Everyone is stronger when they have support. The same goes for plants. So, how can home gardeners apply this to their crops? For a healthy and thriving vegetable garden, consider companion planting.
What is companion planting? Put simply, companion planting is when specific plants are grown together for mutual benefits. This practice helps keep soil healthy, deter pests, and prevent disease. Gardeners with limited space will also appreciate how companion planting saves soil space.
Get started with companion planting by checking out this list of plant pairings below. These suggestions focus on options for vegetable gardens but also include some fruits and herbs for variety.
Take serene summer relaxation to a new level by visiting a lavender farm. Never been to one before? Here’s why they’re worth a visit.
At a lavender farm, visitors can expect to see radiant fields of purple flowers. These blooms flourish in warm summer weather, and their gentle, relaxing fragrance is adored by people worldwide. Similar to pick-your-own strawberry farms, many lavender grow sites allow guests to harvest their own flower bundles. These blossoms can be dried and used as home decor or as an ingredient in bath products and candles. Some farms even offer handcrafted soaps, sprays, and foods made with lavender.
Experience the lovely world of lavender for yourself at these seven incredible lavender farms throughout the United States.
When you’re on a tight budget, it can feel like everything fun costs money. Museums, concerts, and even some national parks charge an entrance fee. So, what is a frugal outdoorsy person to do? Well, if you appreciate the great outdoors and enjoy strolling through fields of flowers, these free botanical gardens will be your new favorite places.
Whether you like analyzing different plant species or just appreciate lush scenery, botanical gardens are excellent spots for a day of fun. These leafy green wonderlands support rare plant species and help visitors to connect with the natural world. Scope out some of the country’s best free botanical gardens with the list below.
Growing your own tea might be easier than you think. If you’re the type of gardener who enjoys a freshly brewed cup of tea after working in the yard, try building a tea garden.
What is a tea garden? Everything you need to know is right in the name. A tea garden is simply a garden full of plants that can be harvested to make tea. While growing tea may seem intimidating at first, there are many easy-to-cultivate plants to start with. Start with plants like chamomile and mint, or peruse the list below for even more species you can include in your tea garden.
Not many people get to visit Mitlenatch Island, and the seabirds like it that way. This important nesting site rests in the middle of the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Mitlenatch means “calm waters all around” in the Coast Salish language. But visitors might wonder if they were joking. The wind often kicks up too much for folks to land on this island, which is only accessible by boat.
When I visited, my group got lucky and arrived on an idyllic spring day. Mitlenatch is in a rain shadow, so it only gets about 30 inches of rain annually — which is nothing in coastal British Columbia. We stopped off at Mitlenatch as part of a five-day cruise via posh catamaran with the Victoria-based company Maple Leaf Adventures. If you’re interested in birds or plants, it’s a fascinating trip to take.
How to reach Mitlenatch Island
Visiting Mitlenatch on a calm spring day was delightful. After walking on the island, we circumnavigated it by boat to watch sea lions and harbor seals lounging on rocks. Several tour groups and water taxis offer service from nearby Cortes Island or Vancouver Island. Depending on the weather and the condition of your muscles, it’s also possible to kayak to Mitlenatch.
You could kayak to Mitlenatch. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
Cactus and wildflowers
Greg Shea, our boat’s naturalist, told us we were looking for cactus on Mitlenatch. What?! I’d never heard of cactus growing in British Columbia. But sure enough, we found prickly pears, thanks to the rain shadow.
Wild cacti growing in British Columbia! / Photo by Teresa Bergen
Spring is also the time to see wildflowers blooming. Local species include purple camas, pink pea flowers, yellow monkey flowers, and chocolate lilies. While most of the surrounding islands have tall trees, Mitlenatch is mostly treeless due to the rain shadow and “shallow dry soils.” This lower flora profile makes for gorgeous wildflowers.
Chocolate lilies. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
Mitlenatch’s seabirds
Mitlenatch is a protected area for nesting birds. Over a thousand pairs of glaucous-winged gulls nest here, arriving in April to pick out their breeding territory. Pelagic cormorants nest on the island’s steep cliff faces and narrow ledges. Double-crested cormorants, northwestern crows, pigeon guillemots, and black oystercatchers also rely on the island for safe nesting. My group took turns in a blind, where we watched a colony of gulls on a rock outcropping.
Birds at Mitlenatch Island Nature Reserve. / Photo by Andrea_44
Volunteer projects
The only people allowed to stay on Mitlenatch are volunteers with the Mitlenatch Island Stewardship Team (MIST). I met Heidi Tonn and Rodney Mitchell, who have volunteered for a week every summer for 30 years. The couple had five students with them during my visit.
