gardening

In states with mild climates, a garden doesn't go to bed for the winter, it simply changes character. By Thanksgiving, the beds and borders are filled with plants that crave cooler temperatures. Try to grow these same plants in summer and they'll promptly wilt or become infested with wooly aphids.

As we invent things to make our lives more efficient, the net result is often more things on our to-do list and a greater sense of pressure to get them all done! Let's face it; some of the hottest-selling products and concepts today are all about saving time.

LAUGHLINTOWN, Pa. - Terry Coyne sowed the seeds for her new floral and gift shop while working as a nutrition researcher for 13 years at the University of Pittsburgh during the late '80s and 1990s.

Amaryllis and colorful Cape primroses, which are members of the African violet family, crowded her office, thriving behind floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that faced east.

I awoke in the dark of night to the sound of flapping wings and something sizable flying around and around my bedroom. "There's a bat in here," my husband said in a half-muffled voice from the bathroom. I recalled I'd gotten up earlier to let the dog out and left the front door ajar. One of our resident bats had come calling.

As the author of "The Green Gardener's Guide," I've written the book on essential ways to green your garden while protecting the planet. But at the risk of hindering future sales, if I had to narrow it down to just a few things, the following list of seven will get you well on your way.

Right Plant, Right Place

As a horticulture student, learning to identify trees was a real challenge. Sure, some were easy to spot, like the ginkgo with its unique fan-shaped leaves. But whole groups of trees, such as needled evergreens, can differ by such minute, subtle variations that they're particularly tough to point out.

As gardeners and weekend warriors, we do so much to create and maintain beautiful spaces. But much of the work includes the use of gasoline-powered equipment such as mowers, blowers and edgers that spew a surprising amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

I like English ivy -- in the right place.

To a non-gardener, that doesn't sound like much of a confession. But to gardeners and people who enjoy walking in the woods, those are fighting words.

The end of summer is nigh, but autumn isn't yet in full swing. These dog days are devoted to the fruit of the rose, which is visible now that the woodlands are still green and the trees are not yet showing their colorful finale. Called rose hips, these small, round fruits contain seeds wrapped in a fleshy outer coat that is sweetly astringent and packed with vitamins.

Edward Gorey, the late writer and illustrator best known for his gleefully ghastly fictions, would feel right at home in Amy Stewart's garden of poisonous plants in Northern California.