Landscape Design and Gardening Resource Guide

From glossy magazines to Main Street, we've all admired those beautiful window boxes and flower pots in spring, summer, fall, and even wintertime. Whether you possess a spacious ...

Kneeling and bending over as a gardener can take a toll on your body. As you get older, it starts to feel like the knees you were born with went on vacation and returned with ...

If you’re feeling confused about shifting careers to pursue a passion, you’re not alone. It’s a multi-layered decision that requires careful planning and research. I can say this ...

You made a commitment to take care of your landscape, but life has its way of rearranging priorities. Maintaining your outdoor spaces can quickly take a back seat to everything ...

If you’re a weekend warrior, you know a lot can happen in your garden when you’re sitting at your desk during the 9 to 5. Blades of grass quickly grow tall enough to tickle your ...

For those of us who ditched our tools in the shed and walked away last fall there’s likely more than a little dried soil and rust stuck to the blades. Both professionals and ...

Gardening is a lifelong quest for knowledge. Whether you’re experienced or just starting out, a good book, or better yet, a library of books can be an invaluable resource. But in ...

When it comes to creating a sense of possibility, there’s not much in the gardening world that can compare to seeds. And, because they’re inexpensive, starting plants from seed is ...

More than any fruit or vegetable, lawns are the largest irrigated crop grown in the United States. According to a satellite imaging study conducted by NASA, lawns cover an area ...

If we asked you what our most valuable tool is, what would you say? Maybe a sharp trowel? Pruners? How about a Hori-Hori? True, these tools help us get the job done, but there’s ...

Your landscape is an extension of your home, and just like any other part of your property, it needs regular maintenance and care to stay looking its best. The right landscape ...

It’s an inevitable cycle. Despite even the most thorough fall cleanups, there’s always yard work to do in the spring. So, as the days grow longer and the desire to ditch the cozy ...

Anyone can call themselves a gardener these days. It doesn’t take much training to put a few perennials in the ground, water them in and get paid. But does getting paid make you a ...

The visibility of locally-grown food received a significant boost in recent years with the growth in popularity of what has become known as the “farm-to-table” movement. ...

To some people, it may seem like a stretch to make a connection between gardening and climate change. There is, however, a direct relationship between how we as a nation grow and ...

It seems that every week there’s news directly related to climate change: historic heat in the West; 100-year floods on the Gulf Coast; earlier, more damaging hurricanes affecting ...

We live in an increasingly global community. Digital technology, the Internet, and innovations in transportation have all contributed to making it easy to interact with even the ...

Climate change is affecting all things large and small, in ways that are sometimes not so apparent, while in others the impact is readily felt. Gardening is a unique activity in ...

As the call to action to help slow climate change grows increasingly urgent, average citizens are responding. Many are eager to join the movement to reduce our collective carbon ...

There is no question that the climate is changing. The real question is, what can we all do about it? For me and The Garden Continuum, the answer was to go hyper-local with our ...

Every homeowner attempting a landscape project starts out with the best intentions. Regardless of size, every project usually begins with a desire to make improvements – perhaps a ...

This year, the normally quiet streets and neighborhoods became a bustling sight of people outside, puttering and cleaning and building in their landscapes. Nurseries and garden ...

As the current battle against the coronavirus rages and images of wartime are invoked, memories of the famous “victory gardens” of World War I and II come to mind. During both ...

We're proud to announce the launch of The Garden Continuum's new web platform called TGC Academy. This new service offers information to help landscape professionals and garden ...

The current coronavirus pandemic is affecting virtually everyone in different ways and degrees. One thing is for sure, though, anxiety and fear have increased across the board. ...

I am excited to release my new book out into the world with its official launch on this special day. March 23rd is my mother’s birthday and it’s been two years since her passing. ...

Here’s a simple but crucial piece of information that anyone interested in their landscape needs to remember: landscapes are living entities. They are complex, integrated ...

The landscape conversation is pretty common nowadays. Certainly, every homeowner will consider their landscape at one point or another. Mainstream media and the popular DIY ...

I get asked on a regular basis by people far and wide to design a Life-Scape for them. That’s a term I use to refer to a more integrated landscape design based on the land itself, ...

Running a landscape business can be tough – keeping up with client needs, fixing finicky equipment, staying on top of what employees need to succeed, and snow that comes on ...

Who doesn’t love spring? For New Englanders, the icy cold dullness of winter is on the way out, the sun is getting brighter and warmer, and nature’s renewal is in the air. But ...

Landscapes, when you think about it, are living entities – complex “organisms” that go through stages of life just like every other living thing. From their “birth” every spring ...

How do you make up for lost time late in the landscape season when your gardens have gotten away from you? There comes a time in everyone’s home management experience when their ...

One of the most basic mistakes made in the garden, especially by those just starting out, is selecting plants based primarily on whim: “Ooo, that’s a nice flower, or that smells ...

Sunlight – like most critical gardening elements – is highly dynamic. The sun is constantly moving throughout the day, as well as from season to season. Add in human-influenced ...

It is almost impossible to overestimate the importance of water for your garden – after all, water makes up 85 to 95 percent of the weight of living plants. In fact, plants use ...

One key aspect of Fine Gardening is knowing and understanding the climate in which you are working. Around here, that means knowing your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone. Wait…what?

How cool is this? I was featured on a podcast this spring! As a business owner, I'm always thinking about how to do business better. And, as a landscape professional, I am ...

It’s tough for soil to get any respect. To most people, it’s just dirt. But the truth is, soil is a miracle, a universe unto itself right under our feet. It may seem weird at ...

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to fall out of love with their landscaping. Often, life seems to get in the way and doing “yard work” falls by the wayside as other things capture ...

The 2018 growing season is coming to a close. Thanksgiving is behind us and the next holiday season is closing in. In Massachusetts, we’ve already had eight inches of snow dumped ...

Shrubs are a major element in just about any landscape design, but knowing how they fit into the overall garden scheme and having knowledge of shrubs beyond the handful of ...

Astilbes are one of those garden plants that are just so easy to love. Originating in Asia, there are now a number of hybrids available worldwide, providing gardeners with a wide ...

After bursting forth in a riot of color and greenery in the spring, our gardens can use a little “freshening” during the summer to keep them looking their best. That means ...

Roses can be intimidating for many gardeners. After all, roses, in their seemingly infinite variety, attract the most ardent flowering plant enthusiasts, bolstered by an enormous ...

Here’s a timeless gardening truth -- after spring cleanups are completed, and mulch is refreshed in the gardens, most homeowners do not do anything more to support or prepare ...

This may seem obvious, but it bears stating here: there is a direct correlation between how long you let your landscape go without maintenance and the increased amount of work it ...

Let me start off by thanking all of you who subscribe, read, and comment on The Garden Continuum's Garden Design & Fine Gardening blog. We totally appreciate your engagement ...

There comes a time in many a property owner’s life when he or she looks around and realizes that their landscaping is boring. Same old boring shrubs that need to be trimmed every ...

Okay, so maybe this month’s blog post title is a mouthful, but it’s an important one as we head toward peak growing season. Why? Because it’s all about the role of perennials in ...

Irises are highly popular flowers in many gardens and for good reason – they’re hardy, reliable, and beautiful. Many gardeners prefer them because, in addition to being graceful ...

Every landscape – both natural or managed – is dynamic. Nothing is frozen in time. Without proper, ongoing care, all built landscapes and managed environments will experience a ...

It’s that time of year when it’s interesting to look back and review all that’s happened in the past 12 months. Even in gardening and landscaping, a lot goes on. Now, I’m one of ...

Do you have a small space to landscape? That doesn’t mean you can’t think big. Many homeowners today find themselves working with smaller lots and bigger houses, often leaving ...

