Small Gardens III

Great little garden shed Just like your indoor rooms, outdoor spaces—especially small ones—look and live better when they’re neat and tidy. Count on a cute shed as a spot to store tools and garden supplies and a place to quickly stash outdoor cushions if a heavy rain’s coming. At just over 4 x 6 feet, the Keter Manor Durable Resin Shed features a solid floor, lockable door, a window and skylight for natural light and an air vent to prevent musty odors. wayfair.com Grow easy With a GrowBox, there are no more excuses for not growing your own fresh herbs, vegetables, or flowers. This planter is self-fertilizing and selfwatering (you will simply need to add water to the 4-gallon water well from time to time). The window box-style planters, 28…

1 Bigger is better. Because plants can grow more roots in big pots, place them in the largest containers possible. Supersized pots also need watering often, less since there’s more soil to hold the moisture. 2 Be a water wizard. Water when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. Avoid leaving pots standing in water, which can rot roots and promote disease. Too much water can be as bad as too little. 3 Go the hole way. Every container needs drainage holes. If you want to use a pot that doesn’t come with holes, drill some on the bottom or sides. If needed, raise the pot so excess water can dribble out. 4 Avoid a food fight. Fertilize right. Repeated waterings wash nutrients from the soil quickly. To cut down…

It’s a shift in perspective: Instead of maintaining a little front lawn, you can create a haven for birds, bees and other creatures as well as a landscape with texture, color and shape. Test your soil before planting, and add organic matter, such as compost, to enhance the soil structure. Choose tough native or easy-care nonnative plants that flourish in similar conditions without supplemental water. Local pollinators evolved with native plants, so growing natives helps promote your ecosystem. Choose plants that are resistant to diseases and pests so you can grow them without toxic chemicals that kill not only the nasty bugs but also bees and butterflies. Select several plants that like the same growing conditions but peak at different times, and plant thickly so weeds can’t grow through the…

Admit it: your front and back yards get all the attention. Most of us think of the side as little more than a pass-through, but that’s a missed opportunity. The average lot’s long, narrow sides may play host to a welltrotted walkway, utilitarian garbage or recycling center, and a catchall zone for tool storage. But beautified, it can provide an inviting extension of a front’s pathway and a back’s planted beds that will give the impression of a meandering yard that looks double the size of its actual square footage. EASY-CARE PLANTS FOR MOIST SHADE BLOODROOT Singlelobed leaves of Sanguinaria canadensis provide contrast to more dainty-leaved shade-lovers. EPIMEDIUM This groundcover sends out sprays of white, yellow or pink flowers in early spring. HOSTAS Lime, jade, gold, dusky blue or two-toned,…

WHEN JEFF FISHER and his husband, Ed Cunningham, decided to paint their Portland, Oregon, home, they never imagined how it would affect their garden. “The siding had faded to a dull gray,” says Jeff. “We wanted to try bolder colors to liven things up, especially during the winter months.” They spent two years perusing paint chips and looking at other homes before deciding on a color scheme of Spanish Olive (Glidden), with Cream Silk (Benjamin Moore) and Black Tulip (Glidden) for the trim. “The painter was skeptical, but once he began to apply the choices, he could see our vision,” Jeff says. The new paint shades altered the appearance of the yard, calling for a more vibrant palette for plants and accessories so that the house wouldn’t overwhelm the landscape. Furniture,…

fresh idea Add instant shade with a suspended sailcloth. In rain or when not needed simply detach and roll it up. {PATIOS} are easy places to start when decorating outdoor spaces, and all you need is a little square footage in your yard. Whether you have an existing patio, or are creating one from scratch, here are some ideas to keep in mind. Patios need in-ground flooring for spatial definition. If adding one, consider red bricks, stone pavers, poured cement, tile or even cobblestones as flooring options, depending on your home’s decorative style. Don’t forget the spaces in between your chosen flooring material, especially if it isn’t grouted or doesn’t run seamlessly throughout; fill them with pea gravel, mondo grass, creeping thyme or fresh moss to add organic texture.…