IF THE IDEA of growing a year’s supply of healthy, organic vegetables and herbs appeals to you, but the thought of digging through compacted, rocky soil does not, consider growing your crops as I do: in raised beds. You’d be amazed at how many benefits there are to gardening “on higher ground,” and how easily beds can be constructed. Read more » Creating a Raised Bed Garden
May 15, 2012
IF THE IDEA of growing a year’s supply of healthy, organic vegetables and herbs appeals to you, but the thought of digging through compacted, rocky soil does not, consider growing your crops as I do: in raised beds. You’d be amazed at how many benefits there are to gardening “on higher ground,” and how easily beds can be constructed. Read more » Garden Taboos…Mine & Yours
March 11, 2012
I WONDER...is there anything you won’t permit in your garden? Something, perhaps, which makes your blood boil when you see it in the yards of others? Here are a few of my "Garden Taboos" (dyed mulch, pictured above, is one), followed, I hope, by yours: Read more » From Wild Patch to Woodland Garden
February 23, 2012
FIVE YEARS AGO, my Woodland Garden was not a garden at all. It was a jungle of wild sumac, aggressive vines, and thorny brambles. You couldn’t pass through the area without the aid of a machete and a can of bug spray. Read on, and I'll show you how clearings were made, how paths were laid out to create a sense of mystery, and how the addition of a gurgling pond, comfortable seating, and colorful woodland plants all contributed to making this former eyesore a shady retreat. (And if you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll even show you my “Secret Garden,” which is hidden within the woodland one.) Read more » The Easy Kitchen Garden
February 16, 2012
IF YOU VISIT ME THIS SUMMER, I'll gladly give you a tour of the Kitchen Garden (above). This "living supermarket," which I designed back in 2007, provides me and my partner with a year's-worth of organic veggies. But it is a very easy garden to maintain: Read more » From Hellish Hill to Serpentine Garden
February 11, 2012
DO YOU HAVE A SEVERE SLOPE ON YOUR PROPERTY? That is, a hill so steep that it can’t be mowed, let alone gardened? I had to address this problem, too, in my own yard. And that’s how "The Serpentine Garden" was born. Here’s the back-story, along with a click-to-enlarge photo gallery: Read more » The Window Garden in February
February 11, 2011
ONE OF THE NICEST features of a window garden is that you can easily change its composition to fit your mood. For instance, in February one of my windows (above) offers a private, and very fragrant, preview of spring (click photos to enlarge): On the broad sill, which is actually a bookcase placed beneath the… Read more »
The Window Garden in December
November 30, 2010
THE DECEMBER DECORATIONS are underway, starting with the window garden pictured up top. Here, chrysanthemums, african violets, and other denizens of the autumn display have been replaced with more "jingle-bellish" plants. I'm still tweaking the arrangement, but already this garden is filling me with Christmas cheer: Read more » 
