Our new front yard, part 3: design

...e plant specs. I realized that in the past, I had always thought of native plants (all plants, really) as specimens. I’d say to myself, “I really want a white sage.” And then I’d get one and find somewhere to plant it. I never thought about the whole yard as a system. This process is very different. I had to think about function first. I thought in terms of category. For instance, I needed ground cover. Which native plants would function that way...

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Urban Homestead Trademarks Cancelled!

After six years of legal wrangling, “urban homestead” and “urban homesteading” belong to us all. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has cancelled the trademarks thanks to the hard work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the law firm of Winston & Strawn. Here’s the press release from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: Urban Homesteaders Win Cancellation of Bogus Trademarks Global Community Had Faced Baseless Legal Claims and Content Remo...

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Our new front yard, part 5: Constructing a meadow community

...Then again, that is true for most art. I spent a lot of hours researching plants, trying to find plants which would work together as a community, had low water needs and which would provide nearly continuous bloom over the course of the year. It’s a puzzle that runs in four dimensions, the fourth dimension being time. Then, of course, I had to find the plants themselves, and that was not so easy. So my original selections were edited to fit what...

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Interview With Apartment Gardener Helen Kim

...Without any effort on my part, all of a sudden I was getting way too much aural and visual information! So I worked a little bit at creating some visual privacy for all of us: I hoisted the further-back plants up on multiple bricks and replanted so that the taller plants blocked the bed-view somewhat… and left the closer plants on sill-level. The step-terrace-thingie was a nice aesthetic result – but totally an accidental by-product stemming from...

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How to Deal with Extremely Root Bound Plants

...shots. How to Save Root Bound Plants First off, I’ve found that root bound plants are often dehydrated plants, because the pots are mostly full of roots, making the soil hard and water repellent. If this is so, it helps to give the plants a good soaking before you un-pot them by placing them in a bucket of water for a few minutes. Method A) Mildly root bound plants can be helped along by gently massaging the root ball with your hands just before p...

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