planting

After living in San Diego for several years, my husband and I moved to a small town in the Pacific Northwest where our closest neighbors are raccoons, owls, and, most abundantly, deer. We see them at all times of the day: in the morning from our bedroom window, in the afternoon grazing in the woods in front of our house, and at night, when I catch them taking nibbles from my garden. That is, until I realized I could create a deer-resistant garden that left nature safe and my garden intact.

Did you know the flowers and vegetation you're growing might be invasive species? Native plants often get overlooked when people design their gardens and lawns, instead opting for popular plants from other regions. This is unfortunate, considering native plants are adapted to local environmental conditions which means they require far less water.

Growing herbs is often the gateway to becoming a gardener and eventually starting a vegetable garden.

The conventional methods of putting the garden away involve pulling up your hard-grown plants and tilling your soil. While this method works for a few seasons, permaculture has a longer-term view of soil health. Tilling the soil destroys much of the delicate soil structures that allow for high levels of biodiversity. There are little pockets of water and air in the soil where nutrient-carrying mycorrhizal fungi can grow and beneficial insects can reside.

Not everyone that loves to garden is blessed with a sunny backyard. For those with yards covered by trees, surrounded by fences, or facing north, sunshine is the only thing your plant is missing. That doesn’t mean you’re confined to sword ferns and swaths of moss.

Did you know April is Earth Month? This spring month is dedicated to advocating for a greener, healthier earth (even though every month should be earth month). Here are a few creative ways you can celebrate and make the world a little greener this month.

After a long and cold winter, springtime is certainly a blessing. It brings warmer air, beautiful flowers, and baby animals into our lives. Unfortunately, spring flies away much too quickly, so it's important to really savor the season and utilize it as much as possible. It's easy to miss the bounty of spring when you have all the luxuries of the modern world at your fingertips.

Autumn is magical: The leaves start to change, the air cools, and crops shift in season. While you may miss the warmth of summer, fall welcomes many exciting new activities. From hay rides, to playing in the leaves, to many other ways to celebrate, fall can be quite fun. Don't let it pass you by: Make the absolute most of it! Here are four fun ways to welcome fall. The best part is they're all eco-friendly and involve nature.

Forget-me-nots are in the genus Myosotis which includes approximately fifty species. Some have been introduced to North America and some are native to the continent. There are also species that are native to New Zealand but have been introduced in other parts of the world. It is primarily an annual and has been romanticized in poetry and Christianity.

Garden planning can be exciting, fun, and challenging all at the same time. It requires us to map out and strategize the what, where, when and how of our garden.  When done correctly, the process can help us yield an awesome harvest. Whether you are designing a simple flowerbed or a complex veggie garden, here are 10 important tips that will help make your garden planning a little easier.