Designing Beds That Delight
By Sandra Nelson I don’t know how you are handling stress these days, but I find myself drawn more and more to my yard. When I feel anxiety building, I stroll through the yard, stopping every few seconds to discover the changes from the day before and to soak in the calming power of …
Designing A Border That Delights
By Sandra Nelson As much as I love plants and gardening, I have always felt that my gardens were — to put it bluntly — markedly mediocre. The individual plants were lovely, but somehow they just didn’t fit together to make the dramatic impact I dreamed of. So, with all of the extra time …
English Cottage Gardens -- The Original Rambunctious Garden
By Sandra Nelson Although it was never called by name, in retrospect I realize that my grandmother’s wild and free style of gardening that I talked about last week — her rambunctious garden — was her personal version of what we would call an English cottage garden. Cottage gardens can be traced …
Virginia Sweetspire: A Must Have For Your Garden
By Sandra Nelson This week’s pick is by Philip Grubb, Horticulturist Virginia Sweetspire Graceful in the spring, fragrant in the summer, striking in the fall and structural in the winter, this native deciduous shrub is truly an all-season plant. Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) is easily grown in moist, well-drained soil, making …
Spring Clean-Up, The Environmentally Friendly Way
By Sandra Nelson We had a quick taste of spring this past weekend. It was warm and sunny and people in our neighborhood were out in full force taking advantage of the beautiful days to begin their spring yard clean-up. Leaves were raked and bagged, perennials chopped back to the ground, trees were …
Sweetbay Magnolia -- A Must Have For The Garden
By Sandra Nelson This week’s pick is by Karl Hying, Landscape Designer Sweetbay Magnolia “The Sweetbay Magnolia, with its wonderful fragrance, blooms late May into June, long after other magnolias are done.” Elegant is the word of choice to describe this fragrant beauty. A striking alternative for a unique …
Oak Leaf Hydrangea -- A Must Have For Your Garden
By Sandra Nelson This week’s pick is by Sandy Defoe, Artistic Director. Oak Leaf Hydrangea “In summer, the attractive green leaves show off other plants. The flowers last all summer long and then the dried flower heads stay on through the winter.” Long a favorite for Midwest gardens (introduced in …
Set Your Sights On Spring
By Sandra Nelson To many in our part of the country, January and February (and sometimes March) are prime months for happily hibernating indoors. For those of us who are tried and true gardeners however, being out of the dirt and away from plants is akin to being held hostage by Mother Nature. In …
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