March/April 2019

Garden Gate

The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design

Garden Gate1 min read
From The Editor
Change is in the air and in the pages of Garden Gate. If you’ve been part of our family, you probably noticed this issue is a little bigger, both in size and number of pages. We’ve been hard at work creating even more great content and giving the loo
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{meet} JACK COYIER
Avoid the middle of the day. If you take a photo of a flower you really like, revisit it at different times of the day. In morning and evening, shadows aren’t as deep, and there’s a nice direction to the light. Move around. It’s easy to focus a phot
Garden Gate2 min read
Great Ideas From Smart Gardeners
A plant stand works great when placed on the firm surface of a patio or entryway. But say you want some extra height and interest in your garden bed. The uneven ground would be too wobbly to support a plant stand and a container. So Lita turned the s
Garden Gate1 min read
Pest Watch
What it looks like Adult asparagus beetles are ¼ inch long, oval-shaped and black and brown with six cream spots on their backs. Their eggs are small, dark brown and oval-shaped as well, and larvae are small and gray with black heads. Where to find
Garden Gate2 min readArchitecture
Sensational Spring Containers
Sometimes unpredictable weather—early thaws, late frosts, snow that won’t melt—can throw off an entire spring garden. But container gardens offer a little more flexibility. For one, you don’t have to fret if a plant didn’t make it through the winter;
Garden Gate2 min read
How to Plant a Gravel Garden
You may not want to transform your entire landscape into a gravel garden, but you can start out small and see for yourself the advantages of gardening in gravel. After he had success at Olbrich, Epping installed the gravel garden at right in his fron
Garden Gate6 min read
EASY-CARE PERENNIALS: Add These to Your Shopping List
Is there really such a thing as a no-fail plant? Not really. But there are perennials that are ridiculously easy to grow. I’m talking about those plants that once you get them established in the garden, there’s really nothing else to do except perhap
Garden Gate5 min read
New & Improved Varieties of Old Favorites
Gardening, like the world of fashion, has trends. Some seem to come and go (think bell bottoms and Boston ferns); others stand the test of time to become beloved classics (think flannel shirts and old-fashioned peonies). But some of these old standar
Garden Gate7 min readArchitecture
Charming & Gorgeous
Fritillaria checks all the boxes for your spring borders. Need plants that won’t get mowed down or bulbs that aren’t dug up by the resident wildlife? Deer, rabbits and squirrels all leave fritillaria alone. Blooms are long lasting both outdoors and i
Garden Gate2 min read
Hose Nozzles
We’ve all done it—used our thumb to spray water out of the hose, maybe to shoot it where the hose won’t reach or soften the flow on tender plants. But when you do that, you can end up with cold hands and wet feet. A good nozzle can easily control the
Garden Gate5 min read
Potatoes
You just can’t beat the taste of potatoes freshly dug from your own garden. Boiled, baked, fried or roasted—they’re all delicious. They’re also packed with nutrients, such as vitamins C and B6, magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber. And harvesting t
Garden Gate6 min read
Welcome Spring!
A warm welcome and beautiful spring gardens greet visitors to Dean and Cam Williams’ Dunham Massie Farm in zone 7 Virginia. They’ve lived here for 32 years, working to conserve the land and their historic home. Summers are hot and extra humid in this
Garden Gate4 min read
Texture -MADE FOR- the Shade
Truly beautiful shade gardens often rely on attractive combinations and contrasts of foliage and plant forms to create texture. For our purposes, texture refers to the surface qualities of a plant that you can see, the visual texture of plants. While
Garden Gate2 min read
Early Spring Tasks to Start Now!
The late-winter sun is feeling warm on your face and birds are starting to sing their cheerful songs. Finally, spring is coming. But before it’s time to dig in, there are tasks to do while days are still chilly and plants are dormant. Here is a remin
Garden Gate2 min read
A Patio the Whole Family Can Enjoy
A big, blank yard is a great spot for Cary Stiles’ two kids to be able to run around and play, and it’s also a wonderful opportunity for Cary to finally begin growing a garden in all the open space you see at left. So where is the best place to start
Garden Gate3 min read
Plants That Do the Work
Low maintenance is a must here, so the shrubs are pretty easy-going. They all have compact habits and only need pruning if branches die or a few limbs grow out of place. If needed, shape up the hydrangea after it’s finished flowering and the blueberr
Garden Gate3 min read
Q & A
Q I need help. I have three clematis that have been growing in the same area for 6 years. How and when do I safely move these vines? Marcia Niles, MA A The best time for transplanting clematis is in spring, just as the plant is waking up from winter.
Garden Gate1 min read
Weed Watch
What it looks like This native perennial has nettlelike green leaves on 3- to 5-foot stalks and showy, flat-topped clusters of small bright white, fluffy flowers from late summer to frost. White snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol, which can be poi
Garden Gate2 min readArchitecture
Garden Essentials
As if the bitsy sweet double calibrachoa flowers weren’t already adorable enough, this new hot pink variety comes with a romantic twist: a delicate white rim around each petal. Can you imagine hundreds of these flowers trailing over your container’s
Garden Gate2 min read
Bask In The Beauty Of The Rising Sun
Does cloudy weather get you down? Here’s a tree that’s sure to make you happy when skies are gray. JUST KEEP GLOWING Rosy pink buds of The Rising Sun ™ redbud sparkle in spring. But it’s the foliage that sets this cultivar apart. The first flush of
Garden Gate8 min read
ESCAPE TO YOUR Dream Backyard
When you think of your backyard, what’s your list of must-haves? Does it include a place for the kids or pets to play and run? Do you want to sprinkle in some interesting art pieces you’ve collected? Are you dreaming of cozy furniture and a relaxing

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