Growing a indoor garden requires water, warmth and light. Many houseplants originated in the tropics or subtropics and endure a humidity level as low as 40 or 50 percent. However, with central heating and air conditioning, the average home’s humidity level hovers around 10 to 20 percent. Maintaining a sufficient level of moisture in the […]

So you’re trying to find a new home, and you would like it to be as green and environmentally responsible as possible. Maybe it’s because you noticed that it is possible to save on utility bills if you experience an energy efficient home. Perhaps you dig on the appearance. Or you want to try to […]

For many folks, tarragon is just one of those herbs you’ve heard of but don’t really know. It is not particularly flamboyant or too aromatic, yet its leaves are a staple of classic French cuisine, and its light aroma is said to repel insects. It is a compact plant, usually less than 2 ft tall, […]

Back in the 1960s, with a baby girl and another on the way, I had a second job working in a nursery on weekends (and needed a third). Every fall we brought out the banner ads calling autumn “California’s second spring” This was not just some kind of bogus advertising slogan, like “Petunias will include […]

Shrubs with multiple colours of blooms could be combined with plant multitasking, with a great deal of eye appeal to one instead of several types of shrubs. You can find a similar effect with shrubs which have multiple leaf colours or marked seasonal color changes. Multicolored shrubs work well in little gardens and in areas […]

A glass cloche creates a miniature greenhouse environment for just one plant in the backyard. This allows you to extend the growing season by planting earlier in spring or for growing more into fall. Traditionally, cloches were bell-shaped, bottomless jars, but today a variety materials in different shapes are used for covering and protecting garden […]

Out here on the prairie, trees have been relegated to cities, cities and river bottoms. Stand upon a bluff overlooking the Missouri River valley in eastern Nebraska, and the tree color is magnificent well into late October and early November. If you squint just tough enough and trick back some warm apple cider, then you […]

While I think of this sway British garden layout has had on gardens across the Western world, cottage gardens and Arts and Crafts gardens come to mind. But the origins of some contemporary garden features can be traced even further back — to the 18th century and the English landscape landscapes of William Kent, Humphrey […]

In mild climates, there’s still time to plant a more merry camellia in a kettle near the front door and put in bulbs to get a big spring show. In colder areas, it’s time to gather boughs in the yard for new structures inside and out. In the Southwest, luminarias make outdoor rooms shine, and […]

A former London city slicker, Simon Evans made the move from an urban apartment to this darkened tropical home among the trees. He worked together with local business Bali GreenWorld to design and construct his new home — a two-story 377-square-foot construction made entirely out of locally sourced materials. And he cleared out all the […]