Shade Trees Adapt To Urbanism
UNITED STATES—Modern urban home gardens are shadier and more confined than older suburban home gardens originally were. Modern homes are both taller and closer together on smaller parcels. Fences are also taller to compensate for the minimal proximity of adjacent homes. Less sunlight reaches the ground. There is not as much space available for shade trees. Nor is there...
Woody Vines Need Constant Attention
UNITED STATES—Grapevines that were not pruned aggressively enough last winter are tangled messes by now. Many grapevines that were pruned properly are tangled messes as well. That is their nature. Woody vines like grapevines grow rapidly and vigorously. They rely on other plants for support, and do what they must to get to the top. Woody vines are not...
Collecting Seed For Another Season
UNITED STATES—Seed that is available in hardware stores and nurseries came from somewhere. Plants just like those that such seed grows into produced it. Someone, or many someone's, collected all that seed to make it available to others. Similarly, several plants in our own gardens produce seed. Anyone who is interested in collecting seed to grow more of the...
California Native Plants Exemplify Diversity
UNITED STATES—California native plants are logical options for the gardens and landscapes of California. It is only natural. They are already happy with the climates and soils here. They do not need to adapt quite as much as plants from other regions and climates do. After all, they lived here long before anyone else was here to water and...
Nursery Cans Are Only Temporary
UNITED STATES—Garden enthusiasts would understand the temporary nature of nursery cans better if they knew more about how plants grow in nurseries. Few plants actually grow in the retail nurseries that market them. They grow in production nurseries, where efficiency is a priority. Nursery cans, which retailers and consumers refer to as 'pots', are the most efficient means with...
Culinary Herbs With Landscape Appeal
UNITED STATES—Vegetables grow mostly in designated vegetable gardens because they are not appealing enough for the rest of the landscape. Flowers for cutting might grow in designated cutting gardens, from which they are not missed after harvest. Culinary herbs can grow in herb gardens for the same reasons. Some might not be very pretty. After harvest, some might be...
Sun Scald Happens Here Too
UNITED STATES—Those who enjoy gardening where winter weather is harsh likely know what sun scald is. It happens late in winter, if exposed bark warms enough to prematurely resume vascular activity during the day. Vascularly active tissue then succumbs to hard frost at night. Wintry sunlight is not sufficiently intense to scald bark; but the damage suggests otherwise. Glare...
Summer Squash Excel All Summer
UNITED STATES—Summer is for warm season vegetables like tomatoes, beans, corn, okra, and of course, summer squash. The name says it all. Summer squash are the sort of squash that develop and are ready for harvest through summertime. The season continues until the plants succumb to cooling autumn weather. The abundant squash fruits are best while young and tender,...
Bronze Is The New Green For Foliage
UNITED STATES—Bronze foliage will never actually replace green foliage. Even if there were enough variety of plants with bronze foliage to do so, too much bronze would look dreary. Bronze is just another option for foliar color in landscapes with significant vegetation. It is distinct from simpler green, and contrasts nicely with gold, blue, gray and variegated foliage. Some...
Hanging Planters Need Extra Attention
UNITED STATES—With few exceptions, plants dislike confinement of their roots. They prefer to be in the ground where they can disperse roots freely. Houseplants stay potted because of a lack of other soil inside. Some plants live in pots for portability. Some plants just happen to look good in pots. Plants in hanging planters conform to any combination of...