Landscape Articles

Gardening provides us with many joys, but there are, of course, hurdles to jump. The fact of the matter is that you can’t have a garden without garden pests. You can spray for them if you want to take care of them quickly. Or, if you can’t bear to kill them them, you can let them run wild and eat holes through all of your beautiful produce.

Many of us are seeking calm moments throughout our increasingly busy days. Not only should our homes provide us with peace and comfort, but we should also find that tranquil balance in our lawns and gardens, the natural extension of our homes.

Mushrooms play a very important role in many different ecosystems. The fruiting bodies are a source of food for many different species, not just humans, and on a smaller scale, the mycelium digests and decomposes organic matter that may not be able to be used by other organisms.

But even more important, is a relationship called mycorrhizal symbiosis. In this relationship, the fungus grows around the roots of a vascular plant, and passes water and mineral nutrients to the plants in exchange for complex sugars created through photosynthesis.

The most common type, arbuscular mycorrhiza, is found in at least 70% of all plant species, including many crop species such as wheat and corn that humans rely on for survival. If you have nearly anything growing in your garden right now, you can thank mycorrhizal fungi for making it happen!

Adding compost to your lawn and garden is one of the best, easiest, most natural ways to get happy, healthy plants. Compost can be bought at lawn and garden centers, farmers markets, and sometimes even from zoos. But making your own compost is relatively easy, and is great for the environment.

Food waste is a major problem in the United States. It’s easy to forget about the bag of apples on your counter, and since one bad apple spoils the bunch, once they start to go, it can be hard to catch them before they all get mushy.

This time of year, walking out to fetch the mail may be one of the only ways you're scratching the itch to spend some time outdoors. These short forays to the front stoop or the end of the driveway don't allow us to get a whole lot of fresh air, but what's inside the mailbox might be bringing you a little of the sunshine you crave. In the gray winter months, few things brighten a gardener's path quite like the surge of catalogs that find their way to our doors. From seeds and sprouts, to trees and tubers, the handful (or dozens!) of enticingly colorful magazines that are delivered to our homes really kickstart the desire to get a jump on the growing season.

Before the mass adoption of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and mechanized farming equipment in the early 20^th century, people had to rely on more natural methods of cultivating plants. Prior to these changes, gardening and agriculture changed relatively very little in the previous 10,000 years or so since humans first began cultivating plants. These methods have made a major resurgence recently as the damage done by chemical pesticides and fertilizers during the past 80 years has become more and more clear.

Watching your garden erupt in the spring, flourish in the summer, and change and fade in the fall is  thrilling. There is so much beauty to observe and so many fulfilling tasks to complete to help your garden be as gorgeous and healthy as it can be. But what about winter? Twiddling your thumbs and turning calendar pages until spring warmth returns aren't your only options. There's plenty that can still be done in and for the garden during the darker and colder days of the year. Getting out and working outside isn't only great for the health of next season's garden, but the fresh air helps to stave off any serious cases of cabin fever. Below are 5 ideas to help get you on the path to enjoying your garden even in winter.

For an environmentally conscious gardener, managing your garden during a drought is a constant battle between needing to conserve water and keeping your parched plants alive. Drought is often paired with heat waves which can further complicate keeping your garden from drying out completely.

Fortunately, many species of plants have mechanisms in place to help them survive less than ideal conditions. Between those mechanisms and a human helping hand, we can help plants survive the dry spells.

Home lawn care has been a subject of human interest since around the 11^th century, with the Japanese sodding areas around their gardens with turf grasses taken from livestock fields. Since then, with the introduction of exotic grass species from all over the world and modern lawn equipment, our lawns today are a long way from where they began all those years ago.

What was once a mix of replanted native grasses and weeds has become monocultures of imported and genetically modified grasses. In their defense, these carefully curated grasses look great to the human eye, but all wildlife sees is a desert.

Rewilding is not a new idea, but it has grown in popularity over the last several years. The modern homeowner is becoming more aware of how even small choices they make in their backyard affects the bigger picture.

As we understand the relationship between us and nature more, there are several changes we can make in our backyards that will help the environment and the critters who we share it with. The beauty of these changes is that they are not expensive—in fact, some of them are even time and money-saving because they hinge on us doing less!

Pollination has recently become a hot topic in part because a fatal disease has been killing honeybees, threatening the ability of commercial farms to produce an adequate supply of the fruits and vegetables we all love – not to mention honey. Pollination by bees, hummingbirds, moths, bats, butterflies, flies, and beetles ensures the continued existence of millions of plant species, and in turn, of most animal species, including humans – in fact, one of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on them. 

It seems intuitive that we like to spend time outdoors -- we’ve all craved nature at one time or another -- but science has now identified some of the reasons we actually need to spend time in a more natural setting. In fact, there is a term for this, Ecotherapy, that refers to the various physical and psychological benefits of being outside.

As the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, we’re hearing a lot about test kits, treatments, vaccines, and ventilators. And while all of these are crucial to the COVID-19 fight, many people don’t realize that there’s a lot of help to be found in a surprising place: nature.

The restorative benefits of nature, many health experts believe, can lower blood pressure, boost immune function, and reduce stress. Communing with nature is a full mind-body experience that is good for your well being and soul. There are no special requirements, just a willingness to spend some time outdoors, ideally doing something physical, such as gardening, mowing, trimming, or other landscaping tasks.

In recent blog posts, we have been discussing the key differences between organic and conventional landscaping. While conventional gardening tactics may be more prominent, we believe that organic methods are better for the environment, more cost-effective in the long run, and safer for humans and animals.

To close out our series on organic gardening, we’re offering four guiding principles of organic gardening that we believe will make any landscape healthier. At Moodscapes, we strive to follow these guidelines on every landscape maintenance project we take on.

Summer is about getting together with friends and family in a fun celebration of the season. Unfortunately, this is a tradition that is often interrupted by uninvited pests like mosquitoes. These insects can make happy guests itchy and miserable and leave them wanting to stay inside instead of enjoying the outdoors.

A mosquito problem is certainly an issue that needs to be solved before the season of summer parties comes into full swing. Don’t rely on Roundup or other chemicals to rid your yard of pests, as pesticides can be harmful to you and your family and contaminate the local water supply. Here are five organic methods to use to keep mosquitoes away from your summer gatherings:

Say the word “bees” around most people and the first thing that comes to mind is a black-and-yellow menace that terrorizes children and summer get-togethers.

But that’s an unfair and incomplete picture of the importance of honeybees to the world around us. Bees pollinate more than 400 different types of agricultural products, including many common fruits and vegetables. In 2010, honeybees helped produce $19 billion worth of crops - and that’s in the U.S. alone! They also produce one of the most common and delightful treats consumed by people today in many forms: honey.

Like every other state, honey bees are common in Massachusetts, both in nature and in beekeeping colonies. Whether you are a honey bee enthusiast thinking about starting a colony, want to attract them to pollinate your garden, or are looking to protect your property from bees, here’s what you need to know.

Gardens are a great option for creating an area that is both soothing and good for the environment. When landscaping, you need to consider your personal preference and the effect the plants you choose will have on the environment.

Entering your yard should feel like coming home to your own little sanctuary from the world. How can you do this naturally? A fence may seem like an easy solution, but there are other ways to give your backyard some seclusion that will be efficient and better looking than iron or wooden planks.

Fences can feel cold and impersonal. In crowded, suburban and urban areas, sound and light is still carried over them. They’ll also interrupt the expansive, picturesque views that you want to enjoy.

Instead of a fence, here are five simple and natural ways to help you create privacy, diminish light and sound pollution, and give your yard a warm and welcoming feel: