Photo from burgh baby.

Building an herb wall would be a huge undertaking, but kudos to the Atlanta Botanical Garden for taking it on!  Tournesol Siteworks has followed the progress of this beautiful project,

The boxwoods were introduced to the planting scheme relatively late in the process, and didn’t have as long to grow in as the other plants. With their tight growth pattern, they may take a little longer to fill in than the other plantings.  The other plantings, however, are already covering the edges of the VGM modules.  We’ll look forward to showing you pictures of the wall once it has a chance to mature.  We’ll also do our best to find out from the maintenance staff how everything performs.

It is stunning and beautiful this herbal wall!

Empty orange bags and onion bags don’t have to help fill up the local landfill. Instead, they can be recycled and used in your garden this spring to protect seedlings.  From Garden Gate eNotes,

With this easy netting system, you’ll stop critters from devouring or digging up your seedlings. And it only takes a few supplies: small stakes, mesh onion bags and landscape pins. Here’s how to put it all together:

Step 1: Push a stake into the ground, next to the plant that needs protection — we used bamboo.

Click over to read the rest of the steps!

From Pinterest.

My brother lives in an area that’s often shady, often cold. But he finds beauty everywhere in his yard and in the surrounding woods.  From Jomegat,

As I headed back to the house, I walked by the tiny flower bed we have on the north side of the house. A couple of years ago a friend of mine brought in a plant that he had found in the woods. He wanted to know what it was, and I didn’t know off the top of my head. I did some research and determined that it was Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens).

Ironic that plantain bananas grow in tropical climates, but this downy rattlesnake plantain clearly thrives in the cool.

Are you missing your lush green lawn as the barren winter months come calling our names?  Perhaps there’s a way you can pretend you’re back in the warm sunshine, feeling lovely grass on your bare feet.  From Inhabitat comes a sod covered dining room table,

The farm-to-table is made from aluminum with sturdy square legs and a tray-like table top. Stones sit at the bottom, which is topped with soil and finally a layer of sod. Watering the sod is done by hand and drains down into the stones. Sunlight, irrigation and interior climatic conditions all determine the status of your table. Unfortunately, no table-sized lawn mower exists, so cutting of the grass is all done by hand with scissors.

Brilliant!

The idea is to prepare for a wedding by spending a year picking up milk glass, then growing succulent plants for the centerpieces.  I applaud the work that went into this and the attention to detail.

Here’s what Miss Morgan Melim says about her project,

When we moved up here we slowly began planting succulents in large and small pots around the house. I was shocked how quickly they began to breed! Crazy baby succulents popped up all around the big ones. Also a few weeks ago my grandma gave me a GIANT pot of succulents she had grown, so we had a ton.

Be sure to click through and look at all the phenomenal pictures!

Photo from Woodland Dreams.

One of these days I’m going to sit down with my husband and come up with a viable landscaping plan for the front of our house.  Right now we have river stone right next to the house and a couple of rose bushes.  We’ve cut down our little landscaping cedar trees because they were looking gross and dead.

I’d like to put in a some more bushes and maybe spider grass.  Definitely a Japanese Maple!  As you can see, we really do need to come up with some design ideas!  Theology & Geometry has already started her dream plan,

My idea, if the sketch is truly undecipherable, is this: Push back the perimeter of the front yard a couple of feet, placing a row or two of nice-looking pavers flush with the street so that the parking that will inevitably be done there won’t continue to rip up my grass and create muddy tire tracks. Install a retaining wall (texture, color, material, and pattern are up for debate) and build up the lawn to level off at the top of the wall. That won’t be too tough since there is already a decent slope to the yard, and I’m not necessarily talking about a very tall retaining wall.

That’s a home owner with a plan!

We have an artificial tree at my house and have had one for the past 20 years – since my oldest daughter was born.  I have been craving and yearning for a live tree again, mostly for the amazing smell of evergreen that permeates a house with a live tree.

For people in Mexico City who want a live tree but don’t want to destroy one, they have an option in the name of Siempre Verde.  They can “rent” a tree for the holidays,

They plant a Douglas Fir tree. When it is in full bloom, they take if from the ground with care so that their roots are kept intact, and place it inside a pot. They deliver it to any address in Mexico City within the first seven days of December. After Christmas, between january 8th and 15th they take it to its original soil. That way the tree is always alive.

I hope there are places in the U.S. that do this, too.  If someone wants to start a new business, this should be one to consider!!

Photo by Tracy Ducasse via flickr creative commons.