Special reports - page 3

Knowing your soil type, delicately working the ground, associating plants and protecting them without using fertilizer or pesticides, all these tips will lead to healthy organic soil.

Chemical fertilizers that some gardeners use sure can feed those vegetables in the patch, but not the soil itself!

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 without any smelly side-effects.

Orchids are perhaps the plants for which the growth medium is the most critical element that influences the growing of the plant.

Soil mix is a growth substrate that influences the development of plants, their root extension and correct nutrient intake

Even though these two products are often confused, they do have very distinct uses and very different results.

From North to South, along the vast oceans of the world, French coasts are among the most beautiful in the world. They have mild, temperate climates which means that a great many plant options are open to their seaside gardens – botanically speaking!

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!

Don’t know what to plant in your garden boxes in Summer? Perennials and annuals, take a look at our summer container plant insights as a source of new inspiration.

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

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

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 […]

Through gardening, stress can be managed and dispelled.

It’s different from a basic fish pond, because a natural pond will tend to attract more insects, dragonflies and birds… Three square yards or meters are all you need to create a little oasis of biodiversity. Both useful and ornamental, the natural pond will bring you many advantages.

Organic gardening means gardening together with nature instead of against it. Organic growing techniques endeavor to respect soil, plants… and the consumer, too. They rely on vegetable and fruit species that are well-suited to local growing conditions.

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

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

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

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

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.

Cuttings is the best way to reproduce and clone your favorite plants.

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.

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! […]

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,

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

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 […]

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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…

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

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!

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

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!

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 is still a wide range of cold-resistant plants for the garden.

To transform your growing beds into spots of high ecological value, here are a few simple tips and solutions. Common sense applies and points the way to sustainable gardening.

If planting is one of the most enjoyable things to do in the garden, it is also one of the most crucial phases in the life of a plant, tree or shrub. We owe it to them to plant them well!

Which flowers to plant in a garden box for spring? Perennials, bulb flowers and annuals mix & pair very well for blissfully colorful potting arrangements.

There is a mind-numbing amount of mulches on the market, and it’s never simple to find out which one is best for where you live and the plants you want to mulch.

Infusing lavender oil is quite simple and doesn’t require any heavy equipment. All that’s needed is a carrier oil and the flowers from any type of lavender. Read also: Making lavender oil Lavender, an easy plant to grow Lavandin, the most productive lavender 3 steps to infuse lavender oil Lavender flowers, when steeped in another […]

Fermented tea, maceration, infusion, decoction… garden tansy sure shares many benefits! Pest repellent and fungicide, it’s also an interesting flower that fosters biodiversity.

Raised gardening gets a resounding “yes”, doesn’t it? Now, the time has come to select the best layout for raised garden beds. Square, rectangles, curves