Nature’s Miracle Worker by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In the same way that friends in rural areas might know the difference between a tree branch hitting the side of the house and someone knocking on the door, city dwellers learn to distinguish—before we’ve even turned around—the sound of a car behind us from the hiss of
MoreIllustration by James Olstein Victory or Defeat? by Jerry Silberman Question: How much can I grow in my garden? The Right Question: Do urban gardens have a place in a sustainable food production system? Food provides both all the materials we need to build our bodies and all the energy to run it. Any animal
MoreCommunity Gardening Wisdom collected by the Neighborhood Gardens Trust It takes time and patience“When we finally got a chance to have a garden plot, we were so excited! We’d waited over 10 years to officially get a chance to be part of a special part of our neighborhood. Although we had our own garden plot—it
MoreThree low-maintenance perennial container ideas that will work in very different urban environments by Laura Everard When you’re choosing your own plants for a perennial planter, look for those with similar requirements for sun exposure, watering and soil type. Each of these ideas is designed to create a fantastic arrangement that will wow year-round. Hot,
MorePhoto by Neal Santos The Urban Kitchen Garden by Alex Jones The term “kitchen garden” conjures an image you might see in a history textbook: A woman, probably of Western European descent, harvests something delicious and at the peak of ripeness from a large, bountiful patch of cultivated land mere yards from what is almost
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Illustration by Kathleen White Safe to Grow? by Alex Vuocolo Jennifer Morales knew that the soil beneath her community garden at A and Indiana streets in North Philadelphia might be contaminated. But without the resources or know-how to test the soil herself, there was no way to be sure. “There used to be a
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