Nature Hills Gardening Neighborhood

Lunar Gardening Common Sense or Lunacy? By Kat Neely Jones of Salem, Oregon. Illustrations by Linda Cook Devona   The glossy, dark-green leaves seemed to glow in the afternoon sun. They were large, deeply veined—in fact, perfect. My friend, Karen, shook her head in amazement. “My spinach doesn’t look anything like this. This ...

Spectacular Forests, Jungles, and Rainforests from Around the World Forests - they cover nearly 10% of the earth's surface, are an essential part of maintaining a healthy planet. Jungles are a special subset of forests that grow in hot climate and are known for their dense foliage, rainforests are another specialized class of forests known ...

Remedial Weeding Feeling stressed? Gardeners know the cure. By Becky Rupp Illustration by Blanche Derby   Last week, while driving home from the library at four o’clock in the afternoon, I blocked the driveway of our local Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant. I didn’t mean to block the Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant; there was a panel truck ...

Best Botanical Gardens Across the USA What many travelers don’t realize is when it comes to touring botanical gardens, it’s not really about the botany. Let’s face it, most of us are not botanists. Heck, a lot of us don’t even work on our own yards... or even have yards. So why go to the effort to visit a botanical garden? Like I said, it’s ...

12 Things to Do While Waiting for the First Tomatoes to Ripen By Diane C. Arkins Illustrations by Marilynne Roach   One of my most vivid childhood memories is of a sign in the old neighborhood pizza parlor that read GOOD FOOD IS WORTH WAITING FOR. Sage advice, I suppose, but by this time of year backyard gardeners don’t want ...

One Million Daisies By Marilyn Kendall Illustrations by Heather Graham   A million daisies have invaded my mother’s garden. They grow rampant among the phlox and delphinium, the lilies and the roses. She doesn’t want their scraggly disorder in her picture-perfect beds, but she cannot stand to kill anything, especially a flower. ...

They Practically Grow Themselves By Ruth Zeier Bland Illustrations by Marilynne Roach   My Dad felt that if you hadn’t raised a vegetable, it was not worth serving. I remember watching him hoe and water his garden for hours on end. Grandpa was born and raised on the bricks. He longed for gardens, but knew absolutely nothing ...

Bill, The Garden Cat By Duane Campbell Illustration by Sandra Brooks Mathers   Bill walked in about eight years ago. He marched over to the food dishes, ate his fill, threw up, and fell asleep. The cat that moved into our house that day would have been thrown out of any respectable barn. He was nothing but skin and bones and ...

The Youngstown Vindicator People who live in weedy gardens, shouldn't throw speeches. By Gary Church Illustration by Dena Seiferling   t wasn’t my idea. My daughter married a guy who thought I should have a vegetable garden. Next thing I knew, he’d plowed up a spot right out front. That’s how I got ...