By Pat Stone Everyone knows that compost is the elixir of gardening. It stabilizes soil, adds organic matter, feeds nutrients to plants gradually and in forms they can easily use, helps soil retain moisture, protects plants from disease, recycles organic waste and more. Good compost is odorless, moist, the very stuff of humus--no wonder it's called black gold! There's only one problem: Making it on a small, one-home scale. A good compost pile needs to be at least three feet on a side to heat up/decompose properly. That takes a lot more than your leftover kitchen scraps! (Indeed, if that's all you have to work with, you're probably better off keeping a worm bin.) The key, then, is to gather ingredients. A good compost pile has two-thirds greens (i.e. nitrogen-rich materials) and one-third browns (carbon-rich materials). Greens are fresh plant materials--grass, clippings, vegetable scraps. Browns are dead plant materials--straw, fallen leaves, old plants. Photo Courtesy of Pat Stone So gather ye grass clippings, leaf bags and horse manure. Collect all you can. Then start layering them up in a pile, moistening (not soaking) as you go. You can do this in a circular bin you make of wire, a homemade wooden bin, a large trash can or just on the open ground. Yes, you can then begin adding your daily vegetable scraps and coffee grounds (no meat, grease, or dairy products), but ideally, you'll have a supply of other plant material to mix in with them. Once your pile is as big as you want, start another one so the first will have time to finish. You can speed up the process by turning the pile occasionally with a garden fork (starting with small, chopped ingredients also helps). Do make sure it stays moist. Depending on whether you care for your pile regularly or never, you'll have finished, moist, crumbly, odor-free compost in anywhere from a few weeks to a year. Either way, that black gold will truly work magic on your soil . . . and your plants! Pat Stone is the Editor of GreenPrints, "The Weeder's Digest," the prize-winning magazine that shares the personal side of gardening. 
Making Compost at Home
Making Compost at Home
Kid-Friendly Gardening Projects
Kid-Friendly Gardening Projects
By Pat Stone
There are endless ways to have fun gardening with kids. But keep the main point in mind: You're doing this for them--to enchant them with plants, nature, and gardens.
If you think they're there to help you, you're both going to be disappointed.
Photo Courtesy of Susan Sides
So let them help choose what to grow. Here are some time-tested favorites:
Cosmos: Beautiful, and they attract butterflies.
Four O'Clocks: Open right on schedule in the late afternoon--and they attract hummingbird moths.
Calendulas: Add the flower petals to salads.
Pansies: Oh, what wonderful faces!
Snapdragons: Girls can make clip-on earrings, and all kids can snap blossoms at each other -- snapdragon battles!
Zinnia: Beautiful, bold, and butterfly-luring.
Hollyhocks: Turn inside out to make dolls.
Fennel: Attracts swallowtail caterpillars -- and chews like gum.
Lemon Verbena: Encourage your young friends to put these into their pockets -- smells so good.
Carrots: No vegetable offers more fascination to a child than the surprise of pulling a carrot!
Sunflowers: Big, bright, beautiful--and tasty!
Peas: "Stealing" them straight from the vines is irresistible.
Corn: Bold and tasty.
Tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes: Sublime fresh off the vine. Salt optional.
Pumpkins: Scratch your name in when it's small and watch it grow.
Gourds: Dried and emptied, they make dippers and birdhouses.
Photo Courtesy of Pat Stone 
Sunflower Houses, Bean Tipis, Fish in a Bottle
A few great projects:
Sunflower House: Plant sunflower and morning glory seeds in a big rectangle. When the sunflowers are tall, wind string between their tops so the morning glories can grow into a roof.
Bean Tipi: Grow scarlet runner beans up a bamboo tipi for another living playhouse.
Fish in a Bottle: Carve a fish on a baby zucchini or cucumber and set it so it finishes maturing inside a bottle.
Clover Chains: Make a stem slit just below a clover flower, weave in another flower, and repeat to make as long a chain as you want.
Talk to the Plants: They'll grow better. (You might start with basil. Folklore says it likes to be yelled at!)
Read Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden aloud in the garden.
Go to it! Grow gardens--and memories--together!
Pat Stone is the Editor of GreenPrints, "The Weeder's Digest," the prize-winning magazine that shares the personal side of gardening.
