There’s a lot to love about Carex. Commonly called sedges, they’re go-to plants for all kinds of projects. Learn our "Sedge Story" and see our video with Marketing Coordinator Alex Stanley-Stretch and Head Grower Bill Hall as they dig deeper into sedges - covering some of the basics, growing tips, their favorites, and more! We hope you’ll check it out!

April 14th was National Gardening Day! This special day was developed to celebrate gardening and its benefits as well as to inspire individuals to get outside, start planting, and make our world a greener place. In this blog post, we cover why National Gardening Day is important, ways to celebrate, and grasses to try in your garden. National Gardening Day may be behind us but we can celebrate gardening every day!

Maybe you didn’t know it at the time, but there’s a strong chance you’ve walked right through Piet Oudolf’s work. The renowned Dutch landscape designer is the mastermind behind some of the most recognizable Eden-like scenes, from New York City’s High Line Park to the private gardens of Noma in Copenhagen. In his new book, At Work, readers get a peek into his creative process, the inspiration, and the techniques that have made him one of the most influential figures in contemporary gardening. 

In this excerpt, Oudolf discusses the importance of embracing plants at every life phase, including their decay, with art curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and artist Tino Sehgal.

Although landscapes have been fairly buttoned down for the last century or so in terms of plant size, gardens were not always populated primarily by tight little mound-shaped varieties. Historically, they have tended to be more robust affairs. Now, the trend is inching back toward larger plants. Larger plants are perfect candidates to screen something best left unseen, such as your neighbor’s shed or your garbage cans. They serve as perennial foundation plantings, standing tall in summer, but opening the view outward in winter. In a modest landscape, it takes fewer plants of hefty dimensions to make a statement, saving gardeners money.

The trend toward native plants and the recent movement of converting lawns into gardens and mini-meadows are also feeding into bulkier gardens. Native species tend to be more voluminous than their introduced hybrid counterparts, and gardeners want plants that will make an impression.

From the choice and arrangement of your pots to an expanded vision of what goes in them, this article discusses creating a container garden - start to finish as well as tips for planting and care.

Spring storm season is here, and storms are definitely wreaking havoc. About 40 million people in 32 states live in cities that have what's called combined sewer systems, meaning they collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater into one pipe. Combined sewer overflows are a major water pollution concern for about 772 cities in the United States because when torrential downpours overwhelm the system, the rain combines with sewage and then is discharged into a local waterway.

In this post, Journalist Bonnie Jean Feldkamp discusses how we can incorporate Green Infrastructure at home to help weather storms.

Urban stormwater runoff is a major source of pollution and flooding in many cities, especially during heavy rain events. It can carry contaminants, such as oil, metals, bacteria, and nutrients, into rivers, lakes, and oceans, harming aquatic ecosystems and human health. It can also overwhelm sewer systems and cause basement backups, street flooding, and combined sewer overflows.

This excellent article posted to LinkedIn discussed urban stormwater runoff and pollution and green infrastructure measures that help solve these problems.

‘Nature positive’ broadly means halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 and last year we saw the term gaining traction. Its implications for our planet are a hotly-contested topic right now, but it's becoming nature’s version of net zero – a term which is firmly in the public consciousness when it comes to climate change.

Most recently, a new study, published in the Royal Society journal, Proceedings B, has analyzed trends in populations of more than 600 different species of birds and mammals, showing that we may be further down the line towards biodiversity loss than previously thought.

Foliage, flowers, and fruit are all characteristics that define a landscape. Pollinators play an essential role in bringing out that final feature. As pollinators traverse the landscape, visiting flowers in search of nectar and pollen, they inadvertently carry pollen between flowers. This transported pollen fertilizes flowers, setting in motion the process where they develop fruit and seeds. Keep in mind that not every plant requires this animal assistance to achieve fruit set. Wind can transport pollen, and some flowers are capable of self-fertilizing. However, in developing a robust landscape it is necessary to consider some principles and practices that can provide peace for our pollinator friends. 

In this article for Synk'd, Dr. Damon Abdi, Assistant Professor of Landscape Horticulture at LSU, discussed the importance of protecting pollinators in our landscapes.

Pollinators such as honeybees produce special enzymes that detoxify defense chemicals produced by plants, new research shows. Many plants produce alkaloids as protection against herbivores, and these toxins are also found in their nectar and pollen.

Check out this article to learn more about this study and how understanding how insects react to specific toxins is vital to their well-being.