Spring flowers are always a breath of fresh air after a winter of dark, dreary colors. There’s nothing more delightful than the bright yellow of daffodils, the blue-purple of grape …
Urine is an excellent natural fertilizer and among the very oldest ways to create fertile soil. After all, pee plays quite a crucial role in the earth’s nitrogen cycle. Mammals …
As the leaves change color and fall from the trees, most of us are busy closing up our gardens for the season. But don’t put your garden tools away just …
If this is your first year feeding hummingbirds, first of all, welcome to the club. They’re pretty great, right? But as summer turns to autumn, you’ve likely begun to notice …
September is often an odd month. If you’ve got school-aged children, you go from a noisy house to a silent one. At least, until they start bringing germs home from …
One of the great things about hostas is how low-maintenance they are. Of all the perennials in your garden, hostas are probably the closest thing you’ll find to a set-it-and-forget-it …
Mulching flower beds is a sure sign that warmer weather has arrived each spring. Suddenly, everywhere you look, it’s nothing but flower beds sporting a fresh layer of dark brown …
Agapanthus, often called the “African Lily,” is immediately recognizable with its stunning, spherical clusters of blue or white flowers that bloom on tall stalks above lush, green strap-like leaves. They’re …
When you think of planting perennial flowers, spring might automatically come to mind: birds creating a cacophony of noise, gusty breezes drying out the mud, and the excitement of new …
I don’t grow a garden without mulch. Period. Putting down a protective layer over the bare soil in my garden provides a multitude of benefits. Unfortunately, after three successive seasons …
There are plenty of reasons to love growing determinate tomatoes. As bush-type tomatoes, they are biologically limited to a height of around four feet. They grow until the terminal bud …
Houseplants are wonderful in and of themselves. They provide a lot of beauty and liveliness to our homes and offices. But what if your houseplants could also provide you with …
Agapanthus is one of the few plants I can think of where the word “regal” is well and truly fitting. You have a plant with a full crown of emerald …
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the plants that you grow, what would that be? Predictably, my answer to this question varies with the …
Mint is a nightmare. To the uninitiated, you’re probably scratching your head and thinking, “Really? Mint doesn’t seem so bad. Can’t you make tea with it?” To those of us …
Hoo boy. I get asked this question all the time by Rural Sprout readers. One minute, your tomatoes are doing fine, and then, within a day or two, you have …
When I started writing this article, my first draft was titled The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Gardeners, an obvious riff on the self-help bestselling classic. But the more I …
I love volunteer plants. You know, the ones where you plant it once, and it self-seeds every year after that. I can’t tell you how nice it is not to …
Lavender is one of those plants that nearly everyone has in their landscape or garden. And why not? It’s easy to maintain, the pollinators love it, and its classic scent …
Summer is a time to eat al fresco and have ice cream; and maybe lounge in the hammock. Yes, theoretically I know that. But what do you think happens when …
If you garden long enough, you’ll eventually experience the joy of waging war against a plant you just had to have, only to find out later that it was bent …
When you’re growing vegetables, you rarely want your plants to get sick. We put a lot of work into making sure they don’t. So, it’s usually an upsetting surprise to …
Hostas are great. Everyone loves hostas. You’ve probably got a few yourself. Hostas have a lot going for them. They’re ridiculously easy to care for (basically ignore them). You can …
Lavender is a classic plant prized as both a flower and an herb. It is a classic plant that makes its way into gardens all over the world. Just the …