The next time you’re at the nursery, or browsing for seeds online, be sure to check out where you are on the USDA Hardiness Zone Map, which divides North America into 11 separate zones. Each zone is 10°F warmer (or colder) in an average winter than the adjacent zone. When you see a “hardiness zone” in [...]

Right now, as I look out onto my front patio, I can see a squirrel sitting on top of my box planter, which is a permanent patio fixture, and happily chewing on something from the cache that he stashed there in the fall. It isn’t a big deal, at least right now since the planter [...]

If you have ever read any of my articles involving activities with my children, you will probably be aware that I am a huge fan of backyard science.  I love all the things that you can find in a backyard and there are a thousand and one things that you can find in a yard.  [...]

There are many different types of fertilizers on the market and it can be a little expensive to purchase the various blends that are available.  Not only that but it can be a little daunting to figure out what the best fertilizer is. To save your nerves and to create your own wonderful blend of [...]

Every year, well after Christmas and still a ways from Easter, there is a holiday fit into the whole scheme of things that indicates the need to purchase a few items.  It is the holiday of love and everyone makes a point to celebrate it.  I have found that even people who feel it is [...]

I’m not sure about you, but I live in a place where snow in winter is not an uncommon thing. In fact it is so common that backyard ice rinks are common and so are winter tires and antifreeze.  For a few months of the year, my little piece of earth can safely be called [...]

Every year, as I stumble to the cash register under a dozen plants, I often forget to grab the fertilizer that I prefer to use.  I mean, there are a hundred and one different things that I like to buy for my garden every year and I tend to forget about purchasing anything else, except [...]

Do you want gorgeous, giant blooms with lots of “boom color” right up until fall’s first frost? Would you like bold blossoms of color cascading from hanging baskets, decorating garden beds and sizzling around a trellis? This season you can have it all by planting your own “show-stopper” right in your own backyard with Sun [...]

Let’s face it — February, March and April can be gray and dreary months. You’re more than ready for spring to begin, but Mother Nature is on a different schedule. But you can jump start the season of growth early and bring it inside where you can enjoy it through those last moments of winter. [...]

The beauty of evergreens lie in their name – they add year-round colour and life to gardens and yards. Narrow leaf evergreen shrubs, such as cedar and spruce are most commonly known, but this group also includes broadleaf evergreens including rhododendrons, camellias and laurels. Although these trees and shrubs are a low-maintenance addition to yards [...]