Many gardeners never think about training or cutting back plants until the neighbor is bleeding from a head-to-limb encounter with the crabapple (Malus) someone planted too close to a path or it's impossible to get past the eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and through the front door. Read The Why and When of Pruning
Plants & Gardens Blog
Ecological Gardening
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Ecological Gardening
The Why and When of Pruning
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Garden DesignEcological Gardening
The Espalier Method: What You Need to Know
The French word espalier refers both to a plant grown in a pattern on a flat plane and to the vertical support, such as a wire, trellis, wall, or fence, that it grows against. Read The Espalier Method: What You Need to Know
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PollinatorsEcological Gardening
Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
Early naturalists believed that caterpillars and butterflies were separate, unrelated insects. How surprised they would have been by the notion of gardening to attract caterpillars! Yet, to further the cause of butterflies, providing host plants that feed the caterpillars is as important as filling flower beds with bright, nectar-rich blooms that provide nourishment for the adults. Read Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
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Plant ChoicesEcological GardeningGrowing Food
Garlic Mustard: A Palatable Pest
Native to Europe, this cool-season biennial is wreaking havoc on deciduous forests from New England west to Wisconsin and south to Tennessee. Read Garlic Mustard: A Palatable Pest
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Ecological Gardening
Drought-Proofing Your Garden: Essential Water-Saving Strategies and Plant List
A drought emergency is a time to take steps to substantially reduce water use in the garden. Here's some tips on how to conserve water with drought-tolerant plants and longer-term solutions to your garden more compatible with natural precipitation patterns. Read Drought-Proofing Your Garden: Essential Water-Saving Strategies and Plant List
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CompostingUrban GardeningEcological Gardening
What and How to Compost
What can I put in the compost pile? What does composting mean, and how does it work? Read What and How to Compost
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Ecological Gardening
Seed Specifics
Fortunately, a Ph.D. in botany or genetics isn't necessary to grow plants successfully from seed. But this article on seed basics will help you better understand what seeds are, where they come from, their role in plant reproduction, and why they are so critical to the health and survival of plant species. Read Seed Specifics
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Native FloraEcological Gardening
Planting a Native Grass Lawn Step By Step
Follow these basic steps to plant a lawn of native grasses no matter where you live. Read Planting a Native Grass Lawn Step By Step
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Native FloraEcological Gardening
Low & Slow Fescues
For years fescues languished as obscure players in the turfgrass pantheon, relegated to second-class status as components of shade-tolerant seed mixtures. These attractive, fine-textured grasses are finally coming into their own. Read Low & Slow Fescues
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CompostingUrban GardeningEcological Gardening
How Compost Builds the Soil
Soil is a living community that requires nurture. And well-nurtured soil in turn nurtures the plants that are part of it. Read How Compost Builds the Soil