When I moved into my current home, I was a little shocked when I arrived to find a home that hadn’t been entirely cleared out. Evidence of the previous occupant was everywhere, but it was mostly small stuff that we donated or repurposed.

The interior of the home yielded few treasures (though it was mostly junk), but the exterior…oh what bounty! While the yard was fairly devoid of plantings, there were piles of pavers, some really cool bricks, and lots of big rocks.

How on earth could this elicit such elation? Well, I love a good deal and even better if I can landscape with recycled materials that I found for free. Plus, I was itching to play with the garden, but funds were limited (moving is expensive). So immediately I saw these items as free landscaping materials to use in my fixer upper yard.

I'll walk you through how I turned this trash into treasure and share tips on how you can do the same with materials you may already have on hand.

How to Turn Trash Into Garden Treasure

The first thing I did was take a quick visual assessment of the materials. Then while I was unpacking the house, my mind worked tirelessly thinking up ideas to do with it. I could barely get through the unpacking because the lush, layered garden design ideas in my mind were so enticing.

The next thing I did was gather all the bricks. With these, I sketched out the beginnings of some garden beds and then went to work laying them as borders for the beds.

Next, I gathered up the piled up the free stones for landscaping that I found in my yard. Some of them went to cover an area on the side of the house that used to hold a big metal tank for oil heating of the home. I planned to plant that area later on but in the meantime it looked better and kept the dirt off the siding when it rained.

1. Build an Antique Brick Patio for Free

After I had gathered all my materials, including some interesting antique bricks, I did some research on them. The bricks in the garden were of various earth tones from ochre to reddish and stamped with a name and number. The shapes were less rectangular and more trapezoid. Turns out they were kiln bricks made back east, 50 years ago or so. What a find!

So I did what anyone would do with such pretty, vintage bricks: I built a patio. My new home already had a covered patio that ended at ground height on two sides with a step up on one side. This is where the new cheap paver patio would be, creating another small patio with outdoor seating to showcase my gorgeous container garden.

If you aren't as lucky as I was, you can buy bricks from the Home Depot to create a patio in your yard that looks just as lovely.

Now you can’t just lay out some bricks to create a patio. I dug down to the depth of the bricks and made the ground as even as possible. Then I poured out a 1 inch (2.5 cm) layer of sand, which you can get at the Home Depot, and positioned the bricks, leaving some room between them. Then I poured more sand on top of the finished patio and, using a broom, brushed it in to fill the gaps and cracks between the bricks.

This sounds like a quick and easy project, but it took time and effort. And in the end, it isn’t perfect. But the imperfections add to the charm of the patio. Ideally, we should have laid gravel first as a paver base, but that would have meant purchasing materials and the idea was to do it for free.

2. Create Garden Beds and Pathways

I’ve already mentioned that I used some of the bricks and pavers I’d found as cheap DIY garden paths and some for garden beds, but I still had more so I decided to tackle the side of the house. There is a narrow area between my home and the neighbors separated by a fence and some dirt. It was an ugly and messy area of the yard.

I’d found even more rocks as I was digging to lay out the garden beds and patio. Some were large, the size of a small dog, and some were fist sized. They were perfect for making narrow beds in this no man’s land between houses. I used some pavers that were laying about to create a long, straight bed against the fence.

Today, that area is filled with plants I’ve divided or volunteered including some Miscanthus grass, sea holly, penstemon, liatris, a couple different types of sedum, and an adorable clematis.

If you don't find any stones in your yard or you need to fill in with more material, like the pea gravel I purchased to line the walkway between the plants to prevent weeds, Home Depot has tons of great options for landscape rocks.

3. Turn a Wheelbarrow Into a Planter

Lastly, I found a treasure in my new yard—or at least it seemed so to me. I discovered it in the garage and it is marvelous. It is an old wheelbarrow with rubber wheels that are falling off and the perfect green patina.

I turned this gem of a find into a piece of garden art with the help of my sister-in-law who is particularly crafty. This project turned out beyond cool. We did have to do a little fixing of the wheels and some tightening of screws and we laid a tarp in the bottom with drainage holes as well.

But, all in all, it’s the perfect creative plant container that’s also free. And so far, it’s held up eight years and counting! You can also buy premade wheelbarrow planters on Amazon, if you can't find an old one to repurpose.

Get Inspired in Your Own Landscape

At the end of the day, or rather eight years later, I’ve learned that you can use almost anything to accent your landscape. You can find free materials anywhere for hardscaping like paths, patios, borders, beds, fencing, stakes, trellises, and even french drains.

I do not consider myself to be an artist but, somehow when you use natural landscaping materials, everything comes together in a cohesive manner and looks amazing.

If your house doesn’t yield as many treasures, try going on social media. There are many sites out there and people are always giving stuff away. This is also a great way to find free plants. All you have to do is have the inspiration and imagination to find and repurpose freebies. And they don’t all have to be natural materials either.

For instance, I’ve got my eye on some old aluminum shutters in my sister’s garage. She doesn’t want them and I’m thinking of some kind of triptych to hang on the wall of our covered patio.

Not only is this a fun and free way to shape up the garden, but it’s good for the environment. We are drowning in single use items. You can even find fill soil for free that will make a good berm.

Sitting in my parents’ 45-year-old garden, I am reliving a time when I was 8 years old. Not an auspicious day, really. My father was building a rock waterfall in the corner of our fishpond while mom planted ajuga and tropical plants all around the perimeter of the patio in our Northern California suburban home.

Splitting pieces of bamboo, not an easy task, Dad built a low fence around the planters to protect them from kids who might not value them as much.

We spent our childhood years at that house, picking apricots, dipping our toes in the pond, smelling iris, sitting in the sycamore tree and taking for granted the hard-earned beauty around us in those hot summers as we drifted into adolescence.

New Digs

In my late teens, our family’s newly built house sat on a large lot that was excavated down to clayish soil, barren of anything living. For me, it was a time to begin my launch from their care.

During this tumultuous time of history, I returned home more than once, exhausted from trying to live an adult life in a chaotic world with my idealistic, childlike mind.

With each visit home, I saw that barren property grow into a lush haven, with swaying trees, a huge lawn (in vogue at the time), shrubs, flowers, hardscape and again, a large harvest of vegetables every year. Once an arid landscape, this homestead blossomed with my father’s inherited love of gardening, and my mom’s diligent support.

Aging

In their golden years, a large home and yard was no longer a priority for dad and mom, but they found the best lot in an Oregon mobile home park and went to work.

Together they transported and placed truckloads of river rock throughout the lot of their manufactured home, laying each flat rock carefully as a way to prevent weeds. They built stone surrounds for mom’s rose bushes, ferns, peonies and, of course, a few large beds for dad’s vegetable garden.

Living away in other parts of the country, I would visit as often as I could. Each visit was a revelation.

In these last decades, dad was in touch with his gardener’s soul at the deepest level. Artful trellises supporting lush tomatoes, peas, and beans were as tall as his 6’1” frame. His grafted apple tree grew heavy with 6 varieties that became applesauce and pies. Strawberries, lemon cucumbers and flowers filled every un-rocked spot. With my mom’s support, they turned this senior-living space into a garden wonderland.

Soup

Retirement slowed dad down only a bit. He continued to garden, and honed his expertise in several areas. One hobby that was particularly impressive was his soup! Even the grandkids loved his vegetable soup and it seemed to get better every year. It was usually a Sunday project and I think Dad was proud of his new hands-on skill in the kitchen, since he had left that part of life up to mom for many years.

His basic recipe using mostly his garden-grown produce was never reduced to measurements, so was probably never the same twice. Here’s my best guess:

• 3-4 potatoes, diced
• 1 jar of home-canned tomatoes
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-3 diced carrots
• 2 cups cut cabbage
• Fresh garlic (lots)
• Rosemary, thyme
• Green beans and/or fresh peas, whatever green was available
• A handful of spinach
• Fresh corn cut from a small cob
• Salt, pepper, water

Simmering on the stove, the phenomenal fragrance was deeply comforting, and the soup was delicious. The sense of deep peace and safety in their home was heightened by this amazing fragrance that is still so familiar to me.

Later Years

As the years flew by Dad rocked over his garden beds one at a time until he was eventually down to one. Every year the lilacs and roses return, the rhubarb still grows and very little weeding is required - the yard is still lovely now, even without their attention and care.

I have lived in their home for the last few years, helping my sisters usher both parents from this life. As Father’s day approaches, I have a profound appreciation of the astonishing amount of work that went into every inch of this place, from the stone walkways to the magnolia and dogwood trees and all that has survived and matured.

There are still traces of the gardens my dad tended with an energy he drew from some unseen source - energy that kept him going for 93 years. At my own advanced age, I try to imagine how they spent almost a half-century making this place thrive, but I know it was the gardening that fed their souls for so many years.

The bees are feasting at the lilac trees. Mom’s roses are tense in their spring buds. Dad’s grapevines are burgeoning yet again. As I sit in their porch swing and listen to the deep silence around me, I feel their bustling, sweet energy everywhere.

I’m going to leave this place soon and let someone else enjoy aging in this lovely ambiance. I’m aware that my own urge to grow things and experience Mother Nature inside myself is part of my genetic makeup. So, happy Father’s Day, Daddy, and thank you for who you were, what you gave, and all that you left behind.

I hate to weed. It's my least favorite gardening chore, especially in the veggie patch where annual tilling brings a potpourri of weed seeds to the surface each year. Luckily, I've discovered how to maintain a weed-free garden with little effort.

Weed Control in a Vegetable Garden

My vegetable garden weed control program begins long before I sow any veggie seeds or transplant seedlings. In fact, it starts the previous fall. After putting the garden to bed each year, I spread a thick layer of leaves over the entire veggie patch.

This prevents many weeds from germinating in late fall. I don't worry about piling the leaves too thick. If need be, I can easily rake excess leaves and put them in the compost pile come spring.

My next step for a weed-free garden is to rototill as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring. This uproots any large weeds that survived the winter. If any weed seeds do germinate at this time, their seedlings will be turned under when I rototill again.

The Best Garden Mulch for Weed Control

My second secret to a weed-free garden is mulching. Like the leaves I spread in the fall, mulch prohibits germination by preventing light from reaching weed seeds in the soil. I find the best garden mulch for weed control will decompose within a year and enrich the soil.

Newspaper, cardboard and grass clippings fit this requirement. As recycled materials, these are cost-efficient options when used as weed control in a vegetable garden. Here are my tips for using these mulches in the garden:

• Don't wait -- Weed seeds can germinate quickly. As soon as I sow seeds or transplant seedlings, I begin laying down mulch between the rows and around young plants.
• Avoid the burn -- A thick layer of fresh grass clippings can create heat and damage young veggie plants. I spread fresh clippings thinly and add more each day or I shield my veggie seedlings from the grass clippings by placing a 3 to 4 inch (7.6-10 cm.) ring of shredded paper around the base of each plant.
• Don't shred cardboard -- Not only is this hard on my paper shredder, but flattened boxes can be used to mulch large areas of the garden. I use it between rows of plants and in places that will eventually be overgrown with vining plants, such as pumpkins.
• Be vigilant -- As paper absorbs moisture and grass clippings dry, these mulches have a tendency to shrink. To maintain my weed-free garden all season long, I scout the garden weekly and quickly remove any weeds that penetrated the mulch barrier.
• Keep on mulching -- Each time I cut the grass, I add more clippings to the garden. Placing grass clippings overtop the shredded paper creates two layers of weed barrier protection.
• Know your source --To ensure food safety, I don't use grass clippings which have been treated with chemicals. Additionally, some types of paper can contain harmful chemicals or plastic inserts. In general, newspaper and brown cardboard are the safest paper products to use for weed control in a vegetable garden.

