Lessons About Plants & Gardens
Carnivorous Water Plants
Here is a short video of Utricularia, which is a floating, carnivorous water plant.
Read MoreFarmer Explains Why He Changed to No-till Tractors
No-till agriculture helps stop our huge, hidden erosion issues. There are all sorts of advantages (and a few disadvantages). No-till is a serious change in our food production. I often tell gardeners that even at home, we need to go no-till too. Most of our garden design and installation is no-till. Our little organically managed…
Read MoreGetting Houses Ready for Purple Martins
Believe it or not, they know us. Not just that but they get all happy, they come out and sit on their perches, talking and greeting when they see us coming. Nothing animates a quiet day in the garden like a colony of purple martins. These migratory birds have long lived in association with people. …
Read MoreBulbs for the South & Artist In the Garden
I love when an organization ask me to return for more than one presentation. There’s so much more to say, do, talk about than can happen in the usual one hour format. These two presentations, with a break for lunch couldn’t be more different. But the first builds up to the second; the first is…
Read MoreWhat Lies Within. Why We Planted a Giant Pot of Bamboo.
We’re working with a client who thinks about the big picture in her gardening. Including unpleasant stuff and what happens in the distance; the production and disposal of plants. We’re a perfect fit. I often lament that the “green industry”, which should be a part of the solution, is often a part of the environmental…
Read MoreFall Pictures From Beech Island
Gardening is thinking ahead a few minutes, a few months or a few generations. There’s something about this little spot of red dirt, perched on the wooded hills above the river, with Augusta, Georgia, making noise and light in the distance, that helps people find peace and think in generations. Click here to see a…
Read MorePlanting a Perennial Border for Hospice Cut Flowers
Linda has a cool story. She’s cared for her parents, worked a lot and ready to retire. But not ready to slow down. So she bought a little farm house at the edge of booming suburbs and is planning a cut flower operation– specifically to give cut flowers to local hospice centers. She’s into nutrition,…
Read MoreLilies & Nocturnal Seduction. There’s a word for that and it’s a silly, fun, lovely word…..
As nights warm up, a flashlight reveals the fluttering cloud above dark lily fields. Millions of moths. The crinum lilies invite them. Daytime those moths hunker down in the straw mulch. But something more than shifting light calls them up from below. If you had a slow-motion camera and a fragrance detector, you could see…
Read MoreWhere Do You Grow Crinum?
Let’s build a Crinum map together! Send pictures of your crinum lilies. In the email subject line please type your city and state. (Send your town even if you don’t have pictures). We’ll mark your town and post the picture to our map of Crinum Lovers! (Don’t worry, we won’t post your name or address…
Read MorePlant Evaluation — Selecting New Crinum Varieties
I’m a tough critic when it comes to plants, especially when evaluating plants we’ll sell or share or use in gardens, streetscapes or bioswales. Nothing floppy, nothing wimpy, nothing that doesn’t make a great all around garden plant makes the cut. Because I know their potential well, having grown them since the 70’s I’m especially…
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