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What are hanging succulent plants Succulent plants have thick, fleshy leaves that store moisture. Because of this trait, most are drought tolerant and make low care houseplants. Hanging succulent plants are those with stems that trail over the sides of their pot. Some types of succulents mound over the edges of their containers while others can spill several feet down. There are many types of succulents with trailing stems and the most popular hanging types include string of pearls, Christmas cactus, and string of dophins....

I make several holiday swags every year, hanging them on our fence gates, front door, lamp post, mailbox, and porch light. They are so simple to make, and unless the weather is unusually warm, they stay fresh and beautiful all winter long. Here’s how to make a holiday swag, using just five easy steps. Gather your materials. To build one swag, you’ll need: Three evergreen branches, approximately eighteen to twenty-four inches in length, depending on how long you’d like your swag to be....

Types of culinary herbs When learning how to harvest herbs it’s important to think about the part of the plant you’re going to harvest. For culinary herbs, there are typically three parts we harvest – the leaves, the flowers, or the seeds. Some herbs like cilantro/coriander and chives are harvested for multiple edible parts. Leaves – Common herbs harvested for their leaves include types of oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, sage, dill, chives, and cilantro....

Growing wasabi SPICE PROFILE • Names: Japanese horseradish • Latin: Eutrema japonicum (syn. Wasabia japonica) • Native to: Japan • Edible parts: Entire plant • Culinary use: Spicy, burning, hot mustard taste used for sushi GROWING CONDITIONS • Subtropical perennial • Mature plant tolerance 27–80° (-3–27°C); ideal range 45–65° (7–18°C) • Full shade; fertile, moist soil; pH 6.0–7.0 • Start from plantlets or seeds; 18+ months to harvest Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world in terms of weight....

There’s something about seeing those wee little buds appear at the end of the “leaves” that fills me with hope and excitement. Sometimes it’s probably because I feel so amazed that a plant that’s been rather neglected manages to bloom. (My green thumb is more in its element outdoors.) For indoor plants, I’m starting to catch on to achieving that delicate balance between overwatering and underwatering, while paying close attention to the plant’s environment (light, air, etc....

Growing a Culinary Herb Garden: The Basics Before you break ground on a culinary herb garden, start with a little planning. What herbs do you use the most? Do you want to grow enough to dry or freeze for winter use? If you’re new to gardening, start small and plan to grow a handful of your favorite kitchen herbs in window-boxes or fabric containers. Once you’ve had success with container gardening, you may wish to plant a garden dedicated to culinary herbs, or add herbs to existing vegetable or flower beds....

Where to put a new vegetable garden Before I share what I think is the best step-by-step technique for installing a low-budget vegetable garden fast, it’s important to discuss picking the best site for a new garden. The key is sun. Full sun. That means choose a site that receives at least 6 hours of full sun every day. Yes, the sun is lower in the winter and higher in the summer, so if you’re choosing a spot for your garden in the early spring, you’ll have to consider the level of sunlight reaching the location later in the growing season....

Let me explain. Apparently classifying Pelargonium as a geranium stems from a mixup that dates back well over 200 years when pelargoniums were first introduced from southern Africa. Because of the resemblance to the foliage of perennial geraniums, they were mislabelled. This error, while technically corrected, has persisted in the plant vernacular. Both annual and perennial geraniums are from the Geraniaceae family. However, the perennial geranium, also called cranesbill, is from the genus Geranium....

Jessica says: I am so excited to grow this awesome little veggie for the first time this year. Most gardeners know that broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, and several other cole crops are actually all the same species of plant, Brassica oleracea. They were each bred and refined over many years to exhibit the unique, and stable, traits that make them the vegetables we recognize today. Well, the folks at Tozer Seeds in Great Britain have spent the last fifteen years using traditional hybridization techniques to come up with a new member of the cole family by crossing kale with brussels sprouts....

If you’d rather take some time over the winter to plot out where you’ll place any new garden additions, make your list through the fall months. Take a walk through the neighbourhood (don’t be afraid to ask a fellow gardener for plant names) or visit your local garden centre to see what’s blooming. Fall-blooming flowers to add to your must-have plant list Japanese anemone My neighbour has a thriving Japanese anemone at the very front of her garden with some gorgeous pinkish-white blooms....

