Plan-Ahead Projects for Next Year's GardenWinter is a great time for planning, preparing, and organizing next year's garden. Here are some plan-ahead projects for the winter months that will help you get a jump on next year's growing season.
Choosing the Right GroundcoverGroundcovers are useful for covering large areas in the landscape. They can also be useful for solving specific landscaping problems, like replacing grass in shady locations, providing erosion control on steep slopes, and providing cover in spaces where it's difficult to mow.
Garden Organizer Bucket IdeaFour gallon square buckets fit inside five gallon round buckets. By putting the square one inside the round one, you have a center place for your potting soil and small spaces for the gardening implements and garden stakes.
Sunken Beds for Arid ClimatesIf you garden in an area with poor soil fertility and drainage, you're probably familiar with the advantages of planting in raised beds. Less familiar, however, may be the concept of sunken beds - beds dug down to sit slightly below the soil surface.
Starting A Garden JournalNow that things are winding down for most gardeners, you may be able to find a little more time to organize your thoughts and reflect on the successes and disappointments of the past season.
Getting Pine Sap Off HandsWhile arranging some pine boughs in a vase as a centerpiece, I ended up with pine sap all over my hands. I tried soap, Dawn, scrubbed, and scrubbed, nothing worked - still sticky. I went upstairs and got some toothpaste. The pine sap was gone - no sticky!