The Artist's Garden
by Phyllis Gricus Everyone is an artist in the garden. Art is creative, passionate and personal. It stimulates your thoughts, emotions, or ideas -- through the senses. Don't those descriptions sound like your reasons for creating a garden? You may not think of yourself as an artist, but you are. Need some convincing? I found the following tips on becoming a better artist. Let's consider how they apply to gardening: Know the elements and principles of design. They are the building blocks used to create a work of art. Let's say you planted yellow Black-eyed Susans next to brilliant orange Butterfly Weed because you like the colors together. You were considering one element of design: Color. Some other examples of elements of design are line, texture, size, and shape. Or perhaps you added low-growing ornamental grasses to cover another plant's tall spindly stems. You were applying a principle of design known as balance. Proportion, unity, and rhythm are a few others. Every time you add to your garden, you consciously considered where you will place a plant and how it would look relative to its neighbor, right? Then you were using the building blocks to create your vision of your garden. That sounds like a budding artist to me! Get to know which paintbrushes create different lines. Think of yourself as a painter. Your brushes are plants: plants that creep ( _ ), climb (|), bloom (*), and weep (\). See? Different lines. Much like you developed your practical gardening skills through learning and doing, your artistic talent is also a basic skill that can be nurtured and developed. Seek out books on garden design to build your skills. Then take this last tip seriously: Bend the Rules. Your garden is an extension of you! Don't be limited by design principles--let your personality shine through. You don't have to limit your artistic expression to plants, either. Add decorative elements, too, anything from a whimsical whirly gig, to a formal fountain. Gardener you, meet artist you. Now get back out in the garden wearing your art on your sleeve. Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio in The Artist's Garden
Perennial Vegetables: The Crops That Keep On Giving
Perennial Vegetables: The Crops That Keep On Giving By Pat Stone The vision: Vegetables you plant once and harvest happily ever after. The reality: There are a few garden crops that will keep on giving year after year. But they take a bit of work first. Two Classics: Asparagus and Rhubarb Who wouldn't want their own patch of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), where you can garner tender new shoots for six to eight weeks every spring--for decades? Asparagus, though, needs full sun, fertile soil, a deep trench, and patience.
Courtesy of Baker Creek Photos You'll be planting crowns (not seeds) a foot deep and gradually filling the trench in as the plants grow. And--gardener, stay your hand--you can't harvest any spears for the first two years. Delayed gratification, but then, ahh, long term reward. Courtesy of Baker Creek Photos Rhubarb (Rheum rubarbarum), too, is planted by crowns. Dig a deep, two-foot-wide hole for each plant, fertilize it well, and set the crown two inches below the surface. Again, don't harvest the first two years. After that, enjoy all the tasty, vitamin-rich, pie-flavoring stalks you want for ever (but never the toxic leaves)! Two Runners Up: Sunchokes and Bamboo Shoots Sunchokes (Helianthus tuberosa), or Bamboo shoots (Arundinaria gigantea) can be very tasty when young and are easy to grow, but be sure to buy varieties bred for eating and--most important--install an underground barrier to keep them from taking over everything! Want More? Explore radicchio, bunching onions, good King Henry, sorrel, artichokes, daylilies, ramps, watercress, horseradish, and even nine-star perennial broccoli for (literally) years of gardening enjoyment! Pat Stone is the Editor of GreenPrints, "The Weeder's Digest," the prize-winning magazine that shares the personal side of gardening.
Dividing Perennials
Spring is the time to rejuvenate most perennials. Perennial plants can be long-lived stars in the garden. However, they may not look their best forever. Like aging movie actors, they require a little nip 'n tuck now and then to appear and perform their best. A general rule to follow is to divide fall-blooming plants in spring. Dividing when the new growth is emerging and not when a plant is flowering allows it to focus all of its energy on regenerating roots. Look out for signs of aging: Perennials will die out from the center, or start to have fewer and smaller flowers. There are many reasons to divide perennials. Dividing: Reduces the competition. Overcrowded plants that compete for nutrients and water are more prone to disease. Stimulates healthy growth. Keeps spreading plants under control. Increases the number of plants for your garden and your friends. That is, you save money and make fellow gardeners happy at the same time. How to Divide Choose a cool, cloudy day with rain in the forecast. Weather conditions do contribute to the successful reestablishment of your perennials. If conditions are not ideal, keep divisions moist by putting them in a bucket of water, or cover roots with dampened newspaper until replanting. To divide a perennial, either cut down into the clump with a sharp spade and lift out the separate chunks, or dig up the entire plant and pry it apart by hand. Replenish the soil with good compost to maintain fertility, and give the divisions that good organic stuff they need. Then set the roots in their holes, cover them up, and water them well after replanting. Start dividing today. After all, it won't be long before it's showtime! Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in Dividing Perennials