To rake or not to rake – that has been the eternal question for homeowners every fall. Conventional thinking has always leaned toward picking up leaves; however, ...

Nature has long been used as a symbol for a wide range of human emotions, relationships, and interactions. Life, beauty, death, decay, and renewal are just a few examples. As an ...

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “when do I stop watering in the fall?” For some that might seem like a relatively simple question to answer – “summer is the ...

Let’s face it. Life doesn’t always go as planned. Family and work issues crop up. Turmoil happens. And when life gets in the way of your gardening you need to be prepared to deal ...

Here in New England, the growing season is in full swing after a cool, wet spring. For gardeners, the challenge has always been when to truly dive into active garden editing. In ...

Bulbs are perhaps one of the most valuable and productive friends a flower gardener can have. Cared for properly, they seem to automatically provide life and color in a bleak ...

In the real estate business everyone talks about curb appeal but, you ask, what the heck is that anyway and what does it have to do with me? Seriously, who cares about what the ...

Most traditional landscape management has been based on principles of control rather than cooperation. Historically, gardeners have worked hard to achieve what they considered ...

If you love the outdoors and growing things, I’ll bet that, at one time or another, you’ve dreamed about the perfect garden – what you’d plant, how it would look – and then you ...

Your landscape can be a confusing place. As spring’s thaw gradually reveals its details, it can be difficult to comprehend all of the aspects of your gardens and landscape. ...

Even those of us who are passionate about landscaping and gardening can be equally passionate about saving time and money doing it. Minimizing effort and expense on your ...

Everybody loves a beautiful landscape but who really loves taking care of it? If you’re a homeowner who envies a gorgeous landscape design but dreads the idea of having to take ...

March 20th is the first day of spring and each first day of this season can be wildly different from the year before. We’ve had years where we’ve been tucked under six feet of ...

If you’re a flower person, you’ll do just about anything to extend the colorful season to enjoy plants in bloom and a riot of color in your gardens. Doing any work now may sound ...

When most people think about the fall they think about dead leaves, diminishing light, and the inevitable appearance of old man winter. No person in their right mind would ...

If you just love gardens with WOW-Factor, the season always seems to come to an end way too soon. Trees, shrubs, and perennials are traditional favorites for creating layers and ...

Many homeowners don’t realize that fall is a critical time for lawns and gardens. Even though the summer bloom is off, bright colors are beginning to fade, and winter is just ...

If you’re a gardener or a homeowner with foundation beds, perennial beds or mixed planting borders, chances are you’re already familiar to some degree with the task of edging – ...

After much of New England lost its forests in the early 19th century to agricultural clearing, shipbuilding, and fuel gathering, the region has seen remarkable reforestation and ...

You’re a commercial property owner or developer and you’ve just spent several months and a significant amount of money developing a landscape project to set your property and ...

Property owners undertaking landscaping projects adjacent to watershed resources or other public property without first making application to the local conservation commission ...

In Part I about weeding your garden like a pro, we discussed mindset and approach. Now, it’s time to demystify all those weeds. What are they all about anyway? I mean, why do they ...

What is it about the task of removing unwanted plants from our garden that causes us to hate it so much? Weeding seems to be the one thing that can turn every gardener into a ...

There are few places in the United States with historical landscapes as rich and diversified as New England. Over the centuries since Europeans first set foot in the New World, ...

For many businesses located in regions that experience seasonal extremes, such as New England, landscape design for commercial properties can present a particularly vexing ...

…and the answers to many other questions about this popular plant Salvias are like that old childhood friend you still love to hang out with: easy-going, dependable, and ...

If your property is in an environmentally-sensitive area, especially one that abuts a watershed resource, getting a landscaping project approved can be tricky. As we discussed in ...

Commercial landscape design is much more than sticking some plants and mulch in front of a commercial building or storefront. For the smart business owner, a thoughtful, ...

