There’s nothing worse than a dull pruner that leaves you twisting and yanking stems because it just won’t cut it. It’s frustrating, it’s time consuming, and frankly, it’s really bad for your plants.
Starting with a set of well maintained, essential tools can make your gardening a happier and healthier experience for both you and your plants. Check out our article, “The right tools make gardening easier” for a list of my personal favorites.
Today, our outdoor spaces are becoming extensions of our homes. They bring us outdoors, in rooms and areas that provide entertaining space, room for kids and pets to play, or maybe a quiet reading nook.
In designing your landscape, form should follow function.
Was your patio too small for entertaining this summer? Did you, or your dogs, wear a dirty path in the grass to get from area to area? Or do you just want to remove some grass, water a little less or solve a drainage problem with a dry creek?
With those thoughts fresh on your mind, we’ve put together some important pieces to consider when planning for Spring’s arrival next year. Read more here.
Sure, people may sometimes remind you to, “stop and smell the roses”, but sensory gardening is designed to stimulate more than just your vision or sense of smell. Sensory gardening aims to stimulate all of our senses; inviting us to touch, smell, hear and taste our natural surroundings as well.
Close your eyes, and consider all the elements you can take in throughout your landscape.There are lots of great suggestions for your sensory garden here.
Many would-be vegetable gardeners are thwarted by a lack of space, impenetrable rocky soil or clay, or a shortage of sunshine. Alternative growing containers are the latest trend, making vegetable gardening easier than ever, even for those who have been limited in the past. Patio gardens and garden container alternatives can be grown with just 5 or 6 hours of sun each day. Don’t forget about vertical spaces, too. Hanging baskets can be used for lightweight greens and herbs and some fruits or vegetables will even grow in upside-down hanging planters. Check out some of the more popular options here.
Gripping and twirling their tendrils upward, searching for the sky, vines decorate our fences, pergolas and walls, adding vertical interest to our gardens. Vines provide screening, shade, and color and they also attract birds, butterflies and bees to the garden. There are many beautiful annual and perennial vines for gardeners to choose from here in Central Texas.
Foliage – with its myriad contributions that enhance, brighten, and add movement and structure to the landscape – should play a starring role in designing a garden. It is the fundamental element that brings the design together. The contrast of foliage in the garden adds interest and sophistication to the landscape. In shady beds, light colors and variegated foliage brighten dark areas with a pop of light. Foliage with different or unusual textures also provides dimension to the garden. Pairing a broad range of plant textures creates contrast. Coarse textures with large irregular leaves, thick veins, rough bark, medium textures with mid-size leaves, smoother shape and simple lines, and fine textures with small or thin, strappy leaves like grasses, wispy and lacy foliage can all make striking combinations.