Category Archives: Drainage

Filling A Tiny Garden

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy
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Though the old wood fence is sagging and rotting, I love the weathered look. Indeed, I’m considering lifting the panels off the ground and hanging them in sturdy frames like artwork, so they help screen our space from the neighbors but aren’t rotting from soil contact. One section is already gone; when I was discussing ideas with my clever house contractor (the uncle of my long-time garden guy), my neighbor popped her head over the fence and said her elderly mother loved to grow tomatoes but this section of fence blocked her light. In response, Jorge simply lifted the 8-foot panel away. Poof! We’ll replace that section with stockade wire and build out a bed to hold my three-way espalier apple tree, which I’ll train on the wire. Continue reading →

Posted in Annual Color, Drainage, Garden Design, Health & Wellbeing, Pets & Pests In The Garden, Pollinators, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Tomatoes | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Rise Up & Draw Down

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy
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Print PDF How Gardeners Can Help Mitigate Climate Change A new year lies open before us, its pages largely unwritten. Oh sure, many of us have calendars already jammed with work and play, events and appointments, vacations and expectations. Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, composting, Drainage, Garden Prep, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Winding The Spirit Spiral

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Ann Lovejoy
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This particular garden had winding beds between the path loops, filled with herbs and traditional medicinal plants. The gravel path was just wide enough for one and the beds were about the same width. With a few modifications, the same modest amount of space (about 12 x 20 feet) can hold a labyrinth, a pattern of sacred geometry that was often incorporated into the stone flagged floors of medieval European cathedrals. Unlike mazes, which seek to deceive with blind alleys and false turns, labyrinths use a single continuous path that winds in usually circular patterns into the heart of a space and back out again without retracing or crossing itself. You can’t get lost or led astray. You always find your way to the very core of whatever has you walking and you always come safely home. Continue reading →

Posted in Drainage, Easy Care Perennials, Hardy Herbs, Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Planting For The Planet

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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If this all feels hopeless, it’s heartening to know that we gardeners can make a genuine difference right now. All of us can preferentially choose food and clothing made from organically grown crops, but anyone with a meadow or a backyard or even a windowbox can also provide food and shelter for local insects. Even the tidy minded can set aside an area to be a Bug Bank, filled with plants that local beneficial insects can chew and sip and make homes amongst. Let a little land go wild and the wild will return. Turn a pocket lawn into a meadow and insects will make a home for themselves. Let a lot of land return to nature and natural communities will reestablish. Continue reading →

Posted in composting, Drainage, Garden Prep, Growing Berry Crops, Health & Wellbeing, pests and pesticides, Pollinators, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment