Why Fall Is One of the Best Times to Plant Native Plants
Why fall is a great time to plant native perennials, shrubs and trees, sow native seeds that need cold stratification, and choose plants that are truly native to your region.
The Perch
Observations from the garden. The kind worth keeping.
When to Start a Fall Garden (While It's Still Summer)
Learn when to start a fall vegetable garden, how to count back from your first frost date, and which crops to sow now for a fall harvest.
Fall Flower Gardening: What to Plant Now for Spring
What to plant in a fall flower garden — spring bulbs, perennials, hardy annuals, biennials and cool-season color — and how to time it for your climate.
In Defense of Not Gardening
I took my laptop into the garden to get some work done. I got none — because the garden was full of other gardeners. On bees, black swallowtails, and how noticing quietly turns into care.
What a Plant App Owes the World
The same plant that's an ecological hero in one place is a wrecking ball in another. Why Percy celebrates natives, flags invasives, and says when it isn't sure.
How to Keep a Garden Journal You'll Actually Stick With
A garden journal makes next year's garden better — if you keep it. Here's what's worth writing down, when, and why the paper ones fail.
Most of What You've Heard About Monarchs Is Half Right
The monarchs coming through your garden this fall don't need milkweed — they need nectar. Here's what actually helps the southbound migration, starting today.
Accidental Stewardship
You probably didn't plant your zinnias for the bees. But once you learn how much your small patch of earth can do for the world, it's hard to unlearn it.
The Night We Almost Kept a Deer
Some of what a garden gives you can't be planted or harvested — like the evening a baby deer showed up in the flower bed and the children tried to keep it.
The Things I Meant to Write Down
Every October I try to take inventory of the season. I'm starting to think I've been writing down the wrong things.