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Using texture for great garden theater
Thousands of opportunities to create real drama and beauty make designing a garden fun. But that can also be the rub: Things get overwhelming pretty quickly. A bit like staging a movie, how do you decide on the set and cast? Start by understanding what you need, why, and a good mental image of how that might look.
>> read “Lights, Camera, Action!” #Design #Misc
How many times have you been to a child’s birthday party with a bunch of laughing, screaming kids and lots of toys, and what the children end up playing with are the cardboard boxes, ribbons and ties from the gifts, loose parts from one of the toys (and not as they were intended to be used), or a pile of dirt or rocks next door? OK, that proves it – all they really need to play is a dirt pile and a bucket; unstructured play is the secret to happiness.
>> read “Unconstructed Play” #Kids #Misc
These are the ‘Who-What-When-Where-Whys’ of mulch. And you thought mulch was just a pile of stuff on the ground.
>> read “Mulch Primer” #Advice #Misc #Soil
Wind blowing, water flowing, grasses swaying and children playing – movement brings a garden to life.
It seems unimaginable for a garden to be still. Do you often find yourself looking at something moving from the corner of your eye, or do you look to a sound made by the moving wind? Movement engages you in the garden. Movement can be introduced with plants or personality; look around your garden to see how you can add more movement in your garden.

Shopping for new plants is fun, but it can also be costly. Luckily, there are a few simple guidelines that can help you buy wisely and make the most of your plant dollars.
>> read “Shop Smart” #Misc #Spring
At the risk of being a little too outré, I grew some plants that are not the usual garden suspects. These are plants known in the business as “straight species,” and are closer to wild types and not grown in normal suburban gardens. Give these plants a shot once you get tired of the standard garden fare.
>> read “Out There Plants” #Misc #Unusual #Vegetables
I don't wait for January to make resolutions for the New Year. While the memory of the successes and failures of the recent season is still fresh in my mind, I like to make a list of resolutions as soon as I’ve put my garden to bed for the winter.
Here are just a few of those resolutions I’ve made over the years that have resulted in more fun, less work and a better harvest.

A few years ago, a friend was installing night lighting in a garden for his client who wanted stone features as accents among the plants and around a backyard patio where he entertained family and friends. My friend invited me to accompany him to a garden center specializing in stone products. I was amazed at the choices of stone available – from small natural stone, to flat cut stone, to relatively large boulders. Displays showed examples of stone for terraces, walls, benches, paths and water features.
The possibilities seemed endless, and I began to see stone and rocks in an entirely different way. I began to notice them in fields and woods, along roadsides and in other natural settings. I began to realize that no garden could be complete without stone.

You may be wondering, why write an article about mulching? Everyone knows how to mulch, right? You buy mulch and place it around your plants. True, it’s not rocket science, but I have seen enough bad mulching jobs that it does merit more attention.
>> read “The Lowdown on Mulch” #Landscaping #Misc #Soil
You have probably heard the term “outdoor living.” This has been listed as a major landscaping and gardening trend in recent years. But what does it really mean?
>> read “Living the Good Life Outdoors” #Hardscaping #Misc
During the past few years, the Slow Flower movement has been generating a lot of buzz in the media. Following the success of the Slow Food movement, Debra Prinzing, author of The 50 Mile Bouquet, coined the term “Slow Flowers” in an attempt to talk about some of the reasons for supporting local flower growers as well as appreciating in-season blooms.
>> read “Slow Down and Smell the Flowers” #Flowers #Misc #Sustainability and Self-Sufficiency
The most admired image of a garden bridge is the one at Giverny in France, immortalized in paintings by Claude Monet and photographed by scores of visitors intent on capturing Monet’s vision. Gently arching over a narrow part of the lily pond, this Japanese-style bridge has green railings and an arbor that rises above it, entwined with trailing wisteria vines. Looking across the glistening pond filled with waterlilies, the bridge creates a romantic and dreamy background in harmony with the graceful weeping willows and the green lushness of the garden.
Garden bridges can be both purposeful and enchanting. They not only provide access across a pond, a small stream, a ravine or a swale, but can also create a dramatic focal point. Bridges are a symbol of transition and passage, and are often considered a metaphor for life. Crossing a bridge and looking down into a swiftly flowing stream or still pond opens up vistas into and across the water. It also gives you a new perspective as you view the garden from such a vantage point.
New from our Bloggers:
Featured Books for Georgia

A complete guide to simple container gardening designed for anyone who has ever killed a plant. It includes illustrated instructions to create gorgeous, fool-proof container gardens that even you can't kill!
>> more information

Enhance your health naturally with herbs from your own garden. Even if you've never gardened before, you can care for yourself and your family using time-tested herbal remedies harvested from your own medicinal herb garden. Master Gardener Dorie Byers offers simple growing instructions for more than 20 versatile medicinal herbs such as garlic, chamomile, and echinacea. You'll also find recipes and tips for using the herbs for first-aid and preventive health care.
>> more information