Must-Have Annuals
By Phyllis Gricus Annual flower and foliage plants are outstanding ways to infuse your garden with glorious color for a growing season. Here's a list of some wonderfully desirable one-year wonders, both old and new. Sun lovers, tried and true Angelface Angelonia, (Angelonia angustifolia hybrid): The snapdragon-like blooms grow on spires and come in pink, white and blue tones. Its delicate appearance belies its toughness--Angelface thrives in heat, humidity, and even drought. Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners Zinnia Profusion Series, (Zinnia 'Profusion'): The foliage lends a soft texture to the vibrant flower colors. Highly prolific bloomers and mildew-resistant, these zinnias put on a--yes--profuse show in both cool and hot conditions. Photo Courtesy of Burpee Shade lovers, quite new Coleus Under the Sea™ Series: A thrilling new coleus with the unique, funky look of land-loving crustaceans! Who knew you could have so much fun with foliage? Photo Courtesy of Hort Couture Baby Wing Begonia, (Begonia Baby Wing™): The mounded plant sports masses of pink or white flowers accented by glossy leaves. And this new introduction can take the heat. Edible Lemon Queen Sunflower, (Helianthus annuus): Easy and rewarding for all ages, this bee-friendly beauty also provides a tasty, fiber-rich snack for the birds - or you! Photo Courtesy of Burpee Nasturtium, "Cup of Sun", (Tropaeolum majus): Sunshine colors in a mass of flowers. The leaves and flowers add a peppery punch to salads and sandwiches. Night bloomers Caution: Both of these are poisonous if eaten! Do not compost. Scented Nicotiana, (Nicotiana alata): An heirloom plant with small, white tubular blooms that open at dusk and emit an intoxicating fragrance. Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia): The exotic, trumpet-shaped flowers will fill the night with its powerful lemon scent. Did you notice that this listing started and ended with Angel plants? That's because all of these annuals are heavenly! Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in Must-Have Annuals
The Most Overused Garden Plants - and a Few Better Alternatives
The Most Overused Garden Plants - and a Few Better Alternatives By Phyllis Gricus Ho-hum. There are some plants out there that are so ubiquitous in the landscape that I've grown wearing of seeing them. They became commonplace because they're ornamental and grow well. Often, too well. Many have escaped from the garden and invaded our natural plant communities, displacing native plants and interfering with natural succession. Consider replacing such exotics gone wild with these more creative choices. They are either native or well-behaved non-natives. 1. The Privet shrub (Ligustrum species) is to hedges as Kleenex is to tissue, so genericized that most people think only of Privet hedges when it comes to planting a row of shrubs to form a fence or privacy screening. Some evergreen alternatives: · Inkberry holly (Ilex g. 'Densa) · · These Red-twigged dogwood ((Cornus alba) varieties, 'Elegantissima' and 'Golden Prairie Fire,' take part-shade very well and offer colorful bark in winter.
2. Sure, the dark red-purple foliage of Barberry (Berberis sp) is great, but two Ninebarks (Physocarpus opulifolius), 'Diablo' and 'Summer Wine,' will rival the color and have none of barberry's prickliness. For something more compact in size, consider Weigela, 'Midnight Wine.' Weigela 'Midnight Wine' - Photo Courtesy of Monrovia 3. I can't argue that the fall foliage of Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) - it's hard to match. However, the choices here offer fruit for us--and the birds--as well as fantastic fall color. For your consideration: · Highbush blueberry (Vaccinum corymbosom); · Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) · Red chokeberry 'Brilliantissima,' (Aronia arbutifolia) · Winterberry 'Maryland Beauty,' 'Winter Red,' or 'Sparkleberry,' (Ilex verticillata); · Compact American Cranberrybush, (Viburnum trilobum). 4. It's hard to grow weary of the beautiful Wisteria (Floribunda and Sinensis), but it is a strong-armed beast! Instead try: · American Wisteria, a lovely, aromatic, and more restrained native alternative that won't take down tall buildings if left to grow on its own. The Photo Courtesy of Monrovia So move away from the same old, same old. Make different new, different new plant friends that will grow well--and stay put!
