I've been gardening and writing about gardening for more than 20 years, yet I find I'm always learning new things about the plants, insects and other critters that call my backyard home. That's the great thing about gardening — it's never boring! I've worked as a landscaper, on an organic farm, as a research technician in a plant pathology lab and ran a small cut-flower business, all of which inform my garden writing. Someone once asked me when I'll be finished with my gardens, to which I replied, "Never!" For me, gardening is a process, not a goal.
Color is usually the first thing people notice when they see a flower garden, and choosing plants in pleasing color combinations can be daunting to a new gardener. The color wheel is a helpful tool. It's based on three primary colors — red, yellow, and blue — and also depicts the colors in between.
The concentric bands show the colors in different degrees of saturation. Fully saturated colors are the most intense; as you move toward the center of the wheel, the colors become softer, more pastel.
Warm colors. Yellow, orange, red, magenta — these "warm" colors bring energy and excitement to a planting. When planted at a distance, they draw the eye in.
Cool colors. Purple, violet, and blue tend to be soothing and quieting. They can get lost at a distance and so are best for close-up viewing.
There are no hard-and-fast rules in choosing colors. A bold chartreuse green might fall into the "warm" category, while a softer, pastel shade of that same green might fit right in with a cool-color palette.
The most important design tip? Choose plants and colors that you love!
Designers use specific terms to describe color combinations. To help you get started, here are a few examples:
The most important design tip? Choose plants and colors that you love!
In complementary color schemes, two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel are combined.
To create an analogous color scheme:
Another option for a monochromatic color scheme is a "moon garden." Gardens featuring all white flowers are especially beautiful when viewed by moonlight. Good choices include moonflower (Ipomoea alba), night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), and evening stock (Matthiola incana).
Does the threat of cold weather and the changing of the seasons bring a tear to your eye? Pre-winter blues got you down? Just because it’s turned crisp and cool outside doesn’t mean you need to stop enjoying fresh garden greens. While it is true that many annual crops don’t do well in freezing conditions, there are several cold-hardy greens that can be grown well into those chilly winter months, and even last until spring in more mild climates. This artic
One day in early May, I was driving past the hardware store. I glanced over in the direction of the gardening center and what I saw made me slam on the brakes. Finally, after months and months of dreary winter and mushy spring, the flowers had arrived. I turned into the parking lot and practically sprinted to the colorful array of blooms. I often choose flowers by color and hardiness. Yellows, purples, pinks, and blues are my favorites, even better if they’re perennial and hardy
Agapanthus spp. Every kid in my tiny elementary school thought I was a strange girl because I kept a jar of sand on my desk. But it wasn’t just any sand. It was sand my dad had brought back from a trip to Honduras for me, to sate my obsession with turquoise-watered and white-sanded beaches. I wanted nothing more than to take a dip in the clear, warm waters of the Caribbean. When I was thirteen years old, my wish came true. I got to travel to Jamaica to see some
QUESTION: What is the best fertilizer for gardens? There are so many different types and brands and I’m totally confused. Eliza H ANSWER: When you look at any fertilizer, you should notice three numbers. These numbers represent how much nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are within the fertilizer, expressed on the package as NPK. For example, if you’re purchasing 10-10-10, this means there are ten pounds of each nutrient in the fertilizer. Then there’s seventy pounds of natural