Garden, Landscaping

As fall quickly turns to winter, temperatures are plummeting several weeks ahead of normal. Frost and snow blanket our landscapes. For annual plants, their non-hardiness is readily apparent. For them, putting the garden to bed is mostly a matter of cleaning and clearing out.

For trees and shrubs, nature has given them some excellent coping skills for dealing with winter. Deciduous plants evade the season: They drop their leaves, pull in their sap and ...

Walk through any forest and you'll discover the ground is soft, even spongy to walk on. This is the result of years of fallen leaves that can accumulate to a surprising depth. It's called the duff layer, and the bottom is perpetually decomposing into a soft, dark crumbly material called leaf mold. It's rich in organic matter and microbes, and it has long been used by gardeners.

Leaf mold is favored for opening dense clay. It's ideal for helping porous ...

All too often these days, if we want to fix a problem in the garden, we reach for something in a bag or bottle. I realize we're all in a hurry, we want a quick fix, and we don't want to overthink the options.

But these solutions are often only temporary, and they can lead to greater problems.

Because we're only addressing the obvious problem, without consideration to the potential consequences, we fail to realize the greater damage over ...

Just about the time you least expect it the Christmasbush erupts into a yellow explosion of bloom with such staggering beauty it stuns all who see it. After all this is a color in the spring or summer and surely not expected from mid-October through November and December.

But such is the case for this large shrub known botanically as Senna bicapsularis. In addition to the official Christmasbush it also goes by names such as winter cassia, butterfly ...

As warm, balmy days give way to cool, fall nights, so comes the desire to continue to enjoy outdoor entertainment spaces year-round.

Bringing the indoors out has long been desirable for those looking to enjoy their outdoor spaces all year. An outdoor living space can be just that, a living space that serves as an additional room. Outdoor kitchens and fireplaces are often considered to be luxury, high ticket items, but it is possible to incorporate ...

What's causing dead spots in my lawn? Lawn care pros list these possible causes of dead spots in a lawn:

- Insufficient or excess water

- Weather that's unusually hot or cool

- Fungal disease

- Insects

- Over-fertilizing with a salt-based or all-chemical product

- Ineffective mowing practices.

- Acidic pet urine

They say voles are unlikely culprits because they ...