“We do a whole bunch of different citizen science during our weeks here,” Tonn said. Volunteer stays coincide with the four-month-long seabird breeding season. “During that period of time, we’re here just to keep a presence, to keep it protected,” Tonn added. Volunteer activities include bird counts, beached bird studies, intertidal surveys, plant phenology, and removing invasive species.
The humble but much beloved volunteer cabin. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
For plant lovers looking for affordable ways to expand their gardens, there’s no better trick than propagation. Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants. While people can propagate plants in several ways, home gardeners are likely most familiar with propagating plants with cuttings. Here’s how the process works, plus a few easy-to-propagate plants you can grow at home.
A cutting is, as the name implies, a cut piece of a plant. Hobbyist gardeners will likely want to start their propagation journey by using root or leaf cuttings. For pothos plants, propagation is as easy as cutting off a leafy stalk of the plant, placing it in water, waiting for roots to grow, then planting it in soil.
Try propagating for yourself with the tips below! This guide shares eight plants that are easy to propagate and helpful info to make the process simple.
In the United States, nature enthusiasts have many options to choose from when looking for botanical gardens to explore. Tourists can delight in the topiary art featured at Maryland’s Ladew Topiary Gardens. Meanwhile, San Diego Botanic Garden visitors can explore everything from rainforest gardens to a dragon tree grove.
But out of all the country’s incredible gardens, Missouri might be home to one of the most stunning botanical sites. The Missouri Botanical Garden features everything from tram rides and a children’s garden to a massive Japanese garden and a domed greenhouse called The Climatron.
Discover these fascinating sights and more with this guide to the best attractions at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Invasive species develop when certain animals and plants run wild in an unfit environment. Here’s what you should know about the troublesome species currently causing issues throughout the United States.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), “An invasive species is an introduced, nonnative organism (disease, parasite, plant, or animal) that begins to spread or expand its range from the site of its original introduction and that has the potential to cause harm to the environment, the economy, or to human health.”
Infamous examples of invasive species in the U.S. include kudzu vines sprawling across the South and starlings spreading disease. European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in particular have been plaguing several national parks for years.
Learn more about invasive species in the U.S. with this guide to six of the country’s most problematic animals and plants. And if you’re feeling inspired to combat the spread of invasive species, check out these tips from The Nature Conservancy.
Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
Both predatory and invasive, the lionfish has disrupted marine ecosystems in the Atlantic. The USGS claims that the species was likely introduced through the pet trade.
Photo by Kevin Gessner
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Native to landscapes in Europe and Asia, this purple perennial is a nuisance for states in the Pacific Northwest and New England.
Photo by Liz West
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
National parks are not fans of this avian critter. According to the National Park Service, these birds harm infrastructure with their droppings and can spread diseases to native birds.
Photo by Allan Hack
Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis)
Ever been told to only buy and burn local firewood at a campsite? These beetles might be the reason. Emerald ash borers have destroyed many ash trees across the country.
Photo by Katja Schulz
Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula)
The spotted lanternfly is native to China and feeds on various fruit trees. This species produces a sticky fluid that can cause mold to form on host plants.
Photo by F Delventhal
Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata)
What makes kudzu such a problem? The main issue with this plant is its fast-growing nature and ability to kill trees and other native plants by blocking out sunlight.
Patience may be a virtue, but sometimes you just want to see results fast. If you’re looking to add some fast-growing trees to your garden, here’s what you need to know.
How fast can a tree grow? The answer varies depending on the species. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, slow-growing trees gain 12 inches or less per year. Meanwhile, moderate-growth trees gain 13-24 inches, and fast-growing trees gain 25 inches or more.
Find a fast-growing tree that suits your yard with the list below. Discover the best species for your region’s weather and how much annual growth you can expect. Ready, set, grow!
Topiary art dates back to around 44 B.C. and blends masterful sculpting skills with the natural beauty of plants. With an artistic vision and a pair of clippers, people can transform simple shrubs into complex living sculptures. In the United States, curious plant enthusiasts can explore one of the country’s best topiary experiences at Monkton, Maryland’s Ladew Topiary Gardens.
Visitors stepping into the Ladew Topiary Gardens may feel like Alice entering Wonderland. At this Maryland garden, plants aren’t just plants. Instead, they morph into swans, men on horseback, and regal pyramids.
The whimsical creations have earned Ladew a spot on Architectural Digest’s round-up of the world’s best topiary gardens. Even the Garden Club of America has recognized Ladew as the country’s “most outstanding topiary garden.” See the creations that inspired this praise in the gallery of Ladew Topiary Gardens photos below.
