Trouble in paradise: Disappointments in school and community gardens point to the need for systemic changes in how our society organizes land, labour and resources.
(Mitchell McLarnon)
Gardens require huge labour, and outcomes like health, well-being or food security are affected by systemic barriers people face in cities and schools.
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If you’re hot, so are your four-legged neighbours.
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Garden surveys reveal what makes a house a home for Britain’s favourite mammal.
Common hazel dispersing pollen in early spring.
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Pollen brings seasonal misery to millions of Americans, but it serves a critical purpose: fertilizing many kinds of plants, including food crops.
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Variegated plants can be more expensive than their all-green counterparts. But there are ways to protect your investment.
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These fascinating spiders only live for about a year and have particularly interesting family arrangements.
A house martin visits an urban nest.
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Clean bird feeders and grow insect-friendly plants.
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The phenomenon is called heliotropism, and sunflowers are most famous for it. But why do they track the sun? And how?
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Eating bird food was also linked to a nearly four-fold increase in their breeding densities.
An insect-friendly wildflower swath at California State University, Fullerton’s arboretum.
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Looking for a new gardening challenge? Turning your yard into an insect-friendly oasis could mean less work and more nature to enjoy.
A late snowfall could set back the growth of this budding lilac.
oddharmonic/Flickr
Trees and shrubs in cold-weather climates rely on certain signals, such as temperature and light, to know when to leaf out and bloom. Climate change is scrambling those signals.
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Even if you don’t have a garden, there are still ways you can benefit and connect with the nature on your doorstep.
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As a child, there is unbound magic in a garden and during COVID-19 many of us adults discovered their importance anew.
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Research shows children who go camping do better at school and are healthier and happier.
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Whether it’s cars passing nearby, a neighbour’s blaring music or the constant drone of a lawnmower, the trouble with sound is that – unlike light – it can be hard to block out completely.
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Garden bird feeders and water baths could be hotspots for infectious disease transmission.
Infrastructure as art: Jacob van Ruisdael, ‘Windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede,’ c. 1670.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Are facilities that produce necessities like energy and clean water doomed to be ugly? Not when artists and landscape architects help design them.
Blue tits are regulars at the garden bird feeder.
Mark Fellowes
Domestic gardens offer an oasis for urban wildlife, and are a sight for sore eyes during lockdown.
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With a bit of sensible planning, you can retain plants close to your home without creating a huge bushfire risk.
Need a handkerchief?
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Like many plants, onions have defenses to ward off creatures that may want to eat them. Their secret weapon is a kind of natural tear gas.