July/August 2019

Garden Gate

The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design

Garden Gate1 min read
From The Editor
A better place Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—that is to have succeeded.”
Garden Gate2 min read
Reader Tips
Here’s a pretty DIY bird bath idea that you will get to enjoy as much as the birds. Cynthia filled a hanging basket with a liner and potting mix, but instead of planting inside, she planted trailing annuals on the outside of the basket by cutting ope
Garden Gate2 min read
Easy-to-Make Gabions
If you’ve liked the look of gabion retaining walls or fencing but wondered how in the world to get something so big in your garden, these projects might just be the solution. They’re sized to fit in any space and easily go together in an afternoon. A
Garden Gate1 min readNature
Pest Watch
Adults are small, mostly black wasps with a few yellow markings and a spine at the tip of the tail. They lay pearlike eggs and their larvae, with white bodies and light brown heads, have a spine at the tip as well. Damage Adults themselves don’t cau
Garden Gate2 min read
Grow Chin-Dripping Goodness Fresh Off the Vine
Jennie Smith’s grandparents couldn’t imagine the number of different tomatoes their granddaughter would one day grow on their old farmstead in central Iowa. And they wouldn’t recognize the range of tomato colors, shapes, sizes and flavors we can choo
Garden Gate2 min read
Jennie’s Top 10 Heirloom Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the number-one homegrown crop. And it’s no wonder: After all, what captures the feel of summer better than a sun-warmed, juicy, just-picked tomato? There are scores of varieties to choose from, so we asked Jennie to share some of her fav
Garden Gate1 min read
Flower-Filled Backyard Retreat
When Rita and Jim Vincent bought their Seattle, Washington, home in 1985, the west-facing backyard had a big slope that was home to a large vegetable garden and dozens of fruit trees. The small before photo below gives you an idea of what they had to
Garden Gate1 min readBotany
From Shade to Sun
You’ve seen one side of the backyard on the previous page; now let’s take a look at the other side and see what it has to offer. CHANGE HAPPENS If there’s one lesson Rita has learned over the years, it’s that while it’s good to have a wish list of p
Garden Gate6 min read
Garden Gate® TOP PICKS
You know a plant is well-loved, timeless and a good addition to any garden if it has been zealously passed on and preserved from generation to generation (and painted by artist after artist, and written about over and over). I love summer bulbs for t
Garden Gate2 min read
You Can’t Miss Yarrow!
There are few flowers that can improve the look of your borders like yarrow can—its distinctive blooms are long-lasting, pollinator-friendly and deer-resistant. The broad flat-topped flowers create big pools of head-turning color in late spring to su
Garden Gate3 min read
Grow Great Yarrow
What’s the best way to use these long-lasting blooms that pollinators love? Here are some design ideas, along with growing tips for the best-looking yarrow displays. VERSATILE DESIGN Yarrow has long been a favorite in traditional cottage gardens, wh
Garden Gate1 min readArchitecture
Find Your New Favorite Yarrow
Deep red-violet blooms stay that way longer than many other varieties and eventually mature to lavender-pink in early summer to fall. Plants grow 12 to 14 inches tall, 10 to 12 inches wide and are cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Early blooming and
Garden Gate5 min read
When Bad Things Happen To Good Plants
in an ideal world the flowers are always perfect, leaves are never ragged and plants grow vigorously all season long. Does that sound like your garden? It sure doesn’t sound like mine. Take a tour through this gallery to see if you’ve come across the
Garden Gate5 min read
Color Tips {the Pros Know}
What’s that feeling like—to set your trowel down, stand up and take a few steps back and brush the dirt off your hands in satisfaction that your garden is now vibrant with color and impeccably cohesive? I first gardened in a house whose siding and tr
Garden Gate3 min read
Embrace The Shade
Bruce and Linda Christensen know how to compose a view. That’s because they’ve had almost 25 years to get it right. “We purchased this property primarily because of the potential for a garden,” says Bruce of their ½-acre suburban plot in Middleton, W
Garden Gate1 min readArchitecture
How To Save Your Coleus From Year To Year
Linda Christensen has never met a coleus she doesn’t like. In fact, she has kept growing some for more than 20 years. Thanks to her simple process, you can save your favorite coleus from year to year, too. Here’s how: Step 1: In midsummer, cut a 4
Garden Gate1 min read
An Elegant and Colorful Corner
We all love plants with vibrant colors and bold flower shapes, but they’re tricky to fit into an orderly and elegant garden. Trish and Scott Stewart in zone 6 Ohio chose their statue as the focal point of their corner border, and they want to surroun
Garden Gate3 min read
Milkweed for Monarchs
Have you noticed that fewer monarch butterflies are visiting your garden in the last few years? You’re not alone: Monarch populations are declining all over North America, and one reason is a loss of habitat. Want to help stop the decline and bring m
Garden Gate1 min read
Which Milkweed Should You Grow?
It’s best to grow a milkweed that is native to your area so monarchs that visit find the habitat to which they are accustomed. You can grow other species, but the natives are suited to your region. Most milkweeds grow best in full sun, but they will
Garden Gate2 min readBotany
Q&A
Q A few years ago, I threw some peach pits (Prunus persica) on the ground and several have sprouted and are growing. Are the trees worth keeping? Carlos Herrera, MI A Yes, but they may not produce fruit just like the peaches you ate. Even so, a pea
Garden Gate1 min read
Weed Watch
What it looks like Honeyvine milkweed is a perennial vine with 3- to 5-inch-long heart-shaped leaves with white veins and milky sap. Small clusters of white flowers are followed by 3- to 6-inch-long pods filled with feathered seeds that fly in the wi
Garden Gate2 min read
Garden Essentials
Guilty of using ordinary scissors for tasks they just aren’t cut out to do? Fiskars’ Multipurpose Shears cut wire, twine, small ropes and open bottles. Remove the black blade and use it as a knife. For heavier-duty garden tasks, the Multipurpose Snip
Garden Gate2 min read
An Out-of-This-World Perennial for Shade
Looking to light up your shade garden with some floral fireworks? Take a good look at ‘Bottle Rocket’ ligularia. Virtually indestructible if sited in damp shade, ‘Bottle Rocket’ sports large, leathery serrated leaves that unfurl to form an attractive
Garden Gate6 min read
Sun
Lots of perennials bloom in mid-May, but come August, not many of those same plants are still blooming. Catmint, with a little help, blooms all summer long. But its longevity isn’t the only benefit. All catmints are heat- and drought-tolerant. They’r
Garden Gate7 min read
Shade
Looking for some unusual flowers to add zip to your garden? Try astrantia. The blooms last a long time in the garden or in a vase. You can even dry them to enjoy through the winter. Clusters of the round-topped flowers you see in the photos at left s

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