Special reports

Every gardener, at some point, feels overwhelmed by the many plant varieties he or she has to choose from. Where do they come from? Why are some protected by patents? Are they natural?

Grafting, together with preparing cuttings, is one of the most important know-hows to learn when propagating trees and shrubs.

It’s easy to enhance and improve cross-pollination for your target species. These different tips will help you cross-pollinate plants.

Wrought iron multiplies the impact of any garden since it can be worked to fit any style and expectation. Garden set, pergola, low edge fence, bench, hanging swingset, gate, ornament… 

Feeding birds in winter is an excellent initiative to help them through this difficult season.

Attract chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, robin, greenfinch, goldfinch, wren, spotted woodpecker,

How should you care for your garden in winter? Snezana Gerbault, an agronomist and engineer, packed all her tips in book that was prized in several recent events.

Brrr, winter is just along the corner, bringing along those cold temperatures and foul weather. Not all plants can cope when the outdoors gets colder than freezing. Luckily, there are quite a few cold-resistant plants for the garden.

A sensory garden has a simple goal: maximize the sensory experience of its visitors. Designing such a garden isn’t very difficult. You can follow various themes, set portions up into dedicated areas, or fuse all the experiences together as a whole.

Small hand gardening tools make a gardener’s work easier in flower beds and vegetable patches. They also help flower garden boxes and pot arrangements on terraces, balconies and decks.

Preparing cuttings is a simple plant propagation technique that works for many plants. Its main advantage is that it allows you to reproduce the same exact plant

Even in winter, nature finds ways to gift us with joy and magic, with flowers that are full of warmth and color.

Not all plants are hardy. Some are more delicate and are vulnerable to freezing. Adequate protection from the cold must therefore be provided: winterizing is what this is called.

Be they simple or sophisticated, white flowers are great all-purpose plants in the garden. They pair well with all other colors and fit right into every garden style. You can add them to a colorful arrangement in a flower bed, or go the whole nine yards and make everything white.

As soon as the word wasp is mentioned, we all shudder at the thought of that insect that somehow always finds ways to turn a nice family picnic into a frenzied gaggle of panicked people! But did you know there were a great many wasp varieties? One of which is particularly interesting: the predator wasp.

Winter flowers truly brighten up the cold season with their colorful petals.

Majestic, geometric and with not a blade or leaf out of place, French landscaping is a reference in terms of outdoor ornamental gardens.

Dry stonewalls that separate lots or uphold flat terrain on slopes are a wonderful opportunity to display a variety of plants while not wasting any space.

If there’s enough space, it’s perfectly possible to set up a comfortable patio, deck or terrace.

Gardening with the moon, sure! But how? Gardeners have always observed with fascination the impact of the moon on plants they were growing.

Succulents are attractive for their ease of care, their great diversity and their waxy or velvet-covered leaves. They do great both indoors and outside!

A prickly invader… but also one of the best medicinal plants of all! Nettle, as useful in the kitchen as it is in the garden, is worthy of our highest esteem.

Should you plant here, or rather there? What if you relied on dowsing to find the perfect spot and hope for a bountiful garden? Why rely on dowsing? Dowsing is the study of the relationship between an environment and its inhabitants. When used to set up an ornamental garden or a vegetable patch, it helps […]

Mulching, composting, natural and organic products and produce… Are you hoping to learn more about environment-friendly gardening? Start right this winter or during the next dry spell!

Layering is a way to multiply plants quite easily, where a plant branch is buried to produce a new specimen.

Regulations regarding the Sichuan pepper plant used to be dramatically strict. In the late XXth century, any import of any plant part whatsoever

Care for something cool – and refreshing! – in your garden? Set up a natural and eco-friendly pond in your garden, that will welcome lush plants and a host of little animals.

There are times when plants require topdressing to grow better and thrive. If you’re growing plants in any of these conditions,

Barberry (Berberis) can be grown into impressive bonsai specimens. Try your hand on this unusual but beautiful

After choosing your bare-root tree and its spot in the garden, make the most of November. Gardeners know that the Saint Catherine Feast day (on Nov 25th) is best to succeed your planting. (Editor’s note: it’s possible to plant in spring for specimens purchased in pots or containers.)

Maritime pine bark is an excellent mulch, both useful and very elegant.

Nature doesn’t think in terms of “good soil, bad soil”. Each soil type simply welcomes a different set of plants. Chalky soil is known for having excellent drainage. It’s quite light, but rather poor and rocky.

The Mahonia shrub isn’t only a formidable winter flower shrub – it’s also a source of high-value

Fending off birds and other plant and vegetable feathered foes is a mission a scarecrow pulls off with glee. But frightening birds away doesn’t mean your scarecrow must look scary! Actually, what is attractive to us is repulsive to them!

Attract butterflies to your garden! Threatened because their natural habitat is dwindling, and because of pesticides, butterflies can find refuge in our very own gardens,

These feed on pests, help plants reproduce, and give the soil better structure. Beneficial insects really give us a real hand in the garden!

Raised garden boxes, elevated planters and other solutions are quite convenient for those who want to garden but can’t bend over!

Nice weather usually means eating more delicious fruits and vegetables. Why not seize the chance to garden and grow your own together with your children?

Bursting with unspent energy, children are probably among those who suffer most during these times of confinement.

Early fall, protect soil and plants from winter frost spells.

Wood chips make for an excellent plant-based mulch. Layered around your trees and shrubs, they share all sorts of benefits to your plants. Wood chip mulch literally shares rich forest fertility to your very own garden soil! Key wood chip mulch facts Availability – high Cost – low Ornamental value – can be naturally dyed […]

Fall is usually the season when the purchasing of a chipper shredder comes to mind, with all the pruned shrubs and trees leading to mountains of branches. Since it is now often illegal to simply burn the branches in a huge bonfire as was done before, and we usually lack of space to let it […]

Enhancing clay soil that is often too soggy starts with proper identification of the issue. Here is how to recognize the type of soil you have and what the options are to fix it.

Know your type of soil and you’ll succeed in growing your plants. This will point out how to make it better and which species will fare best.

Cocoa hull is an excellent mulch and an effective seasonal fertilizer. Catching the eye and offering incredible agronomic properties, it is the perfect mulch for any garden plant

Summer sends its scorching heat out but one spot in the garden offers a cool atmosphere which is perfect for the heat-struck visitor: the canopy pergola covered in plants. An unmistakable feeling of peace calls out from a plant-covered pergola, often set at the entrance of both house and garden. The charm of a pergola […]

Do you throw coffee grounds away? Not anymore! Coffee grounds have many uses that can boost your garden and flower beds, just like it gives you a boost

While it’s difficult to keep microscopic pollen from flying around, there are a few things that will reduce cross-pollination. Quick read: what is cross-pollination? Promote cross-pollination instead of blocking it All our posts to understand cross-pollination Increase distance to other varieties Pollen may travel far, but in many cases having several hundred yards or meters […]

When plants live as neighbors, they’re just like us: often, they really help each other out, but sometimes they just can’t stand each other!

Mulch is a trendy product that protects, decorates and supports plant growth for all your plantations. A natural product, mulching is very beneficial to your plants and your garden, all the while reducing that most cumbersome of garden tasks: weeding!

The hoverfly: even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably seen them before and wondered what kind of insect this was. In spring and summer, one often sees them flying around, hovering at a standstill around melliferous flowers and trees.