Sustainability is a growing trend that many gardeners are embracing. With climate change and other environmental issues on everyone’s radar, it’s important to consider being more sustainable in all areas of our lives. For me, it’s a stepwise project and a work in progress in the garden.

My Sustainable Practices

For me, the most important aspect of sustainability in the garden is trying to match my yard to my local ecosystem. Growing native plants is one of the best things we can do for the environment as gardeners.

Plants native to your region support native wildlife. They are low-maintenance and don’t require much watering or other resources, like fertilizer. They attract and support pollinators that are struggling, especially bees.

I inherited a complete yard and garden when I moved into my current house. Over the years, I have slowly replaced some of the plants with native species. It’s a process, and I still have some non-natives, but I believe the changes have been positive. These are some of the other things I do to be more sustainable in the garden:

• Hands-off Lawn Care -- A turf lawn is far from natural, but it’s still the norm in my suburban neighborhood. Tearing it out to create a wildflower meadow would be frowned upon. Instead, I take a hands-off approach to save water. I let the grass go dormant in the summer months. I don’t use herbicides or pesticides and only apply a little fertilizer once or twice a year. I don’t sweat the “weeds” or moss that add to the green of the lawn.
• Hand-Pulling Weeds -- I don’t mind most weeds in the lawn, but I can’t have them taking over my beds. I never use herbicides to kill weeds. Instead, I spend peaceful, meditative hours in the garden hand-pulling weeds. I have learned to love it as a gardening activity.
• Limited Watering -- Planting more native perennials means that I don’t have to water my beds very often. I choose plants appropriate to the local climate and add mulch to beds and containers to help the soil stay moist longer. When it is going to rain, I move my containers out from under the patio awning to take advantage of it.
• Composting -- Creating compost is a good way to be sustainable in the kitchen and to benefit the garden. I do not create my own compost, but I do contribute my kitchen scraps to a local compost pile. My CSA (community supported agriculture) farm supplies me with fresh veggies weekly through summer and fall, and I bring them my scraps.

My Inspiration for Sustainability

What inspires me most to be more sustainable in the garden is the wildlife that lives there. I live in the suburbs but came here from the city. The amount and variety of wildlife I find here surprised me initially. From songbirds and hawks to opossums, squirrels, deer, and even foxes and coyotes, we have a lot.

I love animals and I enjoy watching the wildlife that comes and goes in my garden. It’s these animals that inspire me to be better when it comes to the environment. The choices I make in my garden directly impacts them.

I can provide non-native species of plants that don’t provide food and that might actively crowd out native plants, or I can put in native species they can use. I can waste water and use chemicals on a pristine lawn that provides nothing these animals need, or I can let it be more natural with a diversity of plants.

Sustainability in my house and garden is an ongoing work in progress. Every choice I make matters, and I consider the wildlife I so enjoy when making each one of them.

Even though a mostly green garden evokes a calm, serene feeling, I like to have some color contrast in the garden. When planting a new garden bed, I think about how the foliage colors will look and whether I need to add some contrast.

Balancing Green with Seasonal Color

In a front yard foundation planting, I have an Emerald Spreader Japanese yew, plus the evergreen perennials hellebore and autumn fern, which all have green foliage. When I purchased a dwarf Japanese maple to include, I chose one with year-round burgundy foliage. A row of Bobo hydrangeas have green foliage with white flowers that fade to pink. In front of them, I have three bronze-and-pink-colored coral bells, Heuchera villosa "Carnival Watermelon."

I plant tulips in that bed each fall and I always pick pinkish or red to blend with the pink and burgundy in the foundation bed. The autumn fern Brilliance looks amazing when it sends up new growth in spring that is a gold/bronze color.

In a bed in the backyard, I added the evergreen, yellow-leaved Sunshine ligustrum to an otherwise green bed, however, the seasonal flowers provide contrasting colors when they are in bloom. The yellow-and-red coreopsis right next to it blooms all summer as does the "Blue Fortune" agastache on the other side of the bed. Mums, lilies, irises, and roses fill the inside of the bed.

In another backyard bed, I have several daylilies, which have green foliage, but the daylilies are all different colors – rose, deep purple, pink, salmon, and cranberry. Two dwarf hydrangeas bloom white and fade to pink. They correspond with a pink garden phlox and a magenta butterfly bush. The Autumn Joy sedum blooms pink and fades to a darker pink, so it blends well with all the green foliage and shades of pink in the bed.

Even though I have a lot of green foliage - I didn’t even mention the iris bed - I don’t think it is too much green. Green in a garden is like a neutral color that serves as a cohesive background, holding it all together.

Gardening is often touted as a good hobby for staying physically active. It burns calories and builds strength and flexibility as you lift, carry, squat, and, of course, pull persistent weed after weed. This is all true, but for me, the primary benefit of gardening is what it does for my mental health.

Gardening Gets Me Outside

Research has proven what many people and cultures have long known: Being outside, being in nature and around green, growing things is good for mental health. I don’t have to garden to go outside, but when chores are waiting to be done daily, it forces me to get out there.

Being outdoors provides a big boost to mental health. It’s not necessary to get deep into the wilderness. Simply being where plants grow and wild animals live is enough to improve mood, lower depression, reduce stress and anxiety, and increase relaxation and resilience during difficult times.

In an increasingly technological world, this is more important than ever. I love the outdoors, but even for me, it’s easy to get lost in streaming movies and TV shows, scrolling through social media, and basically staying indoors, glued to a screen. Gardening is a reminder that I need to be outside, daily.

Gardening is Lifelong Learning

All hobbies are beneficial, but what I like so much about gardening is that it’s an ongoing learning experience. Good mental health relies on being satisfied and fulfilled in your life. For me, a big part of that is learning.

Gardening is the perfect hobby for anyone who loves to learn. Even if I become a master gardener, there is always still more to know. I learn through experience, from reading, and through occasional courses offered through my county extension office. To keep on learning is incredibly satisfying and leaves me feeling accomplished and fulfilled.

Gardening is Mindfulness

I discovered the joys of meditation only recently. After deciding to try a daily meditation course, I realized that gardening had been providing me with a type of mindfulness meditation for years. I just never realized it.

When working in the garden, I am in the moment. My mind focuses on the task at hand while my senses take in the feel of the dirt, the wind, and the sun. I hear birds and insects and see and smell all the plants around me. This is the essence of mindfulness, which is simply being aware of the present moment.

It turns out that all these years of gardening have been a beneficial mindfulness practice. According to research, mindfulness is good for mental health because it distracts the mind from troubling thoughts. While lost in a gardening task, instead of dwelling on past worries or future anxieties, my mind is focused on the moment. This is probably an important reason why I feel more relaxed and calm after spending time working in the garden.

Gardening is Acceptance

A big block to better mental health for me, and for many I’m sure, is acceptance. In order to be truly happy, it’s important to accept things you cannot change or control, to accept that things can’t always be perfect.

Gardening is a good hobby for anyone hobbled by perfectionism. Nature has a mind of its own. No matter how hard you work to get a garden to look a certain way, you cannot control every aspect of the outcome. Things will always go wrong. A plant that should have been perfect in one bed fails to thrive. Pests return despite your best efforts.

My garden has forced me to accept that I have to adapt my plans and sometimes cope with things the way they are. This doesn’t mean giving up or not working toward goals, but there are limits to what anyone can accomplish or control. Working in a garden has been a perfect lesson in acceptance, which ultimately leads to more happiness.

Gardening for health is a great goal. For anyone new to the hobby, just dive in and try it. You don’t have to do it well at first, and you likely won’t. Enjoy the process, embrace the outdoors, and accept your limitations.

We all know the benefits of being outdoors. Fresh air, exercise and sunshine all combine to enhance our wellness. Some folks like to take a run, others hike, and still others just read a book outside on a nice day. Gardening is like any other outdoor activity. It has the ability to add to our physical health, but also to boost our mood. Our beautiful world has much to offer our senses. Enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer is one of the many ways we can take care of ourselves and live a better life.

Gardening for Mental Health

A few years back I wrote an article: How Dirt Makes You Happy. It was about the science behind the concept. Apparently there are some microbes in soil that boost our serotonin levels. This is the mental equivalent of giving your brain some vitamins and increases the feeling of happiness. It’s basically a natural antidepressant which comes from the soil. One of the things I loved about the science is that it confirmed what I already knew. Gardening is my happy place. Our days are filled with the stresses of being a grown up. Digging in the dirt takes us back to our childhood and the simple acts required give the mind time to rest and refresh.

Another benefit of gardening is our sun exposure. I know, I know. We must be careful not to overindulge because of the risk of skin cancer. But with the proper SPF, we can block the harmful rays and still get a good boost of Vitamin D. Vitamin D lowers blood pressure, can prevent some cancers, protects against arthritis, and boosts the mood. So by digging in the soil and enjoying the sunshine, there is a one-two punch of goodness for our mental health.

We are a vision-oriented species. Directing our gaze to the beauties of the landscape and nature is pleasing. Just as we enjoy art of various kinds, Mother Nature’s paintbrush is busy in the garden. The wildlife, flora, and other aspects of our garden enrich our minds and stimulate the senses. Our sense of accomplishment is uplifted by a day enjoying the vista we have created.

Gardening for Physical Health

Now that we have our brains in good shape, the other great thing about gardening is its gentle exercise. You don’t have to run a marathon to keep in shape. The acts of stretching, lifting, bending, and other actions taken when gardening are sure to build muscles and flexibility. Even people with disabilities can benefit from the simple tasks done in the garden. There are few more wholesome and gentle actions than those taken when gardening.

If you are a vegetable gardener, there are further benefits. The food we produce ends up on our table. That means we can control its exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Reducing exposure to such toxins is better for the body. The fresh picked fruits and veggies taste better than days-old produce. The nutrient levels may be higher than mass produced foods. And the joy of growing one’s own food is immeasurable. Who can’t wait for that first red, ripe tomato, or the blush of a freshly picked peach?

Gardening and health simply go hand in hand. This productive activity is far more entertaining than staring at the TV or playing a video game. Gardening for health can be as purposeful an activity as doing a yoga session or lifting weights. And best of all, you don’t have to go to a gym, saving time and money which is good for our health too.

I love seeing any kind of pollinator in my garden. All are welcome, but none are as showy or as exciting to spot as butterflies. My favorite, which I used to see in great numbers as a kid, is the monarch. Unfortunately, this gorgeous insect is in decline all over, including in my region and state. Planting native species is one of the easiest things we as gardeners can do to support these and other pollinators.

Monarchs in My Garden

As far back as I can remember in my life, it has always been a treat to see a monarch, even when they were more common. Maybe it’s the striking, black and orange, tiger-like coloring. Many butterflies fold up their wings and hide the vibrant colors, showing the dull brown-gray of their undersides, but monarchs are bright and colorful from any angle.

Another reason I love these insects, and why so many people do, is the spectacular journey they make. Monarchs migrate more than 1,000 miles (1,609 km.) between Mexico and the rest of North America. From Michigan, they fly 2,500 miles (4,023 km.) to Mexico.

Of course, there is the fact that, like many others, monarch butterflies are important pollinators. This is a reason to love them even if they didn’t have everything else going for them.

As monarch populations have dropped and become a less common sight, spotting one is more exciting than ever. I sometimes see one in my garden, but more often I find them in nearby parks. One local park is large and has a lot of natural areas with native plants. This is where I see the most butterflies of all types and the majority of monarchs.

Monarchs in Michigan

Monarch populations have dropped all over their native range, and Michigan, where I live, is no exception. In some places, monarch numbers are down a troubling 80%. A recent study from Michigan State University collected information for several years and found the primary cause for this drop: climate change.

