WHAT WE'RE READING
Bad news: Everyone loves monarch butterflies, but their habitats are declining so they are at risk. Good news: You can help by creating a monarch “pit stop” in your garden! Helping monarchs is easier than you think, whether you have a large backyard garden or just a sunny balcony. Find out how to create a Monarch Waystation from Smithsonian Gardens’ Horticulturist Sarah Dickert.
VISIT
If you love Italian food, grow an Edible Italian Garden to have a fresh supply of tastiest vegetables and herbs. Even if you’re short of space, you can grow them in containers!
These herbs and vegetables are most important part of any Italian cookbook.
from Balcony Garden Web
17 actionable tips to reduce your carbon footprint while social distancing at home – from home design magazine Curbed
Most people know of the Japanese plant art of bonsai, in which tiny trees are cultivated in stylish pots. Few people are aware, though, of a related Japanese pursuit named kusamono, where simple wildflowers, grasses and other soft plants receive the same sort of treatment.
One reason for this is that although bonsai is a popular and commercialized hobby, there are just a handful of kusamono virtuosos in the United States, none more accomplished than Young Choe, a Korean American horticulturist from Ellicott City.
from the Washington Post – limited free access views per month
Today, we have a mix of street tree species and varieties that seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. This eclecticism is not some passing fancy but reflects a fundamental shift in what constitutes a suitable city tree in the 21st century. This change was led in part by the late Frank Santamour, a research geneticist at the U.S. National Arboretum who invented a formula for urban forest biodiversity.
from the Washington Post – limited free access views per month
Join Smithsonian Gardens’ Horticulturists Melanie Pyle and Jill Gonzalez for an online demonstration on how to make creative, beautiful, long-lasting flowering containers. Learn how to use color, texture, and height to create a season-long container for your porch, patio, or balcony.
Wreaths are made to celebrate the cycles of nature and all life, and who better to design and demonstrate some knockouts than Martha Stewart! Learn how to make different styles of wreaths from wire, straw and even styrofoam – from start to tying a a bow.
Ikebana arrangements are not unlike sculpture. Considerations of color, line, form, and function guide the construction of a work. The resulting forms are varied and unexpected, and can range widely in terms of size and composition, from a piece made from a single flower to one that incorporates several different flowers, branches, and other natural objects.
from Atrsy.net
From pruning vines to trees to ornamentals, this is one of the most complete collections of pruning information we’ve ever found – easy to browse, too!
from Fine Gardening Magazine
The Bradley method makes practical use of well-known ecological principles. The method
consists of hand weeding, without replanting, selected small areas of vegetation in such a manner that
after weeding, each area will be promptly re-inhabited and stabilized by the regeneration of native
plants.
.pdf from Washington State University
VISIT
Such meticulous attention to detail doesn’t require a lot of work. These four simple steps create and freshen farden bed edges in spring, giving them the crisp lines that reflect the effort you put into your garden.
from Fine Gardening magazine
Whether you want to focus on increasing your curb appeal with a reimagined front yard, create a backyard retreat with dining and entertaining areas, or both, there are many options and features to consider. Use the information below to start determining what you want in your new landscape.
from GardenDesign.com