OMG OMG we are moving! More on where we are going later, today I'm focused on the why. As I re-read what I wrote below I have noticed that this post is very long, and gushy, and riddled with run-on sentences. Maybe you stumbled on my blog and you don't want to read my stream … Continue reading Embracing Change: Our Family’s Journey to a New Home
So you're thinking about ditching your lawn. Do it! We've done it, and we promise you won't regret it! In fact, this whole crazy venture we have embarked on by starting Local Leaf first started with an idea to replace a small part of the lawn in our front yard. We started small (not really, … Continue reading Lawn Alternatives: Create a Sustainable Outdoor Space
Contracting the services of a reputable and traditional landscaping company is the best way to achieve uniform manicured paths in highly trafficked areas of your yard. That is absolutely not what we do. Some of our finished garden paths While we have studied and learned from watching countless hours of DIY videos what the essential … Continue reading Transform Your Yard with Creative Garden Pathways
Imagine a garden that you (almost) never have to water. In a nutshell, that is xeric garden design. Reminiscent of a desert landscape, but adapted to our northern climate, xeric gardens thrive without additional water needs beyond natural elements once established. Plants selected for use in xeric landscape design are drought tolerant, thrive in dry … Continue reading Creating a Drought-Tolerant Xeric Garden
The first patch we converted from lawn in our garden was the dreaded "right of way" area of our front yard, which sees heavy foot traffic and deposits of winter salt and ice left by city ploughs, where I thought no plants would ever survive a winter season. My solution for the space was to … Continue reading Creative Rock Garden Ideas for Challenging Areas
Our property in located on a quiet street corner, and we have an impossibly tiny back-yard but a LOT of space wrapping around the side of our house (side-garden?), which was dead and dessert like grass until last year. This year we transformed this side-yard into a thriving mix of annual flowers, vegetables, native flowers … Continue reading Essential Tips for Designing a Productive Vegetable Garden
Do you dream of walking through your gardens with a steaming cup of coffee in the morning, stopping to harvest fresh fruit and vegetables along the way? We love designing gardens incorporating edible fruit, berries, trees and perennial vegetables into beautiful landscapes. We have defined and carved out unique green areas in our own gardens … Continue reading Edible Permascapes and Mixed Food Gardens
While native flowers hold the greatest interest and value to our native pollinators, gardens don’t need to take an all or nothing approach. A garden needs to bring you as much joy as it does them, and there are so many beautiful plants you can incorporate into your gardens that originally came from other parts … Continue reading Pollinator Gardens: Benefits of Native and Exotic Flowers
Native gardening is trending, but many still think they look messy. It doesn't have to be that way! Native plants support our environment and come in lots of varieties. With smart design, native gardens can look stunning and attract wildlife. Just pick plants suited to your space and enjoy the natural visitors!
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