In the 1950s and ‘60s, I was one of four children in a small, three bedroom ranch on the edge of town. My mother was the gardener with her daylilies, tulips, mint, Touch-me-not, roses, portulaca, and marigolds. I’m sure there were others. In the mid…
A great friend of mine (boyfriend at the time, still great friends) had property in the country that needed some TLC. He had an above ground pool that was taken down, but had left the deck up. He let me design a beautiful butterfly garden in that…
Located in the neighborhood of Central Tacoma, Washington, Franklin Park serves its community well—there are numerous opportunities for recreation for children and adults, including a community garden. It has served its purpose for the elementary…
More than 75 residents, neighbors, and friends gathered at City Hall in Bowie, Maryland in December of 2016 to celebrate the community’s seven year journey to become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat under the National Wildlife Federation’s…
My sister and I planted milkweed in our gardens for several years before we actually found monarch caterpillars. Each year we would discuss our milkweed and wonder where the caterpillars could be. Then, one summer evening, she invited me to dinner.…
My first love of gardening and all nature started as a child with numerous camping and fishing trips with my parents. My father always taught us the beauty of nature and of need to protect and share it. As an adult my garden has always been a place…
Our yard started out as a typical urban landscape; lawn, a few shrubs and trees. Maintaining this look was dependent on chemicals and lots of water, so we started to look for alternatives. We started by reducing the lawn, and planting more shrubs…
Until late winter of 2007, my only productive interactions with plants had been with the most common houseplants. Neither our family's efforts during my childhood to grow tomatoes nor my obstinate individual ones to grow watermelons in conditions I…
