Topics
Special Series
Ecological Gardening
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Go Native
In all the busyness of installing “green” systems in your garden—drip irrigation, compost bins, solar panels, gray-water recycling—it can be easy to overlook one of the most important environmental decisions you make as a gardener: what you plant.
By BBG Staff -
Seed Banking for Survival—Saving the World, One Seed at a Time
Seed banks, also known as seed archives, germplasm banks, and seed vaults, are gene banks for plants, and there are approximately 1,400 of them around the world. The projects range from small, geographically specific ones that support horticultural research and local restoration to larger, overarching projects that seek to provide the means to sustain life in the face of mass ecological catastrophe.
By Jessica Reisman -
Saving Water in the Garden
Today we may have an abundance in water but tomorrow a drought, so in the meantime, we should all learn how to curtail our water usage, both inside and outside the home.
By Medi Blum -
Sustainable Cut Flowers: A Buyer’s Guide
I consider myself a socially responsible consumer, and suddenly I just wasn't sure what I was buying into when I purchased cut flowers. I thought these issues would be worth exploring, so I traveled to Ecuador with a tape recorder, a camera, and a definite bias.
By Amy Stewart -
Water-Thrifty Gardening
Here are ten easy ways you can conserve water in your garden without harming your plants.
By Janet Marinelli -
Easy Monochromatic Gardens
Combining shades and tones of the same color or limiting yourself to using a related group of colors is a fun way to create an exciting yet harmonious garden design.
By Walter Chandoha -
Deer Deterrents That Work
Once roaming open fields and forests and controlled by natural predators, deer now must make their home near housing developments, office parks, and shopping malls, and their populations are growing. Little wonder then that they treat our gardens like buffet bars. Thoughtful plant choices, fences, dogs, and repellents help to keep deer at bay.
By Walter Chandoha -
Wollemi Pine and ‘Olulu Palm—Two Endangered Plants That Need Your Help
Two critically endangered plants are poised to make the greatest comebacks in botanical history, thanks to a new conservation strategy based on encouraging gardeners around the globe to grow them.
By Janet Marinelli -
Rain Gardens: Using Spectacular Wetland Plantings to Reduce Runoff
Learn how to create a beautiful garden that will capture rain and reduce and reduce run-off.
By Janet Marinelli -
The Why and When of Pruning
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.
By Karen Davis Cutler
