Fine Gardening Magazine

Written for passionate gardeners, Fine Gardening provides inspired ideas backed by detailed instructions for creating healthy gardens, outdoor rooms, and beautiful landscapes suited to the region. Horticulturists, nurserymen, and designers share their expertise on plants, care, soil, eco-friendly pest control, propagation, design, and landscaping.

Gardening against all odds

FineGardening.com • CHECK OUT WHAT’S NEW ONLINE

OVER THE FENCE • READER COMMENTS AND OPINIONS

Fine Gardening Magazine

CONTRIBUTING THIS ISSUE

READERS’ TIPS • FROM ONE GARDENER TO ANOTHER

GARDEN SHED • MULTIUSE TOOLS WITH A BIG BANG FOR THE BUCK

SUPER COOL PLANTS • FIND OUT WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE GROWING

UNDERSTANDING LIGHT CONDITIONS • SCIENCE-BASED INSIGHT FROM SOURCES YOU CAN TRUST

PERFECT PLANTS FOR SLOPES • Use low-maintenance perennials, shrubs, and trees to add color and interest to your garden’s steepest spots

Sow no-mow turf as a planet-friendly lawn alternative • Slopes make everyday maintenance more difficult. If you are tired of mowing treacherously steep territory, an easy and economical solution is using a no-mow seed mix to establish a plant community that requires much less maintenance. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Use plant architecture to make a slope more interesting • Hillside plantings should be easy to maintain, but they don’t need to be monotonous. Here are a few tips for enhancing the effect of a sloping site.

DESIGN AN ENGAGING, NATURALISTIC GARDEN IN THE Shade • This well-structured, ecologically friendly backyard is a wonderful place for creatures of all kinds to hang out

Steps for creating a more eco-friendly garden • For years I’ve heard the same refrain: You can’t have a good-looking garden that is also eco-friendly. It seems that many folks think native plants are too wild looking and that taking a lighter approach to garden cleanup or care will lead to a messy, unkempt landscape. I argue that there are small steps everyone can take to encourage greater biodiversity in their space, all while keeping it attractive.

MAKE A STATEMENT WITH RED-HOT POKERS • Incandescent flowers, fine grasslike foliage, and surprising hardiness can give your beds and borders sizzle over a long season

Embrace eye-catching hues and standout forms • Perhaps you’ve shied away from planting red-hot pokers because they are so bold, but in the right setting their distinctive architecture and vibrant colors are valuable assets. As long as you have enough sun and enough space, you can create a stunning seasonal focal point that will be the envy of the neighborhood. Ready to add some red-hot style to your garden? Here are a few fun ideas from the display beds at Walters Gardens.

TOUGHER THAN IT LOOKS • Punishing winds, persistent pests, and lean soil don’t have to limit a landscape’s potential

The benefits of a sunken garden

Good candidates for blurring boundary lines • In this garden that blends so seamlessly with the natural landscape surrounding it, certain plants are key players in shifting from the manicured beds to the wild flora. The following mostly native shrubs and perennials tolerate the challenging conditions well. They are equally at home in the garden and at its edges.

ADAPTABLE PLANTS • These versatile selections can take a range of different light or soil conditions, making them a perfect fit for a growing or changing garden

Tips for designing in transitional zones

A quick guide to understanding your soil • Absolutely nothing beats a soil test to determine nutrient levels and other soil characteristics that are critical to plants, but there may also be visual cues and other at-home methods you can use to understand soil properties to...