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November 2017

Plants for the Winter Landscape

Creating a landscape that flows effortlessly through all four seasons takes intentional thought and planning. Unlike other building tasks that require a specific order, designing a year round landscape can be approached in numerous ways. The common thought is that the spring and summer gardens are designed first since those are the seasons that people …

A Winter Wonderland in Your Own Yard

I turned on the tv to a morning show just in time for the weather report. Somewhere out east there was a snowstorm that left an inch or two of snow on the ground. At the same time, a glance out my back windows showed blue sky with white fluffy clouds and a temperature of …

Celebrate the Season with Winter Pots

Saturday mornings are when my husband and I run errands together, which means that I am riding in the passenger’s seat instead of driving. When we turned into the driveway this past Saturday I happened to glance up at the front of our house and noticed how absolutely awful my front flower pots looked. They …

Give the Earth a Gift - Plant a Tree

  When you really stop and think about the big picture, planting trees is one of the most important actions you can take for yourself, your community and even the planet. On a personal level, trees provide beauty, promote wellness and have economic value. Properly placed shade trees reduce energy consumption, resulting in lower costs …

"Fallin" for ShadeTrees

I was out working in the yard the other day when one of the neighbors from down the street stopped by to chat. The conversation quickly turned into some mild grousing by my neighbor about having to deal with “all these blasted trees and their leaves.” Since our houses are built next to a large …

Building Spring Beauty with Blooming Trees

    The weather has not been great here lately.  The temperatures have dropped, the sky has been a depressing shade of cloudy grey and the wind has been chilly. I have to admit that the older I get, the more I avoid going outside to do those necessary chores on ourngloomy days. Instead, I …

Looking Forward to Spring by Planting Bulbs Now

As the last remnants of summer’s flowers are fading, it’s time to begin some critical end of the year gardening tasks. Yes, it is now time to overseed the lawn, mow fallen leaves into mulch for compost and clean the spades and shovels. More importantly though, it’s time to stare out the windows and decide …