flowering plants are pollinated by wind, along with most conifers and many other trees.Grasses and cereal crops are the most common types among the flowering plants. Since they don’t need to attract

Four Winds Growers was founded around the idea of developing and promoting dwarf varieties of citrus to fit the scale of the new-home boom in post-war California and beyond–including on all those patios, and also in pots as the container-gardening trend began to take hold. Four Winds remains a family business, and a multi-generational one. It was taken over by the founder’s son, who ran it from the early 1950s until recently, when his son took charge, along with his daughter; her husband, and a grandson.In his own home garden, Four Winds marketing director Ed Laivo has potted citrus that he has been growing for “upwards of 25 or even 30 years.” He joined me on the radio and podcast to share his tips on container growing and pest control. (The transcript of the Nov. 3, 2014 show is below.)citrus-growing q&a with e

FROM AUGUST THROUGH OCTOBER, the natural symphony outside has the oddest percussion section: Thud. Plunk. (Short silence.) Thud-thud-thud-plunk.

At least dear H. niger dared flower when nobody else really did, or could.May 5—my first Open Day of the season—looms. Uh-oh; I was getting nowhere except panicky, save but for a few big beds of hellebores I’d cut back so far, against my better judgment and usual admonition never to work in frozen or mucky soil.The moles and voles, incidentally, seem undeterred by any such conditions, and when the snow disappeared there were signs of their handiwork—including an impressive series of mole hills, above, signs that those fossorial insectivores (underground-dwelling insect-eaters) were tunneling energetically deep below. I never trap moles, but am far less benevolent toward the unrelated plant-eating rodents whose name starts with a “V.” (More ontelling the two apart.)Then it started snowing again at mid-week, and dipped to around 20F, and the rhododendron leaves curled up like t

My “selfish crabapple,” variety ‘Ralph Shay’ (above, with little bluestem grass), whose fruits are way too big when still firm for birds to reckon with or steal, so I get to look at them well into winter, hence the selfish label. After many freeze-thaw cycles they soften, and late-winter flocks of robins or waxwings have at them as the fruit finally yields. We both win, each in our time. The eight smaller-fruited crabs up in the hill? They’re already mostly picked over by migrants who passed through in September and October. #awaytogarden #crabapple #birdfood #littlebluestemfallen pear, fallen leavesSAID THE literary leaves and a similarly well-read

Now Dan Hinkley has another treat for us all in the form of his new book called “Windcliff,” the story of the garden he has been making since leaving Heronswood, and where he now lives on Puget Sound in Washington. “A Story of People, Plants and Gardens” is the subheading the book, and it is rich with tales of all of the above that have influenced the making of the place.Learn about Dan’s insights into garden design—from avoiding beds of plants that are “as flat as a flounder” to why to start with smaller plants than ones that fill the whole space right away.Dan will be giving various virtual talks to celebrate the new book; more on those below, too. Plus, enter to win a copy in the comments box at the very bottom of the page.Read along as you listen to the September 14, 2020 edition of my

Wind chimes can be created out of so many things, and when it comes to repurposing thrift stores are not my only go to. There are a lot of items at dollar stores that can be repurposed into fun and creative projects.

I am happy that spring has finally arrived here in New Jersey! I am loving all the daffodils that are blooming in my front yard. I adore the warmer temperatures. I was feeling crafty recently, so I did a quick and easy craft for my backyard – wind chimes!

Want to grow an in-house garden but are worried about the limited light conditions? We have your back with the most clever tips on How to Grow Houseplants in Room with Zero Light in this article below!