WWHEN SPRING APPROACHES and we get out into the garden again, it’s easy to get distracted by the to-do list, or just by the latest pretty thing that’s emerging after winter’s relative blank slate. But there’s a whole other layer out there in front of our eyes and ears and noses, and it’s actually the foundation layer of life. How about we gardeners learn to tune in not just t...

MARGARET RENKL’S newest book, “The Weedy Garden: A Happy Habitat for Wild Friends,” is aimed at children, but it’s really for everyone, she says. And indeed, we grownups, too, often need a reminder that our gardens are not just “our” gardens, but critical habitats for our wild neighbors. How we manage these spaces determines whether bees and butterflies and frogs and fireflie...

WHEN GROWING from seed, the list of decisions starts with what turns out to be the simplest question of all: which variety of bean or tomato or zinnia to order. But then things get more complicated, questions like figuring out when to start what, and whether any of your choices need any special pre-treatment or particular conditions to germinate—including what germinating med...

WHAT DO YOU SAY we explore expanding our herb-gardening efforts to include some goodies to fill those jars in the spice rack, too? Most of us have probably grown cilantro, for instance, with its distinctive-tasting bright green foliage, but I suspect few of us have harvested coriander seed, the other possible crop that same species of plant can yield. Sarah Kleeger of Adaptiv...