Moving into a new rental unit is like working with a blank canvas, only there are rules! You can’t do whatever you want since the place doesn’t belong to you. But still, you want to make it feel like home. Here are…
Replacing your garden plants with drought-tolerant perennials is the smart choice for a low-maintenance garden that conserves water. For any hot hot summers, this can be a real lifesaver for your garden, energy, and water bill! Here are a few of my…
Mother Fern, Asplenium bulbiferum With a name like mother fern, this plant must be the end-all-be-all, mother of all ferns, right? You wouldn’t be far from the truth. I’m a huge fan of this magnificent specimen and I routinely add it…
One of the main insights I walked away with after co-authoring Remodelista: The Low-Impact Home: A Sourcebook for Stylish, Eco-Conscious Living is that, more times than not, the answer to undoing some of the damage brought on by climate change is to…
As you look over your garden, something catches your eye. There’s a powdery grayness on the leaves of your lilac and maybe your peonies. Maybe your roses or dogwoods have it too. You have powdery mildew. What is powdery mildew, exactly?…
Wildflowers not only brighten our day, but many of them can be eaten and enjoyed in teas, salads, or even on their own. Whether you want to grow some wildflowers you can eat in your garden or have spotted some on a…
Based on your part of the country, summer gardening can be tough. You can face a variety of seasonal issues, including drought, plant availability, and rain levels, but summer planting is a great way to give your garden a head start before…
Looking for an extra touch of sunshine in your garden beds this year? Let me introduce you to the beautiful California poppy. This delightful perennial provides plenty of beauty with minimal work! Learn how to grow and care for this pretty poppy…
Golden Alexander, Zizia aurea Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) is a native North American perennial wildflower known for its yellow, firework-like blooms that bloom in mid-spring—and, more importantly, for being the host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly lays eggs…
I can tell when spring is in full force in many different ways. The longer days! The warmer weather! The beautiful flowers! The birdsong! The social media posts asking what is this bright red bug eating my lilies? It’s not the…