There have been many contributing factors. The biggest decline in the population actually came in the late 1990s and early 2000s when herbicides with glyphosate were used heavily on farms. Genetically engineered crops that could resist glyphosate allowed farmers to spray the herbicide liberally over their fields with detrimental effects on milkweed plants.

Milkweed might be a weed on a farm, but for a monarch it is essential. This is the only plant that monarch butterflies use as food and hosts for their caterpillars.

While the glyphosate boom was a major contributor, researchers now say that climate change is having a bigger impact on monarch populations in Michigan. Changes in the climate in the butterflies’ northern spring and summer breeding areas have caused numbers to drop more than any other factor.

Supporting Monarchs and Other Pollinators

Monarchs will always be my favorite butterfly and I will continue to enjoy seeing them. I hope that it becomes less rare in the future. Stopping or reversing climate change might be a Herculean or impossible task right now, but individual, local choices can support monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

One of the most important things any gardener can do is plant native species. For monarchs, it is especially important to plant milkweed or at least allow it to grow naturally. Unfortunately, my garden isn’t the right setting for milkweed, but I do plant other native species that support other butterflies: black-eyed Susan, purple coneflower, and coreopsis to name a few.

The best way to plant flowers for butterflies is in groups. If they are too scattered throughout a garden, it’s more difficult for pollinators to find them. I have one large bed that is made up solely of native flowers attractive to pollinators.

Another thing I do to support monarchs and other butterflies is refrain from using herbicides and pesticides. I pull weeds by hand and welcome insects as long as they aren’t causing too much trouble.

I hope that one day my garden and others in the area will become thriving native plant destinations for all kinds of pollinators. Then, I might begin to see my favorite butterfly more often.

Birds are one of the great joys of a gardener, and the wild variations in size, color and comportment of different species attest to the endless creativity of nature. While I enjoy the small, city birds that visit my garden in San Francisco, my true delight comes from birdwatching in France.

Getting to Know the Birds in France

One of the first things I built when we moved to a small stone house in the Pyrenees in French Basque Country was a bird feeding station. I stacked up several large wooden spools - used for electric wire - and grounded them with a stake through the central holes into the ground below.

This proved an endless source of joy and entertainment, particularly in the springtime. Parent birds would park their young on the various levels of the feeding station and fly off to find worms or get water. Although at first we recognized only the robins, in time we came to know and love many other species. Here are a few of my personal favorites.

European Robin

It was easy enough to recognize a French robin, even though it looks very different from its American counterpart. French robins are called “rouge gorges”, meaning red throats. And they, like American robins, have that giveaway red breast. But otherwise, robins in France are small and delicate, perhaps half the size of American robins. They stayed all year long, making them familiar members of our little community.

My favorite robin story involved a dramatic rescue: saving two baby birds from a snake. My young daughter came running into the house in tears one afternoon telling me that a snake was about to eat two baby robins.

I rushed outside to see the robin’s nest, halfway up the rocky rise beside the house. Two fuzzy birds peeked out fearfully. The nest was inaccessible to a crawling snake, but a couleuvre snake had spotted them, climbed into a tree, and was beginning a descent to the nest on a drooping branch. Both parent birds were circling the branch, trying to dissuade the snake by chirping and fluttering bravely, without success.

I was afraid of snakes, and this one was several feet long. But I knew I had to do something. I got a large bucket with a lid and positioned it on the ground beneath the snake’s branch, then cut off the branch, sending it and the snake into the bucket. This sounds a lot smoother an operation than it was, but, pumped full of adrenaline, I managed to clap the lid on the bucket. We carried the bucket up the mountain and released it far away.

French Merle

The blackbird in France is of the species Turdus merula. It is called the merle and it may be my favorite garden visitor. When I wake up in the morning in spring, summer and fall, my “alarm” is the song of the merles from the trees around the house.

These birds are either glossy black or dull black. Adult males have shiny black feathers with a bright yellow bill and eyering. The females and young birds are a duller, dark brown. They visit the property to feed on the holly berries and their beautiful song is a true delight to hear. While they don’t usually accept the sunflower seeds or suet from my feeder, they do drink from the water dish when they think I am not watching.

I love the merles for their song, their fierce independence, and the flash of glossy black as they fly by. We are neighbors on the mountain but not friends, although sometimes baby merles are left on the bird feeding station, large, fuzzy and hungry, as the parents go off to find food..

As a bird lover, it’s impossible to pick just one favorite species that visits my backyard. I can probably select a few, though, if pressed. From raptors to little songbirds to the rarer species, the truth is that I love them all. Creating a space that feeds and shelters birds is the perfect way to ensure they keep coming back.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

This funny little bird is unique for the way it moves up and down tree trunks looking for insects to eat. I work at a desk by a window and outside is a medium-sized walnut. Most months of the year I see nuthatches on the trunk. They move up and down in circles and upside down, sticking their bills into the bark crevices to fund food.

Rarer in my area is the red-breasted nuthatch. I have seen a few over the years. Both species are small with white, gray, and black coloring and a pointy, sharp bill. The red-breasted variety has reddish coloring on its chest. Attracting these birds requires no effort from me. They come for the trees, which are plentiful in my yard.

Cooper’s Hawk

Much grander in size and more dramatic are the hawks that grace my garden. As a bird lover, they leave me conflicted. The species I see most often is the Cooper’s hawk, a smaller hawk that eats songbirds. When they’re hanging around, I don’t get other birds at my feeder. Nonetheless, they are fun to see. One year, I had at least six juveniles nesting somewhere nearby and screeching through my garden all day long.

Red-tailed hawks are also regulars in my area, but they don’t visit the garden very often. They tend to soar high in the sky, swooping down in more open areas to grab prey. Cooper’s hawks fly low and flit between trees and branches as they hunt little birds.

Tufted Titmouse

This is a little songbird that shows up to my feeders less frequently than cardinals, sparrows, and chickadees. It’s a favorite bird of mine for one simple reason: it's adorable. Tufted titmice look like a stuffed animal version of a songbird. They have a rounder shape than other birds with big black eyes and a cute little crest on the top of their heads. Also, they make a sweet, chirpy call that always reminds me of warmer weather.

Tufted titmice live in my area year-round, but they are a little more shy than other small species. To encourage more to show up and stick around, I put out their favorite foods: sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet.

Woodpeckers

A few years ago, my neighbor complained about the sound a woodpecker was making in her backyard. She found the repetitive knocking of its bill against the tree annoying and disruptive. I can see her point. It’s not as nice a sound as the call of a songbird, but nevertheless I do enjoy woodpeckers in the garden. They come for the suet and nut feeders in particular.

The most common species that come to my suet and nut feeders are red-bellied and downy woodpeckers. The downy is quite small and easy to miss. It’s not as showy as other species with just a little tuft of red feathers on the top of the male’s head. The red-bellied woodpecker is a little bigger and has a bright red crown.

The woodpeckers I see less often are a real treat to spot. The male of the red-headed species has a deep red head with all over color set strikingly against a white chest and belly and black back.

Even less common in my garden is one of my absolute favorite birds: the pileated woodpecker. This is the biggest species and the one that inspired Woody. I have only seen a couple of these, but they are spectacular. They are large and have a big, pointy bill and impressive red crest, unlike any other bird that visits my yard.

All bird species are welcome in my garden. I even have a hard time summoning up negative feelings for the non-native house sparrows. With plenty of winter foods, a few areas left natural, and native plants, any garden will attract and host a diverse array of native species.

There are many things I dislike about gardening. I don't love to mow, I hate insect pests, and I dislike babying the few roses we have. The one thing that is my worst enemy though, is weeds. I go into this battle annually with the deck stacked against me. This is due to an abandoned house on one side, and a neighbor on the other who lets weeds grow wild. Across the street, my neighbor tends the weeds because she uses them for medicine and food. So my battle with weed pests is constant due to the presence of seeds floating over into my landscape. It is an eternal struggle, one that I never truly win.

Weeding Woes

The one thing that makes me really grouchy regarding gardening is weeds. I understand that dandelion flowers are important food for honeybees, and wild milkweed feeds various butterflies and moths. However, I can't stand the disorder and chaos that weeds represent. Plus, weeds are so stoic, my wanted plants hardly stand a chance. The latter would be pushed out if I didn't wage war on weeds from February into the first snow. Since my landscape is organic, I must battle with natural weed control, something that requires more physical activity than a chemical war.

The main persistent weeds of this area are purslane, dandelion, oyster root, puncturevine, sagebrush, various grasses, thistle, skeleton weed, curly dock, and poison hemlock. Most of these are listed as noxious weeds and it is our duty and home or landowners to eradicate them when we see them. In the fields, the farmers just spray them out with chemical cocktails. Here, I use organic weed control. That is a combination of homemade non-toxic brews and hand pulling.

Hand pulling weeds is the bane of my existence. It must be done weekly and every time it is an all-day chore. I am often out in triple digit temperatures trying to rein in their takeover. It is a thankless task because just a few days after doing all that weeding, the hellish things are in evidence anew. As the prevailing winds blow over from the abandoned house, I can view the parachute-like dandelion seeds and downy thistle float gently over to my dirt farm and settle in for occupation, and occupation it is. It is an unsolicited invasion, one that seeks to drain me of energy and sap my will.

Homemade Weed Killer

I don't only practice manual removal. My arsenal of tactics also includes my home brews. These concoctions are the result of kitchen items, often paired with things like white vinegar, essential oils, and dish soap. I also rely upon black plastic, weed barrier fabric, boiling water, and my trusty flame weeder. This last item is a true back saver but can only be used when there is no wind (which rarely happens here), and in the presence of a hose, just in case.

I can safely and accurately say that weeds are my enemy, my nemesis, my foe. I detest weeds and the actions I must take to eradicate them. If my efforts were successful for more than a few days, it would all be worth it. Yet they are not, and I can look forward to a growing season of battlefield strategies and trench warfare. It is an ugly battle and one that seems fruitless, just like most wars that are waged. However, I will persist because I am crazy, and pig headed. Let the weeds try to take me, I'll fight 'til the bitter end!

Spring has long been one of my favorite seasons in the garden. As days grow warmer, I find myself immersed in outdoor activity. Though many annual flowers are slow to become established and begin blooming, spring flowering bulbs are ready to burst into life. With careful planning in the fall, ornamental flower gardeners and landscapers can create beautiful green spaces that are sure to dazzle. Below, I have outlined some of my favorite spring blooming flower bulbs.

The Beauty of Early Spring Flowering Bulbs

1. Anemones - Also known as Anemone coronaria, anemones are often among the first flowering bulbs to bloom in the late winter. Delicate flowers are produced on tall stems, above short foliage. Each plant produces masses of stems which seem to “dance” in the breeze. Though several cultivars for cutting gardens exist, most blooms range in color from white to shades of blue and pink.
2. Daffodils - Coming into bloom around the same time as anemone, daffodils make an excellent companion in perennial bulb beds. Though traditional yellow blooms are most common, many cultivars offer exceptional interest. These varieties of daffodil include those which are fully double, unique split-corona types, and those with vibrant peachy-orange hues.
3. Muscari - Also known as grape hyacinth, muscari bulbs produce small clusters of true blue flowers. This stunning blue color is extremely complimentary to many other spring blooming hues. Since muscari is known to thrive in part shade, the bulbs can quickly multiply and begin to naturalize when grown where conditions are ideal.
4. Ranunculus - Much like anemone, ranunculus corms can be planted in either fall or spring, depending upon the growing zone. Ranunculuses are prized among cut flower growers for their intricate rose-shaped flowers and wide range of color. Since each plant produces multiple flowers, growers can expect the stunning floral display to last several weeks in the garden.
5. Tulips - A springtime classic in many gardens, the emergence of tulips are a certain sign that warmer weather is on the way. Ranging greatly in size, flower shape, and color; it is likely that growers can easily find cultivars which will effortlessly blend into the landscape. While early season tulips will come into bloom around the same time as other bulbs mentioned here, gardeners can further extend the season by planting other mid and late maturing varieties, as well.

