I'm an outlier in my neighborhood -- our 1/4 acre lot has less than 1,000' of lawn left on it, and most to of the front yard is a designed prairie garden. I've been careful out front to maintain low plants, carefully mass species, and keep things…
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…
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…
Note: This story contains reference to school and gun violence. As the principal and I watched the heavy machinery level the last of the dilapidated portable classrooms, an idea flitted across my mind. On a whim, I asked if a portion of the land…
Opened in 2007, this “People’s Garden” invites visitors of all ages and abilities to create and to explore meaningful connections to plants and nature at their own pace. The journey began in 1991 when a small group of midcoast Maine residents dreamed…
Holly Walker is a Plant Health Specialist at Smithsonian Gardens. I sat down to talk with her on November 27, 2017 about entomology, her background and some of her current undertakings with Smithsonian Gardens. Could you tell me about your role with…
I’ve always lived what I’ve considered an environmentally conscious life-style; living in a dense, urban neighborhood, biking or taking transit to work, shopping local, eating a primarily plant-based diet, recycling, composting and much, much more. …
When I was pregnant with my first child, I began to plant. I think that I wanted to see whether anything would really grow. Honestly, I didn’t expect much to happen. But in the Spring, just before my daughter made her appearance, magically my tulips,…
This year was the first full growing season at this house with my garden of Missouri native wildflowers and plants. I couldn’t have been happier and I’d venture to say that the butterflies, bees, and birds enjoyed it as well.
Sure, I like the…
The best part about having an urban pollinator garden? Relaxing in the swing, admiring the rabbits, squirrels, birds, butterflies and bees, all the while answering questions from patrons visiting the Peacemaker and Sidney Street Cafe. The guests…
Woodend Sanctuary is a 40 acre property in Chevy Chase, Maryland, bequeathed to and now headquarters of the Audubon Naturalist Society of the Mid-Atlantic States. The mission of the Audubon Naturalist Society is to inspire residents of the greater…
Intro: Marianne S.Narrative: (Sheryl) Sherry M.All photos: Marianne S.
We may not normally think of our national parks as community gardens, but consider that Yellowstone Park itself, an ecosystem protected for the enjoyment of the public, averages…
I have been raising Monarch butterflies in my kitchen for years. They do not usually survive if I leave them outside on the milkweed plants in my yard. Success inside is 99%.
I released seven in the spring. I had one caterpillar in July this year.…
The Poquoson Learning Garden is located at the Poquoson Museum, the former sixteen acre William Freeman Dryden farm in the City of Poquoson, Virginia. The museum campus contains a circa 1900 farm house, agricultural out buildings, frontage along the…
The MGG, begun in 1988, honors the Ojibwe culture and features flora used by the Ojibwe Native Americans. Artist Susan Swerda Foss has studied the flora for over twenty nine years. The garden is in the shape of a Canadian Goose, measuring 830 feet…
Nestled within the thirty acres of one of the most beautiful zoos sits a small parcel of land dedicated to education, conservation and promotion of gardening at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The idea of an onsite garden had been bounced back and forth among…
The Arboretum is located in Sandpoint, Idaho on Lake Pend Oreille. In addition to the beautiful lake, there is a mountain resort for winter skiing. Locals often observe, “we’re almost in Canada,” in an area referred to as the Panhandle. It has…
