landscaping | Ilona's Garden

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Flora and Fauna: Hummingbirds

Animated Jewels of the Garden The tiny hummingbird captures our hearts with a fascination few other birds inspire. And since I have my own little anecdote to share,they rate an entire page to themselves; but as you will see, that is nothing, there are whole sites dedicated to them. A few facts for fun: Hummingbirds are highly territorial The male likes a high perch to keep and eye out for the...

Sedum Spectabile Variegatum

An asset to any garden. This variegated sedum has long been one of my favorites. It began as a “passalong” plant from a friend, and as the years went by its fine qualities slowly revealed themselves. For those qualities it gained a place among my favorites- combining good looks and usefulness. There are many fine types of sedums, and even within this category, Sedum spectabile, there are many improvements...

Encouraging the Honeybees: Making a Bee Garden

The honeybee populations of the USA have been drastically diminishing [Learn about Colony Collapse Disorder], and though no one knows exactly why, one factor is less foraging. We gardeners can do something about that! It is really important that you never use pesticides in your bee garden. They poison bees. Starvation is currently considered to be the leading cause of bee mortality.[1] So What Do Bees Like? early...

Winter Outlines Garden Bones

Winter is a stark time for most of us in a temperate climate. Doubly so when a fresh snowfall creates lines and shapes, filled in with snowy white. We then see our garden in silhouette, and all its features are outlined for us to better judge the proportions and dimensions of our larger plantings and hardscaping. This is when we can decide how to improve the garden’s structure to give shape to the billowing...

Chives, Onion’s Little Brother

Chives are part of the culinary herb garden, but can be tucked in anywhere – pots, edges, odd corners of a flower bed. They are easy to grow and easy to harvest, as well as being pretty and polite. They grow from small bulbs and can be multiplied by simply digging up a bit of the clump and replanting in the desired location. The leaves are chopped for a bright green garnish and they add a hint of onion...

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