How To Revive An Overwintered Coleus Plant

One of my favorite annuals to grow in containers on the back patio is coleus. This stunning tropical comes in varieties with foliage that range from variegated yellow and green to a red so deep it’s nearly black. Instead of watching these beauties die at the first frost, I’ve tried a couple of coleus overwintering methods so I can plant them outside again in spring.

Bringing Containers Indoors

The easiest way to overwinter a tropical plant is to bring it indoors. It’s not necessarily the ideal situation for a coleus because it needs a lot of warmth and humidity. It can work, though, if you take good care of the plant.

Start by taking the plant out of the pot and rinsing the roots to get rid of any bugs or eggs. Repot it in a clean container with fresh, moist, high-quality potting soil. Give your indoor coleus a north-facing window, as it prefers indirect light. Make sure it’s a warm spot and use a humidity tray for moisture.

Taking Cuttings

One reason I don’t like overwintering coleus using the full plant is that it just doesn’t do well indoors. If you can keep it alive, it should thrive again in spring, but in the meantime, it will look scraggly and dull.

A better way is to take cuttings from your favorite plants. A cutting is like a baby coleus at an earlier growth stage. It will be eager to start growing new foliage throughout the winter.

Be sure to take cuttings before the first frost, or you’ll lose the plant. Place cuttings in water just long enough to get root growth. You can use a rooting hormone to speed the process. Once you see roots, pot up the coleus cuttings with some good potting soil. Give them a sunny spot and plenty of moisture.

Getting Coleus Ready for Spring

Whether you saved the whole plant or grew new ones from cuttings, it’s vital that you acclimatize them properly before replanting outdoors. Take the plants outside on warmer spring days for a few hours and increase the time spent outside day by day.

After a couple of weeks, they will be ready to go outside full time. If you kept an entire plant, you can now cut it back a little, removing any faded or browned leaves. Pinch back both plants regularly to help them grow fuller and to avoid leggy growth.

I’ve used both methods in the past to save coleus and find the cutting method works best. They look healthy and vibrant in spring. All they really need is to be hardened off for a couple weeks. My patio looks like I bought new plants from the garden center.

Annual plants always seem to be a waste of money to me, since they die every fall. But that doesn't stop me from planting self seeding plants. They are free after the first year and I can enjoy them season after season. Flowers are chief among these, but there are also plenty of annual plants that will reliably come back in early spring.

Some Vegetables Overwinter

I'm an avid vegetable gardener and can't wait until the first veggies are available in my garden. There are some that overwinter and keep producing, and some that can be harvested in winter. I've had carrots and leeks when the soil was soft enough to harvest them. We had cabbage and Brussels sprouts fresh from the garden even in January. But as I'm cleaning up the garden I'm excited to see some annual plants reappearing.

We still had some snow, but I went outside in my mud boots and began to remove old plant matter anyway. Imagine my surprise to find 4 inch (10 cm.) tall snow and snap peas. For a flash I thought they had survived winter, but then remembered they were annuals. Plus, it had never happened before. So what miracle had transpired to make these plants reappear? I assume some pods were on the ground and the seed inside matured and got planted naturally. So up they sprang, bigger than they would be if I had seeded them myself.

In the vegetable garden, it isn't just the peas that will reappear. The old zucchini, pumpkins and other squash seem to pop up everywhere from left behind fruits. Sometimes they hybridize, resulting in a mystery food. Any allium left behind in the garden will send out seed and reproduce. My chive plant is a classic example of reseeded plants. They die out in fall but there are always several new plants to replace them by the start of summer. I will soon find tomatoes and basil plants volunteering near their old location.

Flowers Self-Seed

Self-seeding plants are little miracles of nature. They drop seed which grows on site or gets spread by wind or other machinations. I get new petunia plants in my pots every year that grow up to flower and spread. Not all annual plants will self seed, but in the right conditions, most will. I always thought snapdragons were annuals, but the ones that grow here come back every year. Plus they spread like wildfire. I now have a significant stand of the brightly blooming plants. We also have calendula, nasturtiums, zinnia, and bachelor buttons beginning to show. The cleome is a particular surprise, re-blooming year after year from fresh plants. And don't let me get started about my sunflowers. I rarely seed any but the whole garden is filled with the towering plants due to messy bird activity.

It is crucial to recognize the little plantlets, so you don't weed them out. I accidentally did that with some leeks that were coming up, thinking they were grass. I'm pretty savvy now, with some experience under my belt. And that means freebies from my re-seeded plants.

Some gardeners mark the planting location of every bulb and garden seed. Others keep a garden journal with the plantings duly recorded in dated entries. But, alas, I am not among their numbers.

I am the kind of a gardener who hits the garden store to buy some potting soil and comes home with 10 different kinds of bulbs or packets of seeds. It’s not that I don’t plant them- I do! But life moves so fast it’s hard to keep hold of what I planted where. That makes for many happy surprises in springtime.

Random Planting Locations

When I say that I plant my seeds and bulbs in random locations, I don’t mean that I toss them into the air and let they grow where they lie. I find an appropriate location, with the exposure the particular plant needs, and plant it – seed or bulb – with a lot of care.

But since most of the beds in my garden have good afternoon sun exposure, I never quite know what is where. And did I end up buying the tulips or the crocuses? Who remembers this stuff?

Happy Surprises

It is an odd system but one that works for me. Since I have no expectations come spring, I am never disappointed. No tulips? I must have bought the crocuses and moved them into that planting location. Whatever does appear and grow is a happy surprise.

Then of course, there are the happy surprises of reseeder plants, those that take it upon themselves to make their own comeback. California poppies are number one on the list of reseeder plants that create their own destiny, but they aren’t alone. Have you ever tried to plant one nasturtium? Or to limit the salvia to a couple square feet? Good luck.

Avocado Surprises

But my biggest surprises this year have been in the compost pile. Since I am a fan of avocados, lots of avocado pits end up in the compost pile. Then, come spring, I discover many of the pits have grown into avocado plants.

I have never officially grown an avocado in my garden, but I have done the avocado thing with toothpicks and a glass of water in the house. So, I know what avocado plants look like. I currently have 12 of them growing in the compost heap, one almost 3 feet (1m) tall. It will be an even greater surprise if they produce avocados, but for the moment, the plants themselves are a big enough wonder.

Never New, But Never Boring - An Upcycling Lifestyle

Sustainability has become very trendy, with people of all walks of life indulging in the concept.

It is quite easy to dip one's toe into the trend with small changes such as recycling and composting. Still others are more hard-core and go all out with their sustainable life style.

I would say we are somewhere in between. But one thing we rarely do is buy new items. This approach to sustainable living is sensible but has also provided us with everything we need by repurposing old items.

Upcycling

I am very frugal by nature and necessity. We don't tend to purchase much beyond the necessities, unless you are referring to my plant obsession. Yet even with these, many of my acquisitions were cuttings, divisions, or gifts from other gardeners.

We live a sustainable life for several reasons. One of them is our motto and the other is due to our isolated location. I cannot pop off to shop every day, which keeps my purchasing in check and helps avoid unnecessary spending. It also avoids wasting fuel and contributing to greenhouse gasses.

We have the advantage of volunteering at the local thrift store which supports our community. When new items arrive, we have the first glimpse and can opt to buy.

I have little new furniture in my home. I love to refinish wood and have made old bookshelves, my roll top desk, end tables, and more, look brand new and modern. We did purchase new beds for ourselves and the guest room, but really, as I look around, everything came from someone else. Even my artwork came from Goodwill and other thrift shops.

All my tchotchkes were given to me. My cookware is used, my dishes were my mother's, and even my curtains were made or purchased used.

My containers for the plants are old or I fixed them up for repurposing as plant homes. Upcycling comes very naturally to me, as I have a crafty nature and love fun projects.

Sustainable Living

Our clothes are occasionally purchased new. That is the case for socks, under garments and the like. I have a few shoes that were new, but many were used.

I knit our slippers, hats, gloves, and sweaters, as well as throw blankets. We are not fancy people and live in the sticks, so it matters not what we look like. Our clothes are worn until they are nearly threadbare in most cases and are primarily practical garb.

We each have a "nice" outfit for family get-togethers or other special occasions.

I admit to having many kitchen gadgets. I was a chef and love to cook, and I "need" a big stand mixer, waffle maker, and air fryer. But even many of my appliances are used. My coffee maker died and I needed a new one. Found one at the thrift store. My neighbor had an extra microwave for some reason, so he gave that to me. I wanted a rice cooker and found a free one.

Much of what we use on a daily basis can be found used, free, or bartered. Speaking of bartering, I have acquired items by doing landscaping, trading plants, and even cooking for small events.

I find this lifestyle to be budget friendly and as an added bonus, makes me feel like I am contributing to the sustainability movement.

When it comes down to brass tacks, who really needs all that stuff? There is so much waste in the United States and other countries. The landfills are full of stuff that is still usable. People throw out perfectly good things every day. It is really almost criminal how much waste we have because of our consumer society. I'll take my free, but old, stuff any day.

I have a lot of early failures in my horticultural timeline. There was the bare crown of thorns I kept alive, and probably shouldn’t have, for a few years. The ficus that was destined to fail didn’t even last one season. The first plant I remember growing that was truly my own was a philodendron.

My First Houseplant

I got this philodendron from a friend who made a cutting for me. I wanted a houseplant of my own for my bedside table. I didn’t have any idea what to do with it beyond sticking the new roots in a pot of soil.

I didn’t know what a philodendron was, and because this was pre-internet, I didn’t research it. I simply planted it, watered it, and hoped for the best. Little did I know then that this is the perfect beginner houseplant.

That philodendron stayed with me for several moves, from home to college, to first apartments. In fact, I still have it today. It sits in my office by the window and keeps me company.

Philodendron – the Plant for Newbies

This could not have been a more perfect plant for my first. If I had started with that crown of thorns or the ficus, I may never have continued gardening. You can neglect it for weeks and still not kill a philodendron.

Philodendron is a genus of tropical plants from Central and South America. There are many species in this genus, of which a plant may be vining or not vining. My philodendron is a vine. It grows long stems that drape down over the bookcase on which it sits.

How to Grow a Philodendron

To grow philodendron, you need a warm climate or to grow it as a houseplant, which is what most people do. They like indirect light rather than a bright window. Mine grows next to a north-facing window with a tree outside that filters afternoon sunlight.

Although I’m guilty of having neglected to water my plant for periods of time over the years—and it has forgiven me—it does best with consistent moisture in the soil. I water it once or twice a week. It usually lets me know I’ve forgotten to water it by getting droopy and yellowing a little bit.

Our next adventure together is to create a terrarium. I took cuttings recently from my long-lived philodendron. Once they sprout roots, I’ll see how they like the moist conditions inside my terrarium. I have high hopes that it will thrive.

For those of us who love plants, a difficult question to answer would be which one is your favorite? I certainly can’t answer that question since I have so many plants I’m overly fond of.

It helps to narrow things down a bit. For instance, if I were to be asked what is my favorite native Northwest perennial, my resounding answer would be penstemon, of which I have several varieties.

Interesting Penstemon Facts

Penstemon (P. laevigatus) is amazing. There are about 300 varieties of penstemon, the largest genus of flowering plants native to North America. The tube shaped blooms come in a variety of hues, and species sizes range from low-growing to over 7 feet (2 m.) in height.

