Growing Greener

William Cullina, a leading expert on the propagation of native plants, describes the special insights about a species' adaptations and ecology that starting from seed provides, and offers simple tips for success with this endeavor.

'Good fences make good neighbors,' especially, according to Vermonter Susan Shea, when it comes to gardeners and woodchucks. A nature writer and photographer, Shea details the extraordinary abilities of this native mammal, the important ecological and cultural roles it plays, and how to install a woodchuck-proof fence.

Everything that grows on your property – its "biomass" – should remain there even after death, says this award-winning garden designer and founder of the Perfect Earth Project. Fallen branches, leaves, even tree trunks as they decay reactivate a cycle essential to Nature's health, and are an opportunity for a different kind of beauty.

Overlooked by many gardeners, moths are actually more efficient as pollinators than bees and are the basis of the food chain for everything from bats and songbirds to grizzly bears

Expert tracker Jason Knight shares how to develop the ability to read animal tracks and signs to keep current with wildlife visits and to resolve wildlife problems peacefully and effectively.

Richard Hayden, senior director of horticulture for the High Line, describes how plants and gardeners collaborate in this ever-changing urban paradise

Beth Ginter, executive Director of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, describes her organization's successful program to enlist an often-resistant profession as advocates for environmental activism.

How Village and Wilderness fosters diverse local solutions to a global problem

John Pitroff chose composting when his daughter's birth sparked dreams of leaving her a better world – and now he's addressing environmental problems while making a living helping local gardeners and farmers.

Peter Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist Emeritus of Arnold Arboretum and Visiting Lecturer of Applied Ecology and Planning at MIT explains the history of these garden pests why they can play an essential role in this era of climate change.