Beneficial Animals and Insects
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Fresh Cut Flowers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Summer Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons
A Tall, Cool Drink for the Eyes: Quiet, Calm Camassia – Wild American Beauty of the Marshland and Meadow…
Camassia quamash, North American native Camas Lily, © 2010 Michaela at TGE A few years ago, at the low edge of my garden where open meadow meets slow transition to cultivated borders, I planted a handful of native camas lily bulbs, (Camassia quamash). The first spring after planting, an orphaned fawn wandered into my life, […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Ferns, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Perennials : Vermont, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, The Seasons, Trees, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
“Native Plants: Why We Love Them and How to Use Them” – Free Seminar – This Saturday at Walker Farm in Southern Vermont – Please Join Me …
Native mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, (here a cultivar named ‘Pink Charm’), are durable, evergreen plants suitable for ledgy, exposed sites… far more hardy than their more tender cousins, the rhododendrons. To read more about Kalmia latifolia, click here. I am very fortunate. This place in Vermont, where I live, is a true paradise and I […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Celebrations, Ferncliff, Frogs and Toads, Nature, Reflections, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Water Features
A Year in the Life of a Gardener: Celebrating Our First Anniversary and Giving Thanks to All of You…
Snowdrop I © 2010 Michaela at TGE – all rights reserved One year ago this month, I started keeping an online journal -somewhat sporadically at first- and I named it The Gardener’s Eden. What began as a labor of love, and a way to share information with my gardening friends and clients, has quickly blossomed […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Birds, Blueberries - growing tips, Cooking, flowering shrubs, Fruit for home gardens, Garden Design, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Ground Covers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, pruning, Recipes, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, Vaccinium, Vegetable Gardening, Woody Plants
A Rhapsody in Blue: Selecting and Planting Vaccinium corymbosum, (Highbush Blueberry), Plus a Favorite Recipe for Blueberry-Lemon Bread…
A Rhapsody in Blue What would you say if I told you that I know of an amazing cold-hardy shrub, with creamy, bell-like spring flowers, glossy green leaves, brilliant fall foliage, colorful winter stems and an attractive, well-rounded form? Interested yet? It may come as a surprise that the shrub I am describing is none […]
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Aletha Soule, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Children - gardening with, Cutting Garden, flowering shrubs, Flowering Shrubs and Trees for Forced Flowers, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fresh Cut Flowers, Garden projects for kids, Garden Science, Home, Indoor Table Arrangements, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Nature, North American Trees, Plant hunting, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Texture, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs/Trees for Forced Flowers, The Seasons, Winter Garden, Woody Plants
Welcome, Soft Harbinger of Spring: Oh Come to Me, My Sweet Willow…
Salix discolor: North American native pussy willow © 2010 Michaela at TGE Salix discolor, North American native pussy willow – Pitcher by Aletha Soulé. Photo © Michaela TGE Welcome! Oh welcome sweet, silver-tipped harbinger of springtime. Is there anything that makes a heart race faster than the sight of the first pussy willow catkins in […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Insects/Entomology, Nature, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Vegetable Gardening
Hello Friend – WAIT – Whose Team Are You On Anyway?
It’s easy to recognize this friend as an adult. A ladybug rests upon Peperomia. Photo © Michaela at TGE Hello friend… or foe? In all of life it’s important to know your friends from your enemies, but as gardeners this issue is especially important. We are conditioned to think of bugs as destructive, ‘icky’ and […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds
Feathering the Nest: Providing for Birds This Spring in the Garden…
My dad’s homemade wren and bluebird houses, cleaned, ready and waiting for placement… Well, I have pulled out my bird houses, but as you can see, they won’t be filled with tenants anytime soon. It’s snowing here in the Green Mountains today. Nothing major, thank goodness, but we may be getting some accumulating snow tomorrow, […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Front Yard Gardens, Gardening Inspiration, Gardening without Lawn, Great Growers and Nurseries, Ground Covers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Insects/Entomology, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Planting Techniques, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Replacing Lawn, Shade Gardening
Go a Little Less Green for the Environment: Rethink Your Lawn…
The Front Wildflower Walk in my Garden in June… Lush, wide, green and rolling; in America we love our lawns. We like to sprawl out on the grass for a picnic, gather on the neighbor’s lawn for a game of touch football , and set up our folding chairs and tiki-torches in the backyard green […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Books, Bug Defense for Gardeners, Gifts for Gardeners, Nature, organic gardening
Providing for our Feathered Friends in the Winter Garden – Part One…
Dark-eyed Junco, (Junco hyemalis) Last week when snowshoeing through the forest, I was amused by a small group of chickadees bouncing from branch to branch in a hemlock stand. With so few sounds in the woodland at this time of year, the chirping birds really stood out and made me laugh. I try not to […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Books, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening
A New Year’s Resolution for Gardeners: Making Informed Choices About Gardening Practices and Products to Support a Healthy, Natural Environment…
We  ♥ Mother Earth The new year often brings about a desire for change and personal reckoning. We make promises, resolutions and plans to better ourselves and the world around us. Over the past couple of years, many people have committed to building environmentally conscious, self-sufficient lives. As a result, gardening, particularly vegetable gardening, has […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Bee Keeping/Products/Info, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bug Defense for Gardeners, Candles, Gifts for Gardeners
Art Inspired by Nature: A Moment with Talented Author, Artisan and Beekeeper Marina Marchese of Red Bee Apiary…
The lovely and welcoming Red Bee Apiary in Weston, Connecticut Marina Marchese: beekeeping farmer, author and founder of Red Bee Apiary Photograph by Jeff Becker The subject of this weeks ‘Art Inspired by Nature’ on The Gardener’s Eden, is a lovely and talented woman living the life of many a discontented, city-dweller’s dreams. Not only […]
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Bee Keeping/Products/Info, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Insects/Entomology, Native Plants
Announcing Collaborative Work with The Honey Bee Conservancy: A New Series of Guest Posts Begins…
I have recently been invited to guest-post a series of articles on gardening with bees in mind for The Honeybee Conservancy blog. The first installation, supporting pollinators by planting native plants, posted today. You can read the article by clicking here. Honeybees as a species predate human beings by tens of millions of years, and […]
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Art Inspired by Nature, Bee Keeping/Products/Info, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Cara Enteles, Paintings
Art Inspired by Nature: Butterflies, Birds, Bees & Moths – Exploring the Exquisite Work of Cara Enteles…
Peril in the Branches, (detail), oil on aluminum, 48″ x 72″, © 2009 Cara Enteles Stop. Behold the fleeting, delicate beauty of a butterfly lighting on flower petals, or the whir and buzz of hummingbirds and bees as they dart about, competing for late season pollen. What an amazing and diverse world we live in. […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Frogs and Toads, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, snakes, Vegetable Gardening
Maybe the Princess was On to Something: A Gardener Falls in Love with Reptiles & Amphibians, Scales, Warts & All . . .
Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE While I have certainly kissed my fair share of frogs in life, I can not say that any of them turned into princes. However I have never tried to kiss the warty, slimy amphibians residing in my garden, so it may be that they are the true royalty after all. […]
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