Suited to harsh landscapes, penstemons are often the first plants to arise from disturbed areas of wildfire, erosion and manmade disruption of a landscape. Most are self-sufficient, requiring no supplemental feeding and rare, but deep watering.

Resilient as it is, penstemon’s other great claim to fame is its nectar rich blooms which attract pollinators -- both bees and hummingbirds alike -- in droves.

Growing Penstemon

The tube shaped blooms with a prominent staminode gives rise to the plant’s other name ‘beardtongue’. Its name is derived from the Greek “penta” meaning five, in reference to the unusual fifth stamen found on the blooms.

Excellent naturalizers when allowed to re-seed themselves, penstemons are a low maintenance, easy to grow, native plant that is suited to a slew of environments provided they are in full sun.

Leave seeds on the plant to ripen and re-seed, and mulch with gravel rather than rot-inducing bark, grass or compost mulch.

It turns out that I’m not the only devotee of penstemon. The American Penstemon Society was formed in 1946 to study and foster interest in the many varieties of this native wildflower, so you see, I’m in good company! Maybe after reading this, you too will be encouraged to incorporate one or more of this native North American species into your landscape.

Pruning can be confusing for a new gardener. When do you do it? How much do you remove? Which stems or branches should you prune? I have learned a lot over the years about how to prune correctly, and I’m still learning. With some wisdom gained I can advise newbies that the biggest mistake isn’t pruning incorrectly. It’s never pruning at all.

Pruning Can Be Scary

As a new gardener I just didn’t understand pruning. I didn’t realize that some plants desperately need it and what the benefits could be. I had some sense that you were supposed to prune, but it seemed complicated.

The thought of chopping back branches seemed like it could backfire. In other words, I was too nervous to take up the task. I worried I would end up with a bunch of dead stumps rather than healthier, bushier plants.

Overgrown, Thin Shrubs

We have a large bush honeysuckle in your backyard. I know, it’s invasive, but it was there when we moved in, and I didn’t know what it was then. It houses a lot of birds, which I like, but we never trimmed it for the first several years we were in the house, and it began to look pretty unattractive.

What happens when you don’t trim a large shrub like this it goes beyond out of control growth. That was problem number one. It began to engulf the Rose of Sharon next to it. It overhung the sidewalk leading to the back door, causing me to walk with a lean to get by it.

The other issue, which I discovered when I finally researched how to prune a shrub like this, was that the leafy growth became thin. Outside of a green, lush outer growth of leaves, the large interior of the shrub was all sticks and few leaves. The sunlight couldn’t penetrate to stimulate more leaf growth. The overall effect wasn’t very attractive.

Ultimately, we learned how and when to trim back a bush that had grown out of control. This includes removing some of the stems right down to the base and doing so strategically to allow light to get to the interior. The result today is a well-shaped, fuller, if still invasive shrub.

Leggy Plants

When I first started growing annuals in the garden, both in beds and containers, I didn’t know what legginess means. I knew that some of my plants looked spindly and bare, but I didn’t know why or what to do about it.

I now know this means the plants were getting leggy from lack of trimming. There are other reasons plants can get leggy, like low light conditions for houseplants, but for my outdoor annuals, lack of pruning was definitely an issue.

Leggy is the opposite of full and bushy. When the stems get long and floppy with leaf growth mostly at the top, you have a leggy plant. It’s not attractive.

Fortunately, pruning plants to stimulate fuller, bushier growth is easy. For most plants, you don’t even need any tools. Simply pinch off the newest bit of growth at the end of the stems. Pinch just above a leaf node and those two leaves will grow into two new branches. The result is fuller, denser growth throughout the plant. I do this throughout the growing season but especially early on.

Pruning can seem complicated for new gardeners, and yes, plants survived before there were humans to prune them, but we’re going for more than survival in our gardens. If you want attractive, healthy, and productive plants, learn how to prune and then get to it.

I have always had a fascination with black flowers and foliage. I suppose this is because the hue is not something normally observed in nature. Over the years I have peppered my landscape with any black varieties I could find. I have had black pansies, iris, calla lily, and I once even grew a black bat flower indoors. Bulbs are also a favorite of mine, and when I found a black tulip bulb, of course I had to have it.

Are There Any Black Flowers?

Black flowers aren’t truly black in most cases. If you look at them in good light you can see they are usually a deep purple that appears to be black. Selective breeding has almost achieved what Mother Nature could not, black flowers. In the case of the black calla lily, it is quite convincing in its darkness. Black tulips are more purple except in low light, but they are still spectacular and unusual.

I once made a black and white garden bed. It was a funky bit of garden design that appealed to me at the time. The white plants were the usual suspects. Tulips, snowdrops, peony, roses, freesia, hydrangea, etc. I had almost white foliage plants like Lamb’s ears, too. The black plants were more challenging to find. Black mondo grass, sedum, and Colocasia provided dark foliage. A black Hellebore provided black foliage and black flowers. Next came more black flowers. This was a bit tricky since they all had to be hybrids, so I went to a fancy nursery nearby for some retail therapy.

Varieties of Black Plants

What I found was actually astonishing. There were the aforementioned calla lilies but many more. I got hollyhock, iris, geranium, pansies, Dahlia, and petunias. But my real prize was black tulip bulbs. There are a few varieties of black tulip. I cannot remember which variety I acquired but once planted they popped up in spring and I was pleasantly surprised. The flower really did appear to be so dark as to be described as black. I loved these tulips. Over time their number increased and by the time I sold that house I had a large crop of the deeply hued blooms.

Moving Bulbs

I wish I’d had the foresight to dig up some of the plants and bring them along with me. The only ones I have currently are the black tulips. Because there were so many, I had dug a bunch of bulbs up, intending to transplant them elsewhere in the garden. They went unplanted for 2 years and I had little hope they would be good when I bought this home.

I don’t have a black and white garden anymore. What I do have is a lack of opportunities to purchase plants here in this very rural setting. So when I unpacked the gardening stuff and found the tulip bulbs, I thought, why not? I planted them out front, one of the first things I put into the ground at the new home. I doubted they would come, but waited patiently for a year.

The weather here is much harsher than where I originally grew these black flowers. We freeze very hard and there is hardly any spring weather. Rather we go from frozen to desert conditions. But to my surprise, the tulips bloomed. They have been in the ground nearly 3 years and I have seen the flowers twice now. With a little bit of luck, I will see them again this spring.

It would be impossible to pick one native plant I love best in my home state of Michigan. As a group, my favorites are definitely the intrepid little flowers that come out in early spring in the woodlands around my home.

Why I Love the Woods in Spring

I live in the suburbs, but in an older development that left a lot of wooded areas intact. Walks through these areas are nice any time of year, but in spring, when the air and soil begin to warm, it’s a joy to see the first wildflowers appear.

Summer is hands down my favorite time of year, but there is something special about spring. When the first green appears, then the little flowers in the woods, it’s exciting to start anticipating and getting ready for the summer season.

My Favorite Woodland Wildflowers

Of all the native woodland flowers, I do have a few favorites. They’re all lovely, but these are the ones I look for every year with the most anticipation:

• Trillium. The large-flowered white trillium crops up in abundance in my local woods in spring. Groups of these large, three petalled white blooms look like confetti sprinkled over the forest floor. Once in a while I see a less common trillium species. Some of these are threatened or endangered, so it’s extra special to see a snow or painted trillium.
• Spring beauty. The name of this flower says it all. They bloom early, especially in the beech-maple forests in my neighborhood. The flowers of spring beauty are white and delicate with five petals striped with light pink.
• Bloodroot. This name is not so evocative, at least not of the flower. The petals are pure white with a yellow center. Although I have never tried it, sap comes out blood red when you break up the plant. The sap of bloodroot is poisonous.
• Jack in the pulpit. My local woods always have one or two of these flowers. The bloom of Jack in the pulpit is green, so not easy to spot right away. It’s shaped like a pitcher or narrow glass with a stalk emerging from inside, the “Jack” in his pulpit. A hood covers Jack like an umbrella.
• Yellow trout lily. Although not present in my area in large numbers, yellow trout lily are easy to find. The bright yellow flower stands out against the brown forest floor and the plants spotted green leaves.
• Dutchman’s breeches. I have yet to find Dutchman’s breeches in my own neighborhood, but when I venture to a local park, I sometimes spot one. They’re a favorite for the unique flowers, shaped like an upside-down pair of white pants.

There are a few reasons these are my favorite natives. One is that they signal the beginning of spring and the end of winter. Another is that they are simply beautiful flowers. Finally, the ephemeral nature of these beauties makes them even more special.

“Stop and smell the roses” is a familiar gardening metaphor meant to remind us that life is short, and we should make the time to enjoy it. What about the sounds of our gardens? Shouldn't we also close our eyes and simply listen when we take a break in the garden? You may be surprised at what you hear. I was!

I Have a Noisy Garden

My vegetable garden sits at the back of our long, narrow, two acre lot. The two neighbors flanking each side of our property also have long lots with houses close to the road, like ours. Behind our collective properties are woods and farm fields. Naturally, one would think my garden would be a quiet, peaceful place to work.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When I close my eyes and listen, I'm amazed at how noisy my garden really is. It all begins with the rustling of leaves as the breeze passes through the woods. Did you know there was a name for this sound?

“Psithurism” comes from a Greek word which means whispering. Pronounced sith-err-iz-um, this word literally means the sound of the wind in the trees or the rustling of leaves. Yet on particularly breezy days, I'd hardly consider this sound a whisper. It's more like a roar.

Next, I hear the sounds of the many species of birds that inhabit my yard and the nearby woods. I have to admit that the beautiful melodies of the native songbirds are quite enjoyable, but the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard screeching of the raptors can be a bit unsettling.

Finally, there's the buzzing of the pollinators. From the honeybees that visit from my neighbor's hives to the native wasps and hornets, I always stop and take notice when I hear these bugs. Luckily, I'm not allergic to bee stings, but they are quite painful, and I make every attempt to avoid these garden visitors.

Good Noise Vs. Bad Noise

As we listen to the sounds of our gardens, it's easy to contemplate if there is such a thing as good and bad noise. Can some types of noise actually improve our health? Are other types of noise linked to medical conditions? According to scientific research, apparently there is a difference.

Traffic is the primary contributor of urban noise pollution. The constant hum of automobiles coupled with early morning trash pickup, street cleaning vehicles, and delivery trucks can cause an increase in urbanites' anxiety and depression levels. This type of noise is also linked to higher incidents of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

On the other hand, scientists have found noises from nature reduce our sympathetic (fight-or-flight) response. It's not our imagination that the rustling of tree leaves and the songs of native birds help us feel more relaxed. Research is indicating that these peaceful sounds may be physically altering the connections in our brain.

So apparently, my noisy garden is good for my health. Now, if only I could dispense with that other noise I hear when I'm in the garden. “What noise is that” you ask.

Oh, that would be the little voice in my head that's constantly reminding me the garden needs weeded or watered, the veggies need harvesting, or that it's time to plant next season's crops. Geez, talk about stressful garden noise!

Although I don’t grow vegetables currently, I still like to extend my garden’s growing season. I live and garden in Michigan, and the longer I can keep plants thriving and providing color and visual interest, the better. I have tried these creative methods for protecting plants and found them useful but best for small scale problems.

Old Sheets as Row Covers

I always felt bad about donating sheets to a thrift shop. I can’t imagine someone wants my ratty old sheets that my cat tore a hole in. I also don’t like the idea of throwing them away, but I found a second life for some of them.

As temperatures dip in Michigan in the fall we can still have sunny, pleasant days. It’s the nights that really put plants at risk. I have found that a couple of sheets held down by rocks or old bricks is often enough to keep them warm enough at night, at least for a little while.

As a side note, another way I get rid of old sheets as well as blankets and towels, is by donating to my local wildlife rescue center. They use them to line cages and create bedding for animals.

