Growing flowers, vegetables, herbs or anything else need not be endlessly fussy or take up your entire Saturday. As an avid gardener, I'm not opposed to a little sweat, but I much prefer working smart and keeping things easy. Here's a quick guide to minimize your effort and maximize your joy.
WHAT IF I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO START?
When I moved to my current garden, I got a wonderful blank slate, but the beds looked eerily sparse. To create an immediate feeling of ‘presence’, I planted some scented-leaf pelargoniums (scented geraniums). These shrubby plants are a good starting point, as they grow quickly in a variety of home gardens without lots of attention, and their fragrant leaves come in a vast range of colours, sizes and shapes. I put them all over the garden that first spring and summer.
Best of all, true to their name, these plants offer exceptional fragrance. Different species carry aromas of lemon, rose, apricot, ginger, chocolate and more. Kate Jayne, co-owner of Sandy Mush Herb Nursery in Leicester, North Carolina, says, “Scented pelargoniums are great planted with vegetables,” says Jayne, “as they are fast growing, deter pests, and attract bees and humming birds.” And, she says, their fragrance makes weeding a pleasure.
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BOOKS
Books review
STUDIO - Off Lamington Road by Gieve Patel
Oil on Canvas, 54 x 88 in
NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE
FOODS THAT FIGHT DEMENTIA
TO HELL AND BACK
The Darvaza crater in Turkmenistan is known as the Gates of Hell. I stood on its edge - and lived to tell the tale
THE SNAKE CHARMERS
Invasive Burmese pythons are squeezing the life out of Florida's vast Everglades. An unlikely sisterhood is taking them on
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Just Sit Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, I desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
Allow Me to Mansplain...
If there's one thing we know, it's this: We're a nation of know-it-alls
THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT SUGAR (AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES!)
It's no secret that we have a serious addiction. Here's how to cut back on the sweet stuff, once and for all.