Smart Garden

Gardening is about learning what you can handle and developing your skills. When choosing your first houseplant, start with low maintenance and forgiveness as you develop your indoor gardening skills. I tell budding plant enthusiasts to put down a tough plant and pick up what I call an 'ice breaker'. This will allow them to comfortably learn how to care for an indoor plant. From there, they can slowly build their collection. new to the world of houseplants If you're new to the world of houseplants, it's important to choose the right first plant for you. Peace lilies (Spadiphyllum), devil's ivy (Epipremnum aureum), cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), Zanzibar gem (Zamioculcas) and fruit salad plant (Monstera deliciosa) are some of the best ice plants. These are all hardy varieties and will allow you to see and feel how they react to light, water and nutrients. Think of them as your training wheels. Once they help you understand the basics, you'll b...

 Bringing Plants Indoors for Winter Bring your plants indoors this winter to add greenery to your home and continue to care for your favorite plants. Here are some indoor plant design tips. Colder weather is upon us and many plant enthusiasts are slowly mourning the end of the outdoor growing season. Annuals begin to decline and the possibility of freezing temperatures means that perennials will also begin to close in winter. The change of season doesn't mean you have to lose all your outdoor potted or hanging plants. Bring your plants indoors this winter to add greenery to your home and continue to care for your favorite plants. From a design perspective, maintaining indoor plants is almost essential to modern decor. Here are some design tips for houseplants. 1. Use stylish hangers in your indoor plant design Macrame hangers are one of the most popular and versatile ways to hang plants indoors or even outdoors. Some styles include small metal pots or stone pieces made...

 Colorful succulents  These easy-care colorful succulents will dazzle you with their vibrant displays of sun-drenched yellows, reds, oranges and more. As you browse through garden author and succulent expert Debra Lee Baldwin's charming Succulent Container Gardens book, you'll fall in love little by little. These plump-leaved colorful succulents store water in juicy tissue, making them a forgettable gardener's dream. This is because there are stresses that can harm or kill other plants - an extra touch of sun, heat or cold; Even the drought that results from a gardener's vacation (these are the best drought tolerant succulents to grow) – many succulents will come alive with color. The typically green and blue-green leaves warm to a vibrant spectrum of reds, oranges, pinks, purples and yellows. Another bonus: Succulents bloom in winter. So, when you bring your frost-tender plants inside to protect them from the cold, you can fix the flower when you need it m...

Design for a lawnless front-yard garden In Attractive Design for a Lawn-Free Front-Yard Garden, Stacey Crooks writes, "The key to creating a low-maintenance and visually appealing garden lies in careful planning and thoughtful design choices. In this case, it's important to create accessible spaces for people of all ages, areas for group gatherings, and individual family members for their busy lives. A few hidden sanctuaries where you can retreat to rejuvenate from life. "The head of the turnaround driveway was widened to accommodate the width of a playground. Although it's shy of any regulation size, the space is large enough to play some competitive pickleball, and the area doubles as a parking space when the netting is stowed away. We created a large terrace next to the main entrance to the house, It is used as a spectator area for family meals, entertainment and regular evening racquet games. Check out the plant IDs below for parts of this beautiful g...

Shade-loving Rodgersias Their beef can rival any tropical, but these dependable perennials are actually quite hardy. Some plants need time to grow on you, while others catch on from the start — the draw may be flower color, leaf texture, or innate. As for Rodgersia, I was hooked on their large, wrinkled leaves. Given the lack of thick-leaved perennials for northern gardens—cannera (Cannera manicata, zones 7–10) is too tender, butterbur (Petasites japonicus, zones 5–9) too weedy, and ligularias (Ligularia spp., zones 4–9) too Nifty—Rodgersias are well-behaved, cold-hardy alternatives that fill niches beautifully. Our test arose out of the misconception that Rodgersias are somewhat hardy in Chicago—a "truth" I've heard for years—and that Rodgersias are plants known only to expert gardeners. Happily, testing dispelled these myths, proving that Rodgersias are so reliable that everyone should have at least one—if you can stop one. Although it wasn't our bigges...

 Summer-blooming shrubs These low-maintenance shrubs bloom during the warmer months of the year. Enjoy flowers all summer long when adding low-maintenance, easy-to-grow flowering shrubs. Many of these beautiful, but unnecessary plants will attract birds and butterflies, turning your green space into a haven for wildlife. 1. Bluebeard The airy clusters of beautiful blue flowers give bluebeard its name. Flowers appear in late summer, when many shrubs and perennials have faded. This shrub is easy to grow and takes all but the worst of heat and drought. Plus, all kinds of pollinators, including hummingbirds, love the flowers — but deer leave them alone. Bluebeard makes an excellent cut flower. 2. Butterfly bush Think of a butterfly bush as a summer blooming lilac. Its flowers appear in similar colors (purple, lavender, blue, pink and white) and have a delicious fragrance. Butterfly bushes bloom from summer to fall, especially if you remove the old flower clusters as they b...

A low-tech solution can increase your crop yield and quality When it comes to gardening practices, there is a technique that goes back to centuries-old wisdom and combines simplicity with eco-friendliness – olla. Pronounced "oi-ya," this irrigation method uses clay pots buried in the soil to supply water to plant roots, and has been used by a variety of civilizations, from the ancient Greeks to the indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. Today, they have earned their place as a valuable tool in modern horticulture, offering a unique approach to efficient irrigation and growing lush, water-conserving gardens. Benefits of Ollas 1. Water potential Ollas are unrivaled in their water saving capabilities. By burying these clay pots in your garden soil, you create an underground reservoir. Water from Olla's porous walls slowly moves to the root zones of your plants, reducing evaporation and water loss. 2. Uniform humidity Ollas provide a constant source of moi...

 Ideas for Perennial Flower  Some of the most luscious perennial gardens look like they happen, don't they? Lush cottage-style flower beds are bursting with color, the result of well-designed perennial garden ideas with equal consideration of where and what to plant. Read on to discover 22 tips and ideas on how to set up, design, and plant a perennial garden that's visually appealing, low-maintenance over time, and thrives in its place. 1. Get the big picture View your garden from a distance and see how the plantings work together. When we work in the garden, we often get "up close and personal" with the plants, but in designing you need to step back to get a broader perspective of your space. This is especially important if your landscape includes trees and large shrubs – consider the full impact of your design. Step back to take in the bigger picture and see how your plantings balance and flow with each other. 2. Plant bulbs for early spring color You c...