Radiant Heat from Indoors

When I want to keep my potted annuals for as long as possible in the fall, I keep an eye on the overnight temperatures. When it’s set to drop low but not so cold that they’ll freeze, I move the containers up against the sliding back door. I have a heat vent right inside at this spot and lose heat through the door. I let the plants soak it up on cold fall nights. The plants stay warm and some of that lost heat is put to good use.

Use the Heat of the Sun

One year, when I still grew a small vegetable patch, I had some leftover weed fabric. My husband, in a vain attempt to manage weeds in our most overrun bed, tried weed barriers. It might have been successful to some degree—who knows? it could have been worse—but we ended up with some scraps left from the project.

The fabric is black to blend in with soil and mulch, but black also absorbs heat. I decided to try it as a way to trap more heat in the soil around my fall veggies. I do think it helped on sunny days when there was plenty of sunlight and heat to absorb.

Flower Pots, Buckets, etc…

I have seen some gardens in my neighborhood with white plastic containers bought specifically to cover plants and protect them from the cold. Looking at a garden center for such a product one year, I found they were kind of pricey. It also seemed wasteful because they were pretty flimsy.

It did give me an idea, though. I realized that any plastic container could work to cover plants on cold nights. I had some cracked terracotta pots destined for the landfill and old plastic containers that I just didn’t have another use for anymore. I also have plenty of buckets that I use for gardening chores. They are all perfectly serviceable as plant covers.

As for indoor plants, I tend to move pots around as winter sets in. Some don’t like being near a heater vent, for instance. Despite the heat, the air can be drying. Others like to stay back from chilly windows. It takes some trial and error to find what works best for each houseplant.

I have many bigger trees in my garden. I have bushier trees, taller trees, and even trees with more flowers on them. The primary fragrance I associate with my garden though is the unbelievably sweet citrus scent from my little Meyer lemon tree.

Meyer Lemon

I first learned about Meyer lemons decades ago when I wrote an article about container citrus trees. I included the Meyer lemon tree since it was ranked among the top three in the gardener poll I was describing. A cross between a lemon and an orange, the Meyer lemon fruit is bright yellow like a lemon but sweet enough to eat raw.

It wasn’t long after that when I came upon a sale of lemon trees in a local discount store. I went to see what they offered and there, wrapped in a cloud of citrus scent, I found a few tiny Meyer lemon seedings, less than a foot (31 cm.) tall. They were inexpensive, so I bought one and the rest is history.

Meyer Lemon Flowers

Like everyone else, I grew up singing about how the lemon tree is very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet. That did not prepare me for the amazing citrus scent of my little tree’s first blossom.

For its early years, I kept the tree in a sunny spot in my bedroom. I took good care of it, and it grew, outgrowing one pot and then another as the first year passed. Finally, the little plant developed a bud that took its time opening. One morning I woke up and the room was filled with the most beautiful fragrance, sweet indeed but still lemony. The Meyer lemon flower had bloomed.

Lemons in the Garden

In time, my little lemon tree grew up and was ready to move out of the house. I put a larger container in a sunny spot outdoors and transplanted the lemon tree into it. It rested for a few months, then began producing flowers again.

It’s been outside for years now and it blooms year-round. Walking through the garden, I always catch a whiff of the beautiful lemon flowers.

It’s nearing that time of year again. Soon enough there will be seed starting trays covering my kitchen table until it’s warm enough outdoors for them. There will also be trays of seedlings lining the shelves of my greenhouse, where they’ll be well protected from any late spring frosts. And that’s where they’ll stay until it’s time to transplant them in the garden.

A War is Raging: Growing Seedlings Inside

Flats of herbs and veggies and flowers galore, at least the ones that don’t get directly sown into the garden, including some seed bombing here and there. Besides houseplants and the occasional vegetable regrowing project or herbs, that’s pretty much the only indoor gardening I do. I’d much rather be outside. It’s often difficult for me to grow anything inside for too long, aside from my trusty houseplants, but even those spend spring through fall outdoors. It’s not easy keeping my indoor environment just right.

When it comes to starting seeds indoors though (or anywhere really), there’s just something magical about it. While this, too, can be a battle, my anticipation and excitement heightens in seeing those first signs of germination, when tiny slivers of green slowly emerge from the soil. Like a little troop of soldiers popping up one by one from the trenches, many with their protective helmets still visible, I can’t help but smile. They’re readying themselves for battle, as each must fight to survive in the coming weeks.

Soon after, the little seedlings will begin to sprout their first leaves, getting taller and stronger with each passing day. Provided they’ve been given enough light and are rotated accordingly, the seedling soldiers greet me with full attention, standing upright and happy. There will be stragglers, of course. Those that haven’t quite performed as well as the others. Unfortunately, I’m the one tasked with letting them go, carefully plucking them from their unofficial ranks. “Sorry, guys! It’s nothing personal,” I say with a slight quiver in my voice. It’s hard not to get choked up or teary eyed. I tend to think of them like children in a way. But I know there is a war raging and I must suck it up in order to carry my little troops to victory in spring. Keeping seedlings alive in my house isn’t always easy.

Caring for Seedlings

I’m filled with hope knowing the great things yet to come. But there will no doubt be bad days along the way too. As I continue watching them grow, I’m well aware that just like parenting, it’s up to me to give them everything necessary to be strong and healthy enough to flourish. While I do my best to keep them fed, watered and warm, my heart aches each time a seedling soldier has fallen, usually a victim to damping off. As heartbreaking as it is, I must carry on and encourage the troops to do the same. “We will not surrender to defeat,” I tell them. My growing seedlings inside must make it to feel the warmth of spring outdoors, leaving their cramped indoor quarters behind for good. That is when their next battle will begin…

In the end, everyone will be rewarded. There will be herbs and veggies and flowers galore. I will grieve for those lost but honor their memory. They fought a good battle. Next year, I’ll go through it all again with a new troop of soldiers. And it all begins with starting seeds indoors.

Who can resist a little anthropomorphism? It seems to be human nature to assign our mannerisms to inanimate objects. That is probably why ships are deemed to be "her," and our cars act out in very human ways at the wrong time. For us plant people, this trait is assigned to our beloved flora. It also probably explains why we sing and talk to our houseplants, just as we do to our pets. Adoration requires categorization in many instances, and for this reason, our plants have personalities.

Understanding Plants

If I'm being honest, I will say I have never considered my plant's personalities. Now that the question has been raised, I can see I have some very "diva" type plants and some that are chill. Since each plant has its own specific needs and responses to various stimuli, they are very like people. Understanding plants starts with knowing what they need. Studying plants’ responses to the care they are given, and the site they are in, are crucial to knowing what the plant requires to flourish. Such studies are similar to how we interact with people, noting responses to our statements and actions to minimize difficulties.

For instance, my Christmas cactus. I am sure it is a female. She is very proper and timely. She never fails to know it is nearing the holidays and provides me with a dazzling flower display. She is quite stoic regarding her care, and really only wants water regularly. She is not a diva, but rather a stately, elderly lady of a time gone by. If she was a human, I could see her dressed in the bustle and corset of yesteryear. She would have old world manners and grace. She would never swear, as that is not ladylike.

Then we have my Norfolk pine. This is a serious "dude." He is not fussy about his care either, but hates change, such as moving him. I do move him for the holidays and decorate his arching stems. He responds by dropping some prickly foliage in protest. He never drops much, just enough to get his point across. If he were human, he might be a bit argumentative, belaboring his opinions in a rather annoying fashion. He would wear cowboy boots and drive a truck. He would not share my politics, which would be a bone of contention. He would mow the lawn without being asked, however.

In the diva category we have my orange tree and dwarf pomegranate. These ladies need fertilizer regularly. They will drop leaves when the air is too chill, or they are in a southern window. They are blowsy, charming, southern belles of the Gone with the Wind era. The orange has sweetly scented flowers, while the pomegranate has flamboyant fuchsia flowers that dangle from her branches.

Empathizing with Cacti

One would think I would personalize my cacti in some harsh manner, but perhaps because they are my favorite group of plants, I paint them with a gentle paintbrush. These uncomplaining plants never fail me. No matter if I forget to water and feed them, they carry on with steady grace. They would be the type of people who tell the truth no matter the consequences. They would grit their teeth and get on with it. They remind me of our pioneer forebears, whose dreams were only achieved through hardship, but persevered.

I have many in-home herbs and things like lettuce. I wouldn't personalize these any more than you would anything you're planning on eating. I pinch off their leaves regularly and eat them with gusto. Perhaps it is my personality that should be examined by my seeming disregard for these plants’ feelings. I do not coo to them, nor do I baby them. They are here as food, and I treat them as such. When their lives are over, I do not mourn… I simply compost.

This has been an interesting exercise personalizing my plants. I am going to give it more thought and consideration now that the subject has been broached. I'm still going to rip off basil leaves for my pasta and hack off my lettuce to make it come again. I'm not a monster, but if these plants have feelings, I pity them.

When mulling the question of whether I prefer planting from seed or transplants, I have to think back on which I do the most, and that would be transplants. However, I also plant seeds. I think most people do both.

Growing Flowers From Seed

I try to start seeds indoors, but they usually don’t survive. They start to come up but usually succumb to damping off disease. I have more success by waiting till the last frost has passed and then planting into the ground. So, that has become my pattern. In May, or when I get around to it, I sprinkle my easy-to-grow annual seeds in the bed reserved for those flowers. It’s usually tall zinnias, Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), and two kinds of annual milkweed. Sometimes I add different seeds into the mix like marigolds or love lies bleeding. It's always seeds that come up quickly and easily from seed. Most of them return from the previous year as I let the seeds mature and drop. So, it’s usually July before I see them pop up.

In another bed I started larkspur from transplants a couple years ago and let the blooms fade and seeds form. I shook the seeds into the bed when they were ripe and now the larkspur comes up on its own. I’ve also found that purple coneflower grows easily from seed, and I have taken several seed heads from one garden and laid them in another. Voila! The next year I had coneflower in a second bed.

Growing From Transplants

I love visiting all the garden centers in spring and picking out transplants. I’m not as eager to plant them as I am running out of space to plant. I need to start a new bed, but where? There are lots of underground cables in the yard that interfere with my gardening life.

I also enjoy buying transplants from online nurseries. I have my favorite online nurseries that I frequent. I particularly buy iris, hosta, daylily, hoya, and spring and summer flowering bulbs online. I will buy plants online that are hard to find locally as well.

I even buy vegetable transplants if I am going to try fruits or veggies. I have grown herbs and lettuce from seed because they are easy. I always grow parsley, fennel, and dill from seed each year for the black swallowtails. If the bounty gets eaten and I still have caterpillars, I dash to the local garden center to buy more transplants of parsley, fennel, and dill. If I start to run out of annual milkweed, I also head to the store for transplants. Sometimes it’s hard to find those in late summer but we have a country nursery that carries lots of plants for butterflies so I can usually find them there.

So, I think it comes down to what works best for me at the time and how long I want to wait for flowers or veggies. I have so many perennials that come back each year, so it’s no problem to wait a couple months for plants from seeds.

Over the years, my cut flower garden has grown to encompass nearly every bit of usable space within my small backyard. Though there are several species of plants that I would like to grow, there simply isn’t always enough ground to do so. It is for this reason that I frequently emphasize the importance of cut-and-come-again flowers, and those which bloom throughout the entirety of the summer season.

My Favorite Flowers

At the height of any given summer growing season, visitors to my garden are likely to find only five or six different types of flowers. While I often daydream of flower beds filled with a wide variety of plant species, the simple truth remains that I rely heavily on several “core” types instead. These types have proven themselves to be dependable, repeat bloomers with excellent vigor and long vase lives.

