Tagged: Permaculture

Community Gardening / Edible Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Keystone Species / Native Trees / Permaculture / Planting Trees / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

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Growing Indigenous Trees from Seeds

  What Are Indigenous Trees? Indigenous trees are those native species that have grown in our area since before European colonization.  They are uniquely suited to our climate.  They support our indigenous wildlife and make our landscape unique.  Trees produced from long generations of the same species, that have all grown in our immediate area, are considered indigenous.  A tree ordered from a mail-order nursery, even of the same species, was likely grown from seed, or a cutting, indigenous to...

Container Gardens / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Poisonous Plants / Summer Color Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Top Plant Picks for Summer Color: Foliage (Part 2)

Colorful and enticing plants fill every table and rack at garden centers in May.  Even the most experienced gardener may feel a little overwhelmed with so many interesting choices. Annual or perennial?  How big will this get? Will deer and bunnies eat it?  How long will it last?  Sun or shade?  Will it grow in a pot?  Will it stand the heat?  How much care will it require?  And most importantly, will it go the distance and survive all season?...

Food Forest / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Keystone Species / Native Trees / Restoration / Wildlife Gardening

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Two American Chestnut Trees Planted at Freedom Park on Arbor Day 2022

A second annual Earth Day and Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, April 23, at 10:30 AM will include the planting of two wild-type American chestnut seedling trees at Freedom Park in James City County, Virginia. The celebration results from a collaboration between the Clean County Commission, and volunteers at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden and Freedom Park Arboretum, with support from the Freedom Park staff. One tree will be planted in the Pine-Hardwoods section of the Garden, and the other will...

Beneficial Insects / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Native Trees / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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For Love of Trees

  Trees enrich our lives in countless ways. Yet we may not pay them much attention, until they are gone. A Million Trees in a Single Day Pioneers in the Nebraska Territory missed the trees they left behind back East.  They needed trees for shade from the summer sun, for windbreaks to hold the soil, for fuel and for building materials.  They needed trees so much, that Nebraska’s Board of Agriculture planned the first American Arbor Day celebration on April...

Crafting With Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Permaculture / Propagation / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening

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Resourceful Gardening with Seed Bombs

Seed bombs, also known as earth balls or seed balls, have roots in classical Egyptian agricultural practices.  The method may have been widespread in the ancient world as an efficient way to sow large amounts of seed quickly, with minimal tools, especially after floods and other disruptions.  Available sources indicate that some Native Americans used this method for sowing seeds. It is an effective way to sow seeds in areas with little rain. A seed bomb is made with clay...

Container Gardens / Evergreen Perennials / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Moss Gardening / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening

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Cultivating Moss Part 2: Propagation Methods

  Mosses are wild, native plants and find spots to grow where conditions support them.  They reproduce sexually with tiny spores that blow on the wind.  They need consistent moisture to transform from a spore to a small plant, but they do it without any interference from the gardener.  One way to develop a moss garden is to provide favorable conditions and let the mosses colonize on their own terms.  This may take several years, even with consistent efforts to...

Evergreen Perennials / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Moss Gardening / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Propagation / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Cultivating Moss Part 3: Photos and Further Resources

A fern table needs mosses to serve as mulch, holding the planting medium in place.   Moss Garden Resources Find links to some excellent books, informative websites, and good sources for moss listed below: Hamilton, Helen.  Ferns and Mosses of Virginia’s Coastal Plain.  2017. Martin, Annie.  The Magical World of Moss Gardening.  2015. Nordström, Ulrica.   Moss: From Forest to Garden: A Guide to the Hidden World of Moss.  2018 Smith, Richard R.  New Methods in Moss Gardening:  How to Grow...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Invasive Plants / Larval Host Plants / Native Trees / Nuisance Plants / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Weeds / Wildlife Gardening

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Noxious or Nice?

  The swiftest way to find yourself in a rollicking argument with someone you may otherwise count as a friend, is to disagree with them over whether a plant is useful in the garden, or is a noxious, invasive weed.  This drama can erupt among those of us passionate about our gardens and the plants we grow.  We all know just enough to know we’re right, but these arguments over plants can hinge on nuance and circumstance. Do you know...

Bulb Gardening / Container Gardens / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Geophytes / Heirloom plants / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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For Love of Narcissus

Is it possible to fall in love with a genus of plant?  Absolutely.  Some flowers appeal to us so persistently that we respond to them in ways that don’t quite make sense.  Their pull on our imagination, our affections, and yes, our resources, defies reason. Across horticultural history you’ll find characters who left their home continents behind to collect favorite plants.  You’ll find those who quit their day jobs to breed and grow them full-time.  And you will find smitten...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Building a ‘Carbon Garden’

  You may be ahead of me on this one, but the picture that came to mind when I first saw the term ‘Carbon Garden’ in the January 2021 issue of Horticulture Magazine wasn’t very pretty.   In practice, a carbon garden is not only beautiful, but this garden style proves easier to maintain than many others. A Quick Summary of the Science Like other elements, carbon is an atom that can manifest as a solid, in a liquid, or...