January/February 2023

Garden Gate

The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design

Garden Gate2 min read
From The Editor
Gardening can be a solitary experience. Nongardeners don’t always understand that it’s actually relaxing to tune out the rest of the world and take on a big weeding or pruning project. The unique combination of physical activity, mental focus, fresh
Garden Gate1 min read
Garden Gate
EXECUTIVE EDITORKristin Beane Sullivan EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOREric Flynn SENIOR EDITOR Sherri Ribbey TEST GARDEN MANAGER/ASSOCIATE EDITORJennifer Howell ASSOCIATE EDITOR Marisa Reyes DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER Katie Meyer ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Carrie Topp
Garden Gate1 min read
Garden Gate Online
These showy flowers make great early spring container plants. We’ll show you how to save money by starting the tubers yourself, as well as tips for keeping them blooming longer. GardenGateMagazine.com/articles/flower-plants/ If your orchid pot is
Garden Gate2 min read
Reader Tips
Frustrated by a fairy garden that doesn’t stay in place? Lee has a miniature landscape in one of his gardens, and unfortunately, the items are easily knocked over by the wind and scurrying critters. So he picked up some galvanized roofing nails (the
Garden Gate1 min read
Pest Watch
Rhizosphaera kalkhoffii Rhizosphaera needle cast is a fungal disease that causes the needles of spruce (Picea spp.) trees to fall off. The infection begins on the bottom branches, and older needles turn brown in late summer and fall while new needle
Garden Gate2 min read
Creative Cuttings
Out of space on the windowsill because you have too many little jars of plant cuttings? For some of us, it’s a problem! Here’s an idea to get those cuttings off the sill or kitchen counter and looking cute while they root. A vase or jar used to start
Garden Gate4 min read
Snap Better Garden Photos With Your Smartphone
Taking photos of your plants, produce and flowers is a great way to share your garden with others and keep a visual reference from year to year. But sometimes I’m disappointed that my images don’t look like what I see with my eyes. With that in mind,
Garden Gate12 min read
TOP PICKS 2023’s Best New Plants
There’s no better way to ring in the New Year than by settling in with a warm drink and a few garden catalogs so you can start dreaming of next year. One of the first things that catches my eye (and I bet yours too!) are the new plant introductions.
Garden Gate7 min read
Starting From Scratch
When Micole Van Walbeek moved in, this large colonial-style house sat emptily atop an expansive, sloping front lawn. She hurried to install a curving concrete patio that spans the length of the home to create a welcoming space to greet guests. And sh
Garden Gate2 min read
Which Gold Foliage Is Right For You?
Liven up your shade garden with the bright foliage of ‘Gold Heart’, a unique twist on the classic old-fashioned bleeding heart. Low maintenance and fast growing, it’s one of the earliest perennials to emerge in spring and makes a great food source fo
Garden Gate7 min read
Fragrant Roses
Roses are pretty spectacular all on their own, but add beautiful fragrance to their long list of positive attributes, and they’re simply irresistible! These long-lived shrubs are a great way to make your garden extra special—there are numerous flower
Garden Gate1 min read
How Safe Are Organic Pesticides?
When it comes to insects in the garden, it’s ecologically best to let them be. But when populations explode and they begin to damage the garden more than you can tolerate, it may be time to use a pesticide. Many gardeners prefer one that is organic b
Garden Gate6 min read
Create a Garden Tapestry
Agave Agave americana Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii Japanese maple Acer spp. and hybrids Lawson’s false cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Juniper Juniperus rigida subsp. conferta Spanish dagger Yucca gloriosa Weeping Serbian spruce Picea
Garden Gate2 min read
Four-Season Entry Garden
An entry garden is especially important in making people feel welcome because it’s the first thing visitors see. It doesn’t have to be packed full of plants: Even minimalist plantings can be inviting. But if you design an entryway with multiseason ap
Garden Gate5 min read
8 Vegetable Garden Mistakes
Even though my first tomato plant only yielded four tomatoes, I was hooked and determined to do better the next year. Since then, I’ve had a lot more successful harvests, but also made plenty of mistakes over the years. If you’ve ever been disappoint
Garden Gate3 min read
Maintaining Your Front Entry
These plants don’t need much care to look their best and they all appreciate the same sun, soil and water requirements. But even with tough plants like these, an inch or two of organic mulch helps conserve soil moisture and keeps weeding chores to a
Garden Gate4 min read
5 Manure Myths
Manure is one of the best things you can add to your soil. But before you dump a load of that magical stuff on your veggie garden or perennial borders and start digging it in, check out a few misconceptions about manure and some helpful tips so you c
Garden Gate3 min read
Q & A
Q As the snow melted I found these shallow snakelike trails in my turf. What are they? Mark Anderson, OH A Voles, sometimes called field mice, make these surface runways as they feast on grass stems and roots. They’re especially active during mild
Garden Gate1 min read
Weed Watch
Solanum ptychanthum This annual weed grows 1 to 3 feet tall with loosely spaced branches and smooth leaves with wavy margins. Stems may have a raspy feel and be woody at the base when plants are mature. In summer to early fall, clusters of three to
Garden Gate2 min read
Garden Essentials
Protect your hands from repetitive motion stress during big pruning jobs with a battery-powered boost. At 2.38 lbs., this hand pruner is lightweight yet powerful enough to snip off branches up to 1 inch in diameter with just one hand on the trigger.
Garden Gate1 min readCrime & Violence
GARDENING for Good
Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice What does this organization do? The Lee College Horticulture program teaches inmates at the Texas Correctional Facility horticultural skills that benefit them beyond the prison walls. Students take classes and work t
Garden Gate2 min read
Create Contrast with ‘Backlight’ Garden Phlox
Though I have always favored a rainbow of colorful blooms in my garden, I’ve recently discovered how exciting a white flower can be. And I owe this revelation to ‘Backlight’ garden phlox. This perennial’s striking white flowers stand out in a flower
Garden Gate5 min read
Bonus Article
Shady yards can be a challenge to garden in, but also an opportunity. Imagine sitting in your favorite outdoor chair with a drink after work. The sun is hot, but there’s a cooling canopy of trees overhead. All you need to turn this pleasant experienc
Garden Gate1 min read
Finishing Touches
“There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.” ■
Garden Gate2 min read
Olympic Gardening
January is often the coldest month of the year where I live in the Midwest. The raised garden beds in my backyard that overflow with lush plants, flowers and vegetables during the warm summer months are bare, brown and often covered with a few inches

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