Popular Cut Flowers

Among my favorite cut-and-come-again flowers are zinnias. Easy to grow from seed, zinnias thrive throughout my hot and humid summers with very little supplemental water or special care. They are also available in a wide range of colors. In my own cutting patch, I enjoy the process of breeding and selecting my own new zinnia hybrids. Over the years, I have worked diligently to grow and multiply many of my own crosses. This has resulted in new varieties and colors that are truly unique to my own growing space.

Dahlias are yet another flower crop on which I have come to rely. Technically grown from tubers, dahlias are planted in the spring, as soon as the soil has warmed and all chance of frost has passed. Much like zinnias, frequent cutting will cause dahlia plants to produce masses of new blooms. As there are thousands of named varieties available to gardeners, saving and dividing the tubers has been invaluable in my own quest to continue growing my own plant stock. Dahlias can also be hand pollinated to produce seed. Dahlia plants grown from seed do not produce blooms similar to the parent. Therefore, the results of the breeding process can be both fun and exciting.

Other valuable members of my backyard cut flower garden include annuals like amaranth, marigolds, cosmos, and tithonia; as well as some perennial plants. Small plantings of free-flowering perennials can be found scattered throughout the yard. Flower beds include various cultivars of aster, rudbeckia, and echinacea.

Perhaps it's because I'm a gardener, but plants and flowers evoke special memories for me. Orange trumpet creeper vines (Campsis radicans) are one such flower. When I see them, I think of my grandmother. These vivid orange flowers that bloom in brilliant clusters take me back to the simpler days of my childhood.

Trumpet Flowers

As one of 23 grandchildren, one would think I wouldn't have been much more than a number to my grandmother. Yet this special lady took the time to know each one of her many grandchildren.

When my family visited on Sundays, there was always a bag of my favorite potato chips waiting on the counter and occasionally a toy would be hiding on the shelf that seemed to belong to me. It was on these Sundays in the summer that we would sit on my grandmother's front porch swing and talk.

I remember the front porch spanned the width of her house and along one side grew a huge trumpet flower vine. It always seemed to be in bloom. As we sat swinging on those hot summer evenings, my grandmother would face these flowers.

As I think back, I believe the trumpet vine's attractiveness to pollinators was the reason she grew this particular flower. Each week, my grandmother would relay tales of the butterflies and hummingbirds which fed upon the sweet nectar in the flowers.

I also remember my grandmother warning me to stay away from the trumpet flowers. This plant is highly toxic and simply touching it can cause a rash. However, the main reason was the bright orange flowers were especially attractive to wasps.

Why I Don't Grow Trumpet Vines

As much as I adore orange trumpet creeper flowers, I don't grow them. Like many other native flowers, these vines are well-adapted to my home state of Ohio. They are seldom bothered by pests and disease.

Trumpet vines are also tolerant of many soil conditions. They thrive in partly shaded areas as well as full sun and are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. These vigorous vines prefer support, but their aerial roots can cause damage to houses, roofs, and brick walls – a trait which likely didn't elude my garden-savvy grandmother.

Unfortunately, these plants are also well known for their fast growth and multiple methods of propagation. Without the natural competition from other plants, a trumpet flower vine can become quite aggressive in the garden setting.

To keep these vines in check, regular pruning of orange trumpet creeper is a must. It's obvious my grandmother had the dedication and talent to maintain a trumpet creeper vine. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit these traits.

Thus, I prefer to enjoy this delightful flower from afar. And whenever I spot those bright orange trumpet creeper flowers, it takes me back to that porch swing and those hot summer nights with my grandmother.

It may sound strange, but one of my favorite root vegetables is the lowly onion. I can relate to this workhorse of culinary veggies. Onions are often overlooked and undervalued, but they are truly the jack of all trades in the kitchen.

How to Use Onions

Sliced onions adorn fresh salads and burgers. Chopped ones add crunchy heat to salsas, potato salad, and dips. Chefs meticulously caramelize onions to add flavor to soups, stews, and meat dishes. Carnival venders even dip them in batter and serve them up with a side of ranch.

What other veggie gets as much mileage in recipes as the onion? These bulbous members of the allium family are one of the cheapest veggies you can buy and one of the easiest to grow. Yet, even gardeners dismiss onions as a serious crop.

We brag about the size of our tomatoes, melons, and zucchini. We tempt our guests to try our hottest peppers. We post pictures of our corn, cucumbers, or carrots on social media. What accolades do we bestow on the onion though?

Planting Onions

Perhaps this injustice exists because planting onion sets is so darn easy. There are no seeds to coddle or nursery-bought seedlings to babysit. We simply buy the bulbs and pop them into the ground when we're ready to plant. As long as we manage to bury them root-side-down, they grow, and they grow well, even in poor soil.

I'm still envious of the baseball-sized sweet onions my former neighbor would harvest from his field of clay. Yet, I've heard onions are heavy feeders. Perhaps, feeding them makes them grow larger, but I can't say the onions I harvest now are any larger than those from my first few years of gardening before my soil was amended.

Onions From Seed

I will admit, starting onion from seed is a bit more difficult than planting onion sets, but I find my onion seedlings are not as finicky as my baby tomato or pepper plants. I sprinkle the onion seeds in a container of dirt and keep it moist.

The onions germinate and grow in the same container, so there's no transplanting involved. When it comes time to transfer them to the garden, I plop the entire pack of dirt out and carefully separate the individual plants. Each one gets stuck in a pencil-sized hole about 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm.) away from its neighbor.

Another reason these culinary workhorses are my fave root vegetable is that growing onions in the garden is easy. After planting, I mulch them with grass once they begin to grow. This deters weeds and prevents soil moisture from evaporating during the hottest part of the summer. Onions have shallow roots and do best when they are kept moist while they are growing.

Onion Harvest Time

Most years, my onions need little else until they are ready for harvest. By now, the grass mulch has dried and shrunk sufficiently to allow the tops of the bulbs to show. This keeps the bulbs from rotting as the tops begin to die back. As long as we don't have excessive rain, I'll leave the onions in the garden until the stems are completely dry.

I then dig the onions and cure them in a warm, dry place for two to four weeks. Properly cured, my onions will last most of the winter in my basement. Yet, there is still another reason I love growing onions.

Onions are one of the few crops that can be used at almost any stage of development. Once onion sets start to grow and send up a few green leaves, I begin harvesting green onions. I chopped them for salads, slice them for sandwiches, or place them whole on roasts.

Now, I'm sure there are many gardeners who'd say carrots, potatoes, beets, or parsnips are their favorite root veggie. Can those vegetables stand up to the versatility, easy cultivation, and length of harvest as onions? Oh, I think not!

I don’t collect seeds often in the garden, but I do enjoy eating them. As a vegetarian, they are a great source of nutrition, including protein. Everyone should add these little packets of nutrients and flavor to their diets. Here are my favorites.

Pumpkin Seeds

Hands down, my favorite seed in the kitchen is the humble pumpkin seed. My first encounter with them was as a kid when we carved pumpkins for Halloween. We would pull out the goo, separate out and rinse the seeds, and then my mom would roast them. They lasted as snacks for a week or so.

Now, when I get my pie pumpkins from my local farm share, I always save the seeds for roasting. It’s an easy snack to make. All you need to do is rinse and dry the seeds, mix them up with some oil or melted butter and whatever seasonings you like, and cook them in the oven at about 300 degrees F. (150 C.). Keep an eye on the seeds, mix a few times as they cook, and they’re done when they are golden brown.

Out of season, I get pumpkin seeds from the store. They don’t taste the same because they have been shelled, but they carry the same nutrition: fiber, protein, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, iron, zinc, copper, and vitamin K. I add them to salads, sprinkle them on soup, and eat them with nuts as a snack.

Chia Seeds

These little powerhouses of nutrition also first came to my attention during my childhood. We never had one, but I remember well the ads for chia pets. What I know about those unusual toys now is that they worked because of the high fiber content in chia seeds.

The chia pet relied on the ability of the seeds to turn to a thick gel when added to water. You could then spread the gel over the chia pet allowing it to sprout all over the ceramic animal.

They don’t taste like much, but just one serving of chia seeds has ten grams of fiber, eight grams of healthy fats, and five grams of protein. I add them to cereal and oatmeal. If you try this, remember to add extra liquid because they will soak up a lot.

Sunflower Seeds

One type of seed I have saved, although not for myself, is sunflower seeds. I grew sunflowers at a previous home and saved the seed heads at the end of the season to feed birds and squirrels over the winter.

In the kitchen, my favorite way to eat sunflower seeds is in butter form. It’s a great alternative to peanut butter with a significant amount of protein plus healthy fats, fiber, vitamin E, copper, manganese, and selenium, just to name a few nutrients.

Again, there is a connection to childhood here. Although I don’t eat them this way often as an adult, as a kid I loved the bags of salty, in-the-shell sunflower seeds. I think my parents liked them because they kept us entertained for a while. I would suck the salt out of the shell, break it open to eat the seed, and spit out the shell fragments.

Sesame Seeds

For flavor, there is no better seed, in my opinion, than the little sesame. Toasted sesame seeds have a savory, delicious flavor that goes well in so many types of food. I have made sesame cookies, but I also sprinkle these tasty little seeds on stir fries and baked tofu.

Sesame products are staples in my kitchen. Tahini is like peanut butter made with sesame seeds that makes a great base for salad dressings and hummus. Sesame oil has a deep rich flavor. Just a teaspoon in a savory dish goes a long way.

Sesame seeds don’t have quite as much impressive nutrition as my other favorite seeds, but they are also low in calories, so I use them liberally.

All industries engage in some type of trend forecasting—often at the end of the year. Gardening is no different. You can find all kinds of trends lists for the coming year and growing season. Looking to the future, some trends seem more destined to last. As people become more aware of how they impact the environment, sustainability seems like it’s here to stay.

Trends in 2023

A quick search of gardening trends for the coming year list a lot of things. Forecasters believe people will create more relaxing retreats in their yards, focus on saving water, and develop more simple, streamlined, and low-maintenance gardens.

There are also a lot of smaller, more specific trends regarding color and plant types. Ultimately, the most important trend, the one with staying power is sustainability.

The growing climate crisis, news stories about garbage in the ocean, and the accelerating rate at which species are becoming endangered and extinct are all driving people to embrace sustainability.

Studies show that a growing number of consumers are more willing than ever to pay more for sustainable products. This trend can be extended to all areas of a person’s life, including in the garden.

I think a lot of factors will be wrapped up in this growing trend toward sustainability when it comes to gardening:

• DIY Gardens -- People will be more involved in their own outdoors spaces. Instead of relying so much on landscapers and garden services to create and maintain their gardens, more people will DIY it. I think homeowners want more control over their yards and what goes into them.
• Just Say No to Grass -- Lawns will get smaller, be less common, and become more natural. A traditional turf lawn is the exact opposite of sustainable. It’s typically not native; it’s a monoculture; and it requires a lot of resources. As people become more aware of how their yards impact the environment, they begin to reject the idea of a “perfect” lawn of solid green.
• Going Native Gardeners -- will continue to embrace native species for many reasons. Native plants are more sustainable because they require fewer resources to thrive. They don’t need regular watering or fertilizer. Native species also support the local ecosystem, benefitting insects, pollinators, and other wildlife.
• Growing Food -- The pandemic and its resulting shortages at the grocery store pushed a lot of people to start growing food. I think this trend will continue. Growing vegetables is more eco-friendly because it’s so hyper local. Gardeners also have more control over what goes into their food and can ensure their veggies are grown organically and sustainably.
• Water Shortages -- Many locations around the U.S. and the world have experienced increasing water shortages in the last few years. Gardeners in these areas save water by necessity, but they also inspire the rest of us. When watching the news and seeing raging forest fires and water restrictions, many gardeners in other areas will begin to realize how precious a resource water is. Native species, drip irrigation, minimizing lawns, and collecting rainwater are all ways gardeners can be more economical with water.
• Keep it Simple -- Gardens don’t have to be elaborate or overcomplicated to be enjoyable, and I think more people are realizing that. Many have had financial struggles over the last few years, and spending money on an over-the-top garden just doesn’t make sense. If you can simplify your garden, you kill two birds with one stone: make it more sustainable and save money.

