Somewhere in the first or second year of serious gardening, you learn your zone. Maybe you read it on the back of a seed packet, or maybe a neighbor mentions it casually over the fence, or maybe you finally typed your zip code into the USDA map and got a confident, two-character answer: 5b, 7a, […]
Understanding USDA Hardiness Zones (and What They Don’t Tell You About Your Garden) Read More »
By the end of the second summer, the little white plastic tag that came with your new shrub has done one of three things. It has snapped at the base and disappeared into the mulch. It has migrated mysteriously to the far corner of the bed during weeding. Or — the most common fate —
Best Ways to Label Plants in Your Garden: From DIY Markers to Apps Read More »
There’s a particular kind of gardener’s regret that arrives every spring, usually around the second week of May, when you’re standing over a patch of bare soil with a seed packet in one hand and absolutely no memory of what grew there last year. Was it the tomatoes? The squash that got powdery mildew? You’re
How to Start a Garden Journal (and Actually Stick With It) Read More »
Every gardener has lived this moment. It’s a soft April morning, the soil has finally warmed, and you’re crouched in the bed you spent half of last summer fussing over. A small green rosette is unfurling near the back corner. You stare. You squint. You try to remember. Did I plant that? It might be
How to Keep Track of What You Planted in Your Garden Read More »