Before & After Pictures & Design Ideas
Give Your Garden The Blues
Blue (and shades of blue) is one of the most restful colors in the garden. Imagine fields of bluebonnets or the purple haze of lavender (another shade of blue) in bloom. You can have the same calming effect in your yard through the growing seasons by planting flowers of pure blue and shades of blue....
Landscaping with a Living Roof
A living or “green” roof is becoming an eco-status symbol with corporations across the U.S. A soil and plant-based roof minimizes water runoff, reduces the urban “heat island” effect, and helps protect against soil erosion. Some homeowners are taking the trend residential as well....
Blend Wheelchair Ramps Into Your Landscape Design
As the Baby Boomer generation ages, it’s possible that we’ll see a shift in how residential areas are made accessible. It’s not hard to imagine McMansions with wide, elaborately decorated granite wheel chair ramps....
Achieve Patio Perfection On A Budget
Vonnie from Texas has the right idea when it comes to creating a private patio space that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Planning an affordable outdoor living space requires looking beyond the initial stages and having an idea of how things can look once you’ve added all the embellishments. ...
Feed the Earth! A Guide to Composting
If you’ve ever tried to grow a lush, productive vegetable or flower garden in your yard—which you hoped would be the envy of your neighbors—only to have pale, lifeless plants emerge from the earth and struggle to hang on, then you may need to practice composting. ...
What Is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated pest management – sometimes called IPM or integrated gardening – is not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Simply put, it is an environmentally friendly approach to pest management that uses minimal amounts of chemical pesticides....
Little Yard of Horrors
We see quite a few yards in need of a makeover here at YardShare, and this one is probably in the top 10. Owner George Graf describes his yard as downright “scary”. It’s littered with rotting wood and broken stone....
Old Roses: The Ultimate Antique
The old rose is a living testament to history and to man’s quest for beauty. The term, “old rose” means a rose with ancient ancestors, one that has not been hybridized but has been vegetatively propagated—passed down through history by obtaining “cuttings” from the plant....
The Art (or Science?) of Good Soil
To have a sturdy building, you’ve got to have a good foundation. The same could be said of plants – having good soil can make or break your garden. Before you can improve the quality of your soil, you first need to know what good soil is....
Five More Tips for Terrific Tomatoes
Okay, so now you know to heat your soil, pluck suckers, prune, bury deep, and fan your stems. What else could there be? Here are five more tips. ...
Five Foolproof Tomato Growing Tips
Growing tomatoes is easy, but growing the picture-perfect tomatoes we all want isn’t. I remember when I began growing vegetables; I had visions of big, shiny, juicy, red tomatoes. Unfortunately, the tomatoes I grew didn’t measure up to this ideal....
Barbecue Time! South American Stuffed Beef Roll (Matambre)
There are times when burgers and dogs off the grill just won’t cut it. Maybe it’s a special occasion, maybe it’s a party, or maybe you want to kick off Memorial Day Weekend with a surprise your guests will never expect. This dish from Uruguay is called a matambre, which apparently means “hunger kill...
Gardening and Cooking with Lemon-Scented and Lemon-Flavored Herbs
You don’t have to live in a tropical or semi-tropical climate or pay big bucks at the grocery store to enjoy the freshness of lemons. Grow your own lemons this season—lemon-scented and lemon-flavored herbs, that is!...
Birds, Butterflies and Bats: Welcome Them to Your Garden
With the continued growth in population throughout our country, many wildlife species face increasing pressure from lack of natural habitat—the number one threat to wildlife today. So creating welcoming places for these wonderful creatures in your yard—no matter how small—will help......
Give Your Flowers Some Companions, Part 2
There are just too many flowers that help other plants – companion plants, we call them. Either that, or these columns are too short. In any case, I find myself compelled to write about some more helpful flowers that are wonderful companions to their friends....
