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Creating a simple garden sanctuary for year-round relaxation

With temperatures dropping and dusk arriving early, the firepit section of my garden has been on my mind. It's a simple setup. Eight colorful Adirondack chairs are arranged in a circle around a stacked stone hearth, surrounded, during the growing season, by easy-growing, low-maintenance button ...

The secret to keeping your holiday greenery fresher longer

I've planted the potted mums in the garden and packed away the scarecrows — now it's time to deck the halls. That means filling vacant pots with evergreen branches foraged from my trees and shrubs, hanging cedar swags on the porch and placing a wreath on the door. They'll look great at ...

This underappreciated holiday flower has upside-down blooms

If I asked you to name a holiday flower, my guess is poinsettia, amaryllis or paperwhite would be the first to come to mind. But there's another, underused seasonal plant that deserves attention. Allow me to introduce you to cyclamen. There are roughly two dozen species of the perennial ...

How to grow an avocado tree from seed

So, you want to grow an avocado tree from seed? It's not only a fun off-season activity, especially for kids, but it's also very easy. Just know that since avocados are tropical plants, they won't survive winters outdoors in colder climates. Still, it's possible to grow avocado plants indoors. ...

Doing these fall garden chores will make your spring easier

We tend to think that fall is when the garden winds down, and spring is when the work begins. But there are several chores that, if completed now, will make your spring job much easier. For starters, pulling up weeds by their roots in the fall will dramatically reduce their reappearance when ...

Transform fallen leaves into valuable leaf mold for your garden this fall

There are a lot of leaves outside my window, and I'm guessing your view might be similar. This carpet of dead foliage is often viewed as a nuisance, but it can be an important component in the garden. I'll push a 3-inch layer of them into beds and borders to serve as root-protecting and ...