Inkberry - Photo Courtesy of AB Native Plants 
Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in
Creating an Annual Garden
Creating an What gardener doesn't want season-long blooms, resplendent with color? Planting annuals are the fast track to that ideal. An annual plant goes from seed to bloom to seed in one growing season. Starting from seed is the most economical way to grow annuals, but if you don't have the space, the patience, or the time, you can buy starter packs of flowers to jump-start the process Here's how: · An annual garden has a lot of emphasis on color, so it's important to first decide on a color scheme. Color has a dramatic effect on the mood of the garden and should complement the color of your home. · Keep design factors such as form, texture, and scale in mind. Remember to place taller plants in the back and shorter plants in front. · In beds or containers that are seen from all sides, place taller types in the center and work down in height to the edges. · Strive for a diversity of forms: Pair sculptural shapes with airy ones, or rounded shapes with spiky ones. Foliage and blooms can also be fine or coarse. Vary such textures in your garden to add interest and charm. · Choose healthy, compact plants that are suitable for your conditions: sun or shade. · Cutting off the blooms at planting time (I know, it's hard to do) helps the plant grow stronger, faster. · When planting annuals in containers, use new potting mix each year. In a bed, you can add a little organic matter to help annuals become established. · Annuals need to be fertilized. Depending on the fertilizer you choose, this may be anywhere from once a week to once a month. Don't hesitate to experiment. It's ok to learn by the trial-and-oops method. Flowers can always be transplanted if they don't work where you put them. And, besides, there's always next season--it's an annual event! -- Phyllis Gricus Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in
The Best New Plant Varieties for 2012
The Best New Plant Varieties for 2012 by Phyllis Gricus In with the new! Gardeners all crave a new little "somethin' somethin'" that will solve a design problem, accent our planters, and wow our senses. Thankfully, every year, plant breeders introduce improved varieties with wow factor bred into them, satisfying the craving quite nicely. Here're my 2012 "gotta have" list for top perennials, shrubs, and trees: Hosta 'Empress Wu' Oh, baby! This is lotsa hosta to lusta over. Its massive proportions will create an impressive focal point in a shade garden. The dark green, deeply veined, thick leaves can grow to 18" wide and long. This outstanding specimen has a strong upright habit that will grow into a HUGE 4'x5' clump--one of the largest hostas yet! A small child can play in the shade of its leaves. In midsummer, pale reddish-violet, lily-like flowers held just above the foliage attract hummingbirds. While the devil deer will find this foliage plant attractive, too, it is rabbit- and slug-resistant. It will grow in zones 2-9.
Photo Courtesy of Walter's Gardens
Double Take Ornamental Quinces 'Scarlet Storm,' 'Orange Storm,' and 'Pink Storm' have saturated colors that demand a second look. The early spring Camellia-like flowers are the showiest attribute, but this urban-tolerant shrub has many more. It's thornless, doesn't bear (messy) fruits, is unpalatable to deer, and tolerates heat and drought. The adaptable Double Take shrub will grow just 3-4' high and wide, in part sun to sunny conditions, throughout zones 5a-8b.
Photo Courtesy of Proven Winners
Rising Sun™ Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
These puts on a colorful show from spring through fall. The show starts with rosy orchid flowers that appear before the foliage in early spring. The tips of new leaf growth emerge peachy-apricot, then turn chartreuse-yellow and finally deep green--all on display at once. Fall foliage is yellow and orange. With a mature height of only 12 feet, this redbud is perfect for smaller gardens. Grow in full sun to part shade in zones 5-9.
Photo Courtesy of Garden Debut
You w-a-n-t them all, don't you? Ask for them at your garden center today.
Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in
Preparing Your Garden for Spring
Preparing Your Garden for Spring
By Phyllis Gricus
In the fall you put your garden to bed. By spring it's got quite a case of bed head going on. Here are a few tips for tidying it up:
• Cut back dried foliage of ornamental grasses. Trim winter damage from evergreen grasses like Carex and Blue Fescue. Liriope, while not a true grass, is best trimmed now before new growth begins. Spring is also a good time to rejuvenate grasses by dividing them, especially when the clump has died out in the center.
• Cut back spent perennials that you left standing over the winter for wildlife cover and food. (That was good of you!)
• Prune tree and shrub branches damaged by wind and snow. Late summer-flowering shrubs, such as Caryopteris and Rose of Sharon can be pruned for shape now, but wait to prune spring bloomers, like Bridalwreath Spirea and Forsythia, until after they're done blooming.
• Neaten up your roses by removing any winter protection you gave them last fall. Rake off soil or mulch at the base that you used to protect the graft union. Cut back winter-damaged canes to 1 inch below the blackened area. Most roses are pruned in the spring; however, different rose types have different pruning requirements. Research your particular rose before doing any serious pruning.
• Weeds, alas, wake up in early spring, too. The best time to remove them is after a rain when the ground is soft.
• Fertilize rhododendrons and azaleas with a complete fertilizer designed for acid-loving plants.
• Feed spring-blooming bulbs with bulb fertilizer. But don't tie or cut foliage until leaves turn yellow--they reinvigorate the bulbs through photosynthesis.
• Sharpen the bed lines at your lawn's edge with a straight-edge garden spade. It'll help keep the turf grass out and give your garden a polished look.
There! Your perfectly coiffed spring garden!
Phyllis Gricus is the owner of Landscape Design Studio, in Pittsburgh, PA, creating sustainable and imaginative gardens for all seasons.
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