Turning underutilized public space into a green-oasis “pocket park” Urban blight is not just a problem for major cities. Smaller communities across the nation are also faced with ...

Deciduous trees are a versatile, attractive and dynamic element for use in any landscape design because they are powerful players in the environment. These are the trees that have ...

When you have worked for a number of years in any profession, there are stories you could tell, mistakes you've made and, yes, even some things to confess. With all of them comes ...

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has in place a comprehensive set of rules and regulations to protect the environment, most notably wetlands and other water resources that are ...

The business market can be a tough place to find a competitive edge against similar properties and businesses with similar pricing. If you’re a business or property manager trying ...

We New Englanders have a tendency to stumble out of our homes after a long, hard winter, blink in the bright sunshine like bears emerging from their dens and say, “Man, the yard ...

The single most important resource in landscape care is water. In varying degree all plants need water to survive and thrive. So it stands to reason that my single biggest ...

Property owners who abut public property face a unique set of challenges when it comes to getting a landscaping project approved. Instead of having to contend with just one or two ...

If you’re a business owner or manager, maintaining a commercial landscape requires a little more care and attention than a residential landscape because not only should it be ...

Some commercial property owners might believe that the only way to provide added safety for their tenants is to minimize landscaping and eliminate any feature that might pose a ...

Fences are one of the most challenging landscape elements. People often install fences without first thinking the project through and the less-than-satisfactory results can range ...

Many business owners and managers have trouble justifying to themselves the expense of a landscape beyond the minimum necessary for appearance and to meet regulations. That’s too ...

It is not unusual for property owners to begin work on a landscape project only to run afoul of one or more Massachusetts environmental protection laws designed to protect ...

The entryway to your commercial property is your first opportunity to greet your tenants, employees, customers and visitors. That’s why it’s so important to ensure that the ...

Commercial landscape development projects can be a high-stakes undertaking. With tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential rental or leasing revenue at stake, ...

When talk turns to ways of improving property value and creating more “curb appeal” – the visual attractiveness easily seen when first driving up to a home – driveways don’t ...

Residential walkways and entries, like driveways, are often an afterthought for many contractors. Often front entries are equipped with plain, precast concrete steps and have no ...

One of the biggest mistakes to make when designing outdoor living spaces is to plunk things down wherever it seems easiest. These seemingly easy or convenient spaces may be ...

Many homeowners are eager to add outdoor space to their property that integrates nicely with their home. Often this is a great way to expand a home and open up additional living ...

For almost two centuries the “lawn” has been a standard fixture in the American Landscape. Today everyone simply expects a lawn to be part of their landscape, but the interesting ...

How do I design an outdoor space that is both beautiful and functional? If you’re looking to create an outdoor space suitable for entertaining and relaxation, you should start by ...

Container Gardens - Winter Arrangements Just because winter comes, doesn’t mean you have to empty your planters out. If they are constructed of a sturdy winter hardy material then ...

Shade Gardens - Flowers Accent a Lush Landscape This garden in Wellesley, Mass uses all manner of plants to make this landscape into a lush display of color. The carpet of green ...

Kid Space - Time to Play Create a fun, clean, and safe area for your children to play in the landscape while being eco-friendly and promoting drainage. This Newton play set is ...

Driveway - Eco-Friendly Choices for your Sustainable Landscape This long driveway in Franklin, Mass is constructed of crushed bank gravel that has been compacted as if asphalt ...

How to Deadhead a Daylily Due to the great response we received from our previous blog on How to Deadhead a Daylily, The Garden Continuum went ahead and created a Video HOW-TO on ...

Patio - Raised Bluestone with Fieldstone Walls An elegant solution to a grade differential between the house and the outside. Rather than add a deck, this family in Natick, Mass ...

Picking Plants is here to help you avoid falling into the pretty plant trap!