Thanks to the pandemic, more people than ever have embraced their yards and gardens as necessary retreats. When we couldn’t go anywhere, our own backyards became sanctuaries. People will continue to embrace this space and pay more attention to how their choices affect the planet.

I have always loved oriental poppies -- their generous size, papery consistency, and vivid color. However, I’ve never managed to keep one alive as a houseplant. Then one day I met a flowering maple (Abutilon spp.), with its maple-like leaves and poppy-like flowers, and my destiny was sealed.

Meet the Flowering Maple

Flowering maple plants are utterly enchanting, and I am surely not the only one who fell immediately in love. I first planted one in the backyard in San Francisco where it thrived, growing bigger and spreading over the next few years. I would run out to see it every morning, take my breakfast outside to eat where I could see it, and take photos of it at least once a week.

When I trimmed the plant in spring, I tried rooting the cuttings. I just tucked the cut stem ends into pots filled with damp soil and waited to see what would happen. What happened was that every single cutting rooted and turned into a new plant. I gave some to neighbors, some to friends, and ended up with just a few at the end of the summer. I brought them in and placed them by my sunniest window, and that’s where they remained – abutilon houseplants that flower all year long.

Still In Love

I am still in love with these plants. Abutilon are small, upright shrubs that never seem to stop flowering. The flowers hang down like little Chinese lanterns. Their arching branches bend under the weight of all the blossoms. The flowers are mallow-like, as papery as poppies or hibiscus blossoms and with a lovely range of colors.

My abutilon flowers are the shade of ripe Fuji persimmons, a rich, flame orange, and although they are not as large as some oriental poppies, my plant offers many more blossoms and blooms all winter long. In addition, the leaves – lobed deeply like maples – are a pleasure to look at too. There are other, fabulous colors as well. You can get flowering maples that blaze yellow, red, and even two-tone blossoms, or flowers that have darker, contrasting veins.

Caring for an Indoor Flowering Maple

In my experience, abutilon is just as happy indoors as outdoors. The plant likes warm weather, ideally at least 65 degrees F. (18 C.), and that’s just what they get indoors. They require well-draining soil and some sun, but a few hours a day are sufficient. This works well for me since I only get a few hours of direct sun, and that is only in one room of my house.

What about water? Flowering maple needs water of course, but I am careful not to keep its saucer dry and dump it after watering. I have read that these houseplants thrive in a humid bathroom, but since mine has a window the size of a sheet of paper, there just isn’t enough light to give it a try.

I usually have pretty good luck starting my own vegetable seedlings. While it's a great way to cut the cost of planting a garden, there is one problem I wish I could overcome. It's difficult to start and grow the exact number of seedlings I need and want.

What To Do With Extra Seedlings

Sometimes I go a little crazy and start way too many seeds. Other times, germination percentages are higher than expected. Either way, it's all too easy to end up with more seedlings than I have on my plan for the garden.

So, the question is, “what can gardeners do with these extra seedlings?” To me, tossing these plants feels like a waste of my time and energy, not to mention the actual cost of starting plants. Luckily, I've discovered a few positive outlets for these leftover plants:

• Double plant – Short season crops, like lettuce, can be tucked between tomato or corn plants. The lettuce will be ready for harvest long before the other plants fill the space.
• Fill the flowerbeds – Yes, I've been known to plant veggie seedlings in lieu of annual flowers around the house. Some garden veggies, like cayenne peppers, are downright eye catching.
• Give or trade with other gardeners – We all know other gardeners, so giving extra seedlings to my family or friends has been one of my traditional go-to solutions. Sometimes gardening friends have plants that I need as well.
• Replace lost plants – Every year I lose a few transplants to critters. Hanging onto a few extra seedlings means I can fill those spots and not lose valuable gardening space. Of course, I may end up with a celery plant amid my cabbage.
• Container garden – In recent years, I've discovered the benefits of growing a few veggie plants in planters near the house. When the pandemic limited social contact, I planted my extra seedlings in containers.
• Early harvest – Some seedlings, like lettuce, can be harvested and consumed as baby greens. I've used this option when faced with excess cabbage, celery, lettuce, and Swiss chard seedlings.
• Donate – As a service project one year the 4-H club I advised grew a garden for the “Plant a Row for the Hungry” program. Plant donations from myself and other gardening parents gave the kids what they needed for the project.
• Sell – While I've never put my extra seedlings out by the side of the road for sale, I have stopped and bought seedlings from home gardeners who have done this. I find these plants are usually less expensive and just as healthy as those from the nursery.

Propagating plants can be easy or difficult. Even after following all the rules, some plants may not take root. The propagation methods I use most are taking cuttings, removing offsets, or by division.

Plants that are Easy to Propagate

I have found some of the easiest plants to root by cuttings are Schefflera, inch plant, pothos, and Christmas cactus. I just cut off some stems and insert them in potting soil. Inch plant and pothos will also root in water. It’s important to move the rooted cuttings to soil quickly, or they will have a hard time acclimating to the new medium. You can dip the cutting in rooting hormone before planting, if desired. It is supposed to give your cutting a better chance at rooting.

Plants that produce offsets such as hen and chicks, ponytail palm, Haworthia, and airplane plant are simple to propagate by separating the offsets. Donkey ears produces a new plant at the end of each leaf. Remove the “pups” and plant them in the appropriate soil – cacti and succulent mix for the succulents like Haworthia or potting soil for general houseplants.

Perennials propagate easily by division, and I always have success dividing irises, daylilies, hosta, coneflower, liatris, and mums. Dig up the clump and divide into sections. For irises, remove and keep the new growth coming off last season’s rhizome and discard the spent rhizome. It won’t bloom again. Hosta doesn’t have to be divided; you can let them continue to merrily spread. If they are getting out of bounds, however, you can dig up an edge rather than the whole clump.

Pipevine Proves Problematic

The most difficult plant I have tried to propagate was a pipevine, which is a butterfly host plant. It looks like it would be easy to propagate; it forms runners that sucker underground and emerge at the top of the soil with new leaves. When it is dug up, some of the runner comes with it. I’ve tried rooting it in soil and in water, but it takes several attempts, and I’m rarely successful. I have decided with this plant it is best to buy one from a native plant nursery.

I haven’t tried much propagation of trees and shrubs. I did get some oak trees to grow from seed to about 8 inches (20 cm.) once but lost them to neglect.

It’s fun to propagate plants and share them with family or, if you are in a garden club, the spring plant sale. With persistence most attempts will be successful.

Winter – for a child growing up in Central Alaska – was a fierce season and a long one. You plowed your way through it, day by day, and the snow and cold seemed like they would never end. Of course, they did come to an end, dissolving into the mud of spring runoffs in April. Is it any wonder, then, that the warmest winter I remember was the first one I spent in California?

Alaska Winters

Alaska is such a huge state that even if it were cut into halves, each half would still be larger than any other state. That means that the weather in different parts of the state can be very different. Juneau, the capital, for example, is way down on the panhandle and its weather resembles Seattle’s more than it does Fairbanks’.

I was born in Fairbanks, the state’s second biggest town located pretty much in the center of the state. I lived in a small town a few hours south of Fairbanks until I finished high school. Central Alaska, the area is called, and due to its geography, it gets colder winters than regions much farther north.

Colder than Cold

How cold did it get in Central Alaska? Very cold, colder than any cold I have seen since. The weather regularly dipped below -50 degrees F. (-46 C.) in the winter, and the dramatic winds created even lower windchill temperatures. When it was below -70 degrees F. (-21 C.), we got to stay home from school, and this was usually a week or two every year.

The winter seemed worse than the temperature suggests because it lasted so long and was so dark. The sun never rose above the line of the horizon for most of the winter, meaning we went to school in the dusk of a morning that never happened, and came home at 3 p.m. in twilight. Spring, fall, and summer, taken together, are allocated a small fraction of the year rather than the 75 percent they get in many places. Winter rolled in during September and stayed through March and into April.

My First California Winter

I spent my first winter outside of Alaska when I went to Santa Cruz, California for college. It may not have literally been the warmest winter of my life, but it is etched as such on my memory. To see September roll into October without a single snowflake, to wear shorts in November, walk without a jacket in December. All seemed amazing.

Although I was not gardening during my college years, others were. As I explored the wonders of the farmer’s markets around Santa Cruz County, I fell in love with the concept of warm winters. Fresh vegetables, apples for the picking, weird and wonderful crops like avocados and persimmons… it was a far cry from the frozen carrot squares we considered vegetables in Alaska.

It was only some years later when I learned the wonders of gardening myself and became one of those who made the best use out of warm winters. Today my winter garden produces many of the vegetables I learned to love that first, warmest winter of my life.

I'm fascinated with odd plants. You know, the kind you won't find at Home Depot or other standard garden centers. Tillandsia is a plant I discovered decades ago at the plant show in our city. I didn't purchase one at the time, but I loved the diversity of form, color, and size. The clever way many were enclosed or mounted, gave rise to any imagined scenario. In short, the air plants didn't leave my mind for years, but it wasn't until recently that I became a plant mom to a few of the species.

Air Plant Varieties

After a bathroom remodel last year, I wanted to bring some life into what was now a fairly austere, although very sanitary, looking restroom. With its white subway tiles, the room was a bit sterile and needed some greenery. I considered ferns and other plants which would enjoy the often steamy atmosphere of our second most used room, but rejected them due to size. I found some suction cup mounted planters which would be fun on the shower walls, but needed a small plant to fill them.

I remembered those air plants I had seen so long ago at the plant convention and set about researching air plant care to see if they would fit the bill. Turns out, Tillandsia need warmth, consistent humidity, and an occasional bath. Since they are epiphytes, they do not grow in soil and can tend to dry out, especially in winter when humidity is low. Other than these needs, the plants seemed to be the low maintenance plants I needed to perk up my bathroom.

There are many online growers featuring a bevy of Tillandsia varieties. I sourced a reputable one and perused the selection, bewildered by the many colors and sizes. It was too hard to choose so I got an entire box of varied species. Once they arrived, I was delighted by the greens, silvers, and even pinks that the plants sported. Some were nearly the size of my fist, while others were tiny, smaller than a silver dollar. The rosette form in each was charming. Armed with the suction cup containers, I gave all the plants a bath in water for an hour and then set them in the hanging cups. It was indeed the perfect touch to brighten the bath. Since I had so many, I gave several away to friends and family, happy to find a plant gift that required minimal care.

Tillandsia Care

Since I have been growing Tillandsia, I have had no issues. All I do is soak them in water once per week. I let the tap water sit out overnight to off gas any toxins and ensure it is room temperature, lest I shock my air plants. That’s it. So far I haven't had any blooms, which is apparently possible, but the plants have rewarded me with slow growth. Most of my gifted plants are still alive, even the ones I gave to folks with no green thumb and little interest in plant care. These plants were certainly worth the cost and yet give me no drama.

The only downside to growing Tillandsia is kittens. I did lose a few to inquisitive felines when they were young. I guess the spiky, strappy leaves are irresistible and the distance was no problem for springy kittens. Now that the kittens are grown, they are more interested in the catnip plant up high on the mantle. Lucky for the air plants, the fascination has dulled over time and I see a happy future for all of us.