Signs of moles in the yard Moles live underground, and the majority of their subterranean excavation typically goes unseen. But, as moles dig tunnels in their hunt for food, the soil they remove from the channels gets pushed out into mounds of dirt on the surface of the yard. Signs of a mole infestation in the yard can also include slightly raised, underground ridges or trenches going from soil pile to soil pile....

Pilea peperomioides care requirements Chinese money plant isn’t persnickety when it comes to its care. However there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, at maturity, the plant reaches about 12 inches tall with an equal width; be sure it has plenty of space to grow and develop new leaves. If Pilea is happy, it may produce small white flowers on pink-tinged stems. You can consider your thumb very green if the plant comes into flower....

Remove old nesting materials from bird houses and nest boxes before each new nesting season begins. Scrub out the interior of the empty box or house using a 10% bleach solution (9 parts water to 1 part bleach) and a stiff brush. Allow to thoroughly dry. For unpainted boxes and houses: Apply an external coat of a natural wood preservative such as linseed oil. For painted boxes and houses: Repaint the exterior every three to five years, or whenever a touch-up is needed....

At the heart of regenerative gardening is the soil. There is a whole web of activity happening below the surface. Roots and soil microbes form a complex network through which plants can access nutrients and water. Consequently, regenerative gardening requires a no-dig approach, one that does not disturb that web of activity, but that sequesters carbon dioxide in the soil so that it is not released into the atmosphere. Regenerative gardening practices in a home garden On a larger scale, regenerative agriculture is used by farmers to create more sustainable food systems....

What is a kangaroo fern? Also known as the kangaroo paw fern or the kangaroo foot fern, the kangaroo fern (Microsorum diversifolium) reaches a height of 1 foot tall and a width between 3 and 4 feet. It’s in the family Polypodiaceae. A native of Australia and New Zealand, it’s easy to grow outdoors in the ground if you live in a warm climate without winter freezes. Most people, however, grow the kangaroo fern indoors as a houseplant....

We also fancy ourselves to be quite creative with our harvests in the kitchen. We pick to preserve, sauté, grill, slice, steam, stuff, mash, and barbecue. We’ve teamed up with the Home Grown Seed Collection by P. Allen Smith to show you a few fun gourmet veggies to grow. We’ve also gathered some suggestions to help you figure out what to do with them come harvest time. Don’t let any of your precious crops to go to waste!...

The Basics of Edible Garden Design: In my second book, Groundbreaking Food Gardens, edible garden design is celebrated with fun plans and ideas from 73 awesome garden experts. While I was writing the book, I was also taking notes for the changes I wanted to do in my own 2000 square foot vegetable garden. And, the following spring, I started a complete renovation of my growing space. We turned low, free-formed raised beds into sixteen-inch tall hemlock-edged beds....

How do you know when to harvest carrots? Growing carrots is an exercise in patience. Going from tiny seed to thick root when you can’t see what’s happening beneath the soil can seem daunting, especially for new gardeners. Carrot seeds take a long time to germinate, and the fragile seedlings sometimes fall prey to hungry slugs, rabbits, and other garden critters. But, if you care for them properly by making sure they receive enough water and sunlight (and you manage to protect them from those critters), your carrot crop will soon be ready to harvest....

One of the benefits of being a garden writer is I get to test out tools from time to time, and each fall, there are three that stand out to me. All of them look a bit medieval, which means they’re built for tough jobs. I giggle a little when I’m carrying the billhook saw around the garden (check it out in action, below). Here’s what I’ve used these tough garden tools for so far…...

3 Ways to Grow Fresh Vegetables in Winter Protect what you’ve got. By the time summer shifts to fall, most vegetable gardeners still have some crops left in their gardens; root crops like carrots, beets, and parsnips, leafy greens like spinach, arugula, and kale, and stem crops like leeks, brussels sprouts, and scallions. Don’t let them die in the hard frosts. Instead, protect them with a mini tunnel, strawbale cold frame, or layer of mulch....