Savvy Gardening

Fusion gardening: Blending eco-friendly design elements into a traditional landscape

by Tara Nolan

One thing I find tricky about gardening trends is that they have way more longevity than, say, fashion, which changes constantly. Pollinators, for example, have been a “trend” for the last several years now, but gardening for pollinators is quite obviously a concept that is not going to go away—well, unless the pollinators do, but that’s a whole other story. This type of mindful gardening, while it may start out as a trend, generally sticks around because it’s in response to an environmental factor. Xeriscaping, eating local, butterfly gardens—these all started as trends, but we’re not going to toss them out and move on. They’re all elements of a garden we should be conscious of. Which brings me to fusion gardening. This buzzword has crept into the latest gardening conversations that I’ve seen in articles, on social media, and at Canada Blooms 2018.

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Growing a Culinary Herb Garden

by Niki Jabbour

There are so many reasons to grow your own herbs. The most important reason is flavor; you just can’t beat the fresh flavor of homegrown herbs. Of course, growing a culinary herb garden is also an easy way to save money on your grocery bill. Store-bought herbs are expensive, often of questionable freshness, and many are hard-to-source. But, savvy gardeners know that most herbs can be easily grown in a home garden or on a sunny deck.

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Container vegetable plants: The best varieties for success

by Jessica Walliser

Growing flowers, vegetables, herbs, and even fruits in containers is not only an easy way to grow, it’s also beautiful and productive. We’ve written lots of articles on container gardening here on the blog, including posts on the best berries for containers, how to care for a container garden, and inspiration for growing herbs in pots. But, today’s post is a bit different. Today, I’d like to share some specific varieties of container vegetable plants for your garden. Continue Reading
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Growing angel trumpet from seed: Learn how to sow and grow this gorgeous plant

by Jessica Walliser

Angel trumpets are prone to stopping people in their tracks. I grow one in a big patio pot, and more visitors to my garden ask about it than anything else I grow. The big, trumpet-like blooms of this plant are show-stoppers, and their fragrance… well, let’s just say it makes an evening on the patio about as sensational as you can get. But, purchasing a large angel trumpet plant can be pricey. If you want to save some dough and stretch your green thumb, try growing angel trumpet from seed. You may be surprised at how easy it is. Continue Reading
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The benefits of raised bed gardens

by Tara Nolan

My interest for gardening in raised beds was piqued when I started researching how to build the original two raised beds in my yard. I wanted them for aesthetic reasons, but it wasn’t long before I discovered there are a ton of other benefits of raised bed gardens.

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Identifying garden pests: How to figure out who’s eating your plants

by Jessica Walliser

Most gardeners face pest issues from time to time, and though we have a wonderful Guide to Vegetable Garden Pests here on our site, many gardeners often find themselves needing to be able to properly identify a pest before turning to such a guide for solutions to their problem. Garden pest ID is a task that can be very difficult, especially if the pest isn’t physically present on the plant when the damage is discovered. Today, we’re sharing an excerpt from the book Gardening Complete by the authors of Cool Springs Press (including several chapters by Savvy Gardening contributors Jessica Walliser and Tara Nolan!). We’re excited to be able to share it with you because the excerpt offers some very practical advice on identifying garden pests using methods you may not have considered before. Continue Reading
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