Special reports

Wood as a source of energy is increasingly regarded as a natural solution for heating… and an antidote to rising fuel prices.

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

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.

Dry soil, full of rocks, not a nutrient in sight? Seems like a harsh environment where plants can’t grow! Fear not! Just select plants that evolved specifically to thrive in those environments, and compensate for the worst drawbacks with a few astute landscaping tricks. Discover our tips to create an easy and thriving dry garden! […]

What if you turned your garden into a year-round exotic holiday setting? Growing an exotic garden lets you travel between continents without even leaving your home.

eIt’s easy to ensure and increase cross-pollination for your target species. These different tips will help you cross-pollinate plants. Reminder: what is cross-pollination? Block cross-pollination from happening Plant different varieties of the same species nearby Select at least one, ideally two, varieties that can cross-pollinate your target plant. Check that they share the same blooming […]

Cross-pollination is when pollen from one plant variety fertilizes flowers of another variety,

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 Increase distance to other varieties Pollen may travel far, but in many cases having several hundred yards or meters distance will already significantly reduce pollination. […]

Near the house or on a balcony, growing potted plants are an excellent way to add color and greenery to your home!

A garden shed is the ideal solution to put basic garden and DIY tools away. It’s also great to prepare seedlings and shelter them from wind and rain. Since there are ever-increasing options and materials to choose from, what are the most important points that will help you select the garden shed that suits you […]

A small garden is definitely an excellent opportunity to showcase what’s really most important. Discover our tips and advice to transcend your small outdoor space and, through astute landscaping ideas, make it seem larger than it is! Read also: 5 ideas to set up a shaded courtyard Clever ways to organize a long, narrow garden […]

On a deck, terrace or balcony, it is easy to set up a container garden in pots for every season. Plant a series of garden box flowers that will bloom one after the other. Read also: Fruit trees for balconies, decks and terraces Potted plants, the tips to succeed in growing them Drought resistant pot […]

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,

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.

Coastal climate batters seaside garden plants with many hardships: strong winds (even hurricanes), sea spray, dry summers, poor soil…

Garden stores have all sorts of mulches, designed to perfectly match the needs of plants and protect them through summer and winter. Did you know you could make mulch yourself?

The garden season begins with indoor sowing at the end of Winter. It’s important to choose your equipment well and prepare ideal growing conditions to get strong seedlings for transplanting

Setting up an outdoor kitchen opens up a whole new space where friends and family can gather outdoors. Welcome everyone to your garden around a delicious meal where each guest can pitch in and help out!

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

A garden furniture set is now a very convenient and ornamental addition to patios, terraces and gardens. Thanks to the garden set, this space truly becomes

Their colorful feathers and sweet-sounding songs are a pleasure in the garden. And the also do much more! Garden birds play a critical role for biodiversity: they control dangerous pests, spread seeds, and help pollinate plants.

So you splurged and treated yourself to a eucalyptus tree, an oleander, a mimosa tree, a lemon tree or an olive tree? Here is how to protect these plants over the cold season.

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

When the winter cold hits, plants enter a phase of dormancy.

One of the most important beneficial insects in the garden is the ground beetle family. This fearsome predators have a voracious appetite which will certainly serve you well to control pests in your garden. Slugs and snails beware!

Savoring the garden without spending hours mowing or weeding it is the unfulfilled Quest of all gardeners. Though we dream about it all the time, reality must be acknowledged: the perfect zero-maintenance garden doesn’t exist.

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.

Mason bee, Osmia, solitary bee… all these names designate the same pollinating insect. And don’t be fooled by its tiny scale! It is indeed able to pollinate as many flowers as its more famous cousin, the common honeybee.

Always a hassle around the picnic basket, sometimes even a painful sting, the wasp doesn’t seem to manage positive vibes, does it? But did you know its larva devours incredible amounts of insect pests that would otherwise damage our plants? So, unbelievably, the wasp is a beneficial insect in the garden, a big help that […]

Chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, robin, greenfinch, goldfinch, wren, spotted woodpecker,

To convert your green waste into green gold like mulch and compost, invest in both a shredder and a composter.

Zero efforts to convert food and plant waste into rich organic fertilizer, a dream come true? Yes it is! Go for vermicompost, it produces and excellent soil mix without any smelly side-effects.

Making your own compost is a practice that helps the environment through recycling waste.

Living the urban life in an apartment but would nonetheless love to make your own compost?

Sneezing, red eyes, runny noses… spring is the time when allergy-triggering plants spread their pollen. A horrible season for allergy-prone people!

Our grand-mothers keep saying they used the roots of a soap plant to build up a foam to wash their laundry. Saponaria is a perennial that’s quite common in our areas, and it helped solve a lot of people’s daily needs: shampoo, skin care, medicine…

Winter is cold and unsuitable for plant growth. When spring comes around, everything bursts into bloom! How do plants set their clocks to bloom at the right time? Vernalization is one of the mysteries

BRF is a common term in forestry. It is derived from the French “Bois Raméal Fragmenté”, or Ramial Chipped Wood. Anybody can make this mulch from crushed and shredded green wood branches. It’s the best mulch for enriching and protecting garden soil.

What does “exotic” actually mean? Plants that come from far away? Plants that look weird? Crazy lush growth and greenery like a jungle? As a concept, “exotic” can mean many things.

Mini garden, courtyard or balcony: if astutely set up, your little patch under the sky can become a space where life is great.

Pozzolana is a mineral mulch extracted from volcanic rock. It is both very long lasting and extremely ornamental. Its red brown color is also

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

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.

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

A voluminous body, a louder-than-usual buzz, and colorful fuzz all around – the bumblebee is easy to identify! A particularly active beneficial insect in the garden, it is a diligent pollinator that runs in the same class as the common honeybee: the heavyweight class!

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

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

What if nature invaded cities in the “urban farm” mode? The collaborative Incredible Edible trend is pollinating across the plant…

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!

Getting back home after the summer holidays makes September a special month. Adults get back to work and children prepare their supplies for school. But in the autumn garden, there’s quite a lot to do, too!