Gardening How-to Articles

If you have access to a flat rooftop, you can create a simple, sustainable container garden where you can entertain guests, grow food, and enjoy the view. Learn how to choose the hardiest plants, the safest planters, and most practical watering system. Read › Start a Rooftop Container Garden

City gardens are usually in partial or deep shade, so plants that thrive on the forest floor and in the shade of taller trees can be planted here to model a natural woodland ecosystem. Read › Woodland Garden Plants and Design Ideas for Your Shady, Urban Garden

Your garden or building can help keep sewage out of the Gowanus and other waterways. Read › Guide to Rainwater Harvest

If you’ve got access to an outdoor space with some direct sunlight you can create a small herb garden. Here's how to start one from scratch or expand from established plants Read › Starting an Herb Garden in a Small Outdoor Space

High demand and current safety protocols have added a week to 10 days to many online seed orders. If you have unused seeds from last year or even earlier, they very well might be viable. Read › Germination Test: Are Your Old Seeds Still Good?

A Williamsburg backyard was designed to capture excess storm water. In a twist on the traditional rain garden, its charming stream and small pond hold water that flows from the yard and green roof. Read › A Brooklyn Backyard Rain Garden and Green Roof

Native plants are highly recommended for rain gardens because they are more pest resistant than nonnatives, require no fertilizer, and provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Read › Native Plants for New York City Rain Gardens

Cold-hardy Asian greens like mizuna, komatsuna, and pak choi are easy to grow in spring. They're also healthy and delicious! Read › Grow Mizuna and Other Greens in a Container, Window Box, or Garden

Dye cotton cloth with indigo using shibori techniques. Read › DIY Shibori with Indigo

Fig trees are native to the Mediterranean region, but they are beloved by Brooklyn gardeners. Learn how to protect them through a New York City winter. Read › How to Wrap a Fig Tree to Protect It for the Winter