Bulbs - Dramatic Yellow in the Garden This dramatic yellow flower is Fritillaria 'Lutea'. It is planted in the autumn at the same time as your tulips and daffodils. This flower ...

Decks - The Home to Patio Connection This narrow back yard in Dover, Mass needed a comfortable space for outdoor living. A long transitional deck with open angled steps invites ...

Annual Gardens - Fall Interest Plants for your Planters There is nothing more beautiful than a planter refreshed with fall blooming annuals. Late summer can bring on a ratty look ...

Walls - Retain It then Plant It Living on sloped land means needing to be creative about garden design. This retaining wall in Millis, Mass takes advantage of a two and half foot ...

Neat bed lines make gardeners happy!

This Canton, MA back yard was overgrown and little used. With kids who love to swim, the homeowners decided now was the time to invest in an outdoor living environment. This yard ...

Garden Ponds - Cherry Blossoms & Water This Franklin, Mass pond is roughly 1800 gallons with a header pond and double spillway. The sounds of water and early spring peepers ...

This Wisteria floribunda was planted about three years before I met this Newton, MA client. The vine wasn't flowering well and was completely covering this small pergola ...

Why should you plant a tree? If you want leave a legacy for generations to come: Plant A Tree

Walks & Paths - Oversizing Makes your Statement This beautiful Medfield, Mass home needed a front face lift. By mimicking the white brick front in the risers of the stoop and ...

Perennials - Put Your Purple on in the Garden Nothing says "beautiful" better than gardens with color.

Outside living spaces are valuable additions to any landscape environment. Patios are particularly valuable because they extend our living into the landscape in more exciting ways ...

Yew = Taxus in Latin ...and there are many species to choose from. This plant however gets pretty bad reviews time and time again from home and business owners. It is unfair ...

Weeds, Weeds, and More Weeds: The gardening task that never goes away! More time is spent obsessing on weeds in the garden than anything else. We stress over them, plot to kill ...

Organic - Natural – Local - Conservation – Preservation - Sustainability What do all these words mean for your landscape? Clever, high-powered marketing is a big part of how the ...

New Englanders have a love-hate relationship with walls and fences. We want privacy, but we don’t want to offend. We want connection with our neighbors, but not too much. Then we ...

Have you ever stepped outside on a stressful day just to gaze at the sky or take a deep breath? Nature has a profound impact on our well-being and can serve as the canvas to ...

What Is A DRIP EDGE? Ever notice that ugly splash-back of soil that stains the foundation of your home? Ever have issues with termites or carpenter ants? Ever get water seepage ...

We all strive to be resilient in our lives by working toward improving our survival skills. That may come in the form of eating well, fitness training, or even gaining new ...

Gardens Can't Survive Without Water No matter what side of the global warming debate you fall on, the June temperatures contributed to a record-warm first half of the year and the ...

How to deadhead a Daylily Yesterday, I spent an hour as the sun went down deadheading my daylilies. It was a gloriously quiet hour of reflection as I repeated the same action over ...

How to Build a Walkway The Garden Continuum's Design/Build Team finished up a patio project last week in Wellesley. In order to connect the new patio in the backyard, we installed ...

How to Renovate Perennial Gardens Spring and fall are great times to start exploring edits to your perennial gardens! Whether you are looking to move and divide a few plants, add ...

How to Edge a Garden Bed April is quickly coming to a close and The Garden Continuum has been very busy with landscape renovations, projects and maintenance. This week, TGC's ...

The Garden Continuum is back in action and excited for the 2012 gardening season! This week we wanted to video blog about ornamental grasses. We love to incorporate grasses in the ...

The chill in the air is back, but spring is here. This means there is work to do outside. If you wait until the picture perfect spring weather, you might find yourself with more ...

To understand the available sun in your garden, map your shade. Mapping the shade in your landscape is a very useful tool in landscape design. If you want to succeed in your ...

