TheMondayGarden.com

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
November 2, 2003, issue 84

So many garden look great in spring, then enthusiasm wanes and the color's gone. No need. I hope that these picture inspire you to extend your perennial garden's range into fall.

PICTURE: This is my mother's part-shade backyard garden in Stamford, CT. The eye-catching star is a white Japanese windflower (anemone) from White Flower Farms. It blooms spring and fall so is a total winner. Get a few. You'll also see ice pansies in deep red, plus every available shade of purple and blue.

TheMondayGarden.com, Eco-gardening at its best

July 9, 2006, Issue 211

Trees improve property values, reduce energy costs, provide wildlife habitat, and, perhaps best of all, shade the garden. Many think a shady yard is a "problem". Wrong. Who wants to garden in the sun when it's 90F with 70% humidity?

PICTURE: strawberries, fern, primrose, coral bells, bog rosemary, Lenten rose, johnny-jump-up, mini-hosta, and a variegated Japanese grass in a petite stoop-garden, designed for viewing up close. Stamford, CT, 2006

That shady area under your tree, now a languishing bit of moth-eaten grass and moss or, worse yet, a sterile patch of pachysandra, can be a year-round delight, and require less weeding, watering, and feeding than lawn or a full-sun garden. Further, a shade garden can shelter some of our endangered woodland wildflowers.