How to Transplant a Shrub This week, The Garden Continuum demonstrates how to transplant a shrub. Fall is perfect for renovating your gardens and with the cooler weather, your ...

Creating Curb Appeal: Small Spaces-Big Garden Potential This week, The Garden Continuum shares with you a one day landscape project that transformed a small city garden. We are ...

How to Plant a Tree Fall has arrived in New England! With the cooler weather upon us, planting season is in full swing. This week, The Garden Continuum demonstrates how to plant a ...

FALL IS AN AMAZING TIME TO PLANT As we move into the cooler, wetter weather of the autumn season, I encourage you to think about planting new plants in your landscape. Maybe you ...

How to Install Drip Edge This week TGC demonstrates how to install drip edge. Many times we encounter landscapes that have insufficient gutters, poor drainage and wood decay. ...

How to Straighten a Damaged Tree In the wake of Hurricane Irene, The Garden Continuum has been cleaning up tons of tree damage. While Irene did destroy many shrubs and trees, she ...

How to Build a Patio: Part Three This week's video on How to Build a Patio concludes with cutting pavers, installing edging, and compacting and adding joint sand. The Dwight Derby ...

How to Build a Patio: Part Two This week the Dwight Derby House patio project continues with TGC's install staff laying the bedding sand and the pavers. Check out the project ...

Maintaining an Urban Landscape: Challenges and Solutions This week, The Garden Continuum's Installation Staff was down in Providence, RI working on a commercial property. TGC ...

How to Fertilize Annuals Summer annuals have a short growing season in New England so it's important to fertilize regularly in order to get the best performance from your ...

Proper Pruning Tools and Technique This week, The Garden Continuum discusses proper pruning tools and technique. Having the right tool for the job and knowing when and how to use ...

How to Prepare a Garden Bed for Planting This week, The Garden Continuum's Install Staff demonstrates how to prepare a garden bed for planting. On this property in Wellesley, TGC ...

HOW TO PLANT A SHRUB The Garden Continuum's Install Team demonstrates how to plant a shrub. On this particular property, TGC had renovated the garden beds the previous year. For ...

Installing a Garden Trellis TGC's install team demonstrates how to pour concrete around a custom built cedar trellis. Creativity goes a long way to help preserve the integrity of ...

Whether a seasoned gardener or a novice just starting out in the garden, it is inevitable that you will bump into this question:

Understanding your space will help you fully maximize the potential that exists for your project. There are three mistakes you want to avoid when planning for any landscape ...

How To Develop A Storyboard for your Landscape Project Turning ideas into a buildable vision takes organization. By collecting inspiration you will begin to hone your ideas into a ...

No creation was ever realized that wasn’t first a simple idea. The road between a dream and the realization of that dream is paved with clear and measurable steps. Just like ...

Winter Garden Interest is VERY important to anyone living in a region, like New England, where snow is a regular occurrence. It is probably safe to say that January 2011 has ...

Let's face it if you are living in New England (Massachusetts in particular) you and your garden are buried in snow...multiple feet of it.

Opting for the best outcome in your garden As humans we are driven by design in all aspects of our lives. The complexities that arise in designing a garden or a landscape come ...

The magazine Smart Money published an article more than 10 years ago in praise of landscape renovation as a vehicle to improve the resale value of your home. At the time, I neatly ...

It was finally time and I felt ready to watch the movie that has been on my NetFlix list for months, yet never made it to my doorstep (because I kept pushing it down the list). ...

Sustainability is the hot new buzzword in the landscape world. What does it mean? The dictionary says… 1) able to be maintained 2) maintaining ecological balance

Whether you are planning a landscape from scratch, renovating an old landscape, or just creating a small flower garden, the project should always start with a landscape design.

Working in the garden has become a passion of the American homeowner. The DIY market it is still booming encouraging every able-bodied human to get out there and start digging, ...

We hope this blog will provide a place for everyone interested in landscape development to find practical, straight forward information about creating and maintaining the garden ...