They are everywhere, dead or alive, but who are they? LET’S SHED SOME LIGHT ON IT Lycorma delicatula aka Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is native to China and was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014. Its preferred host is the Tree of Heaven but it also feeds on a wide range of ornamental and fruit trees and other plants. SLF is invasive and easily spread by people who can carry the insects or the eggs in their outdoor items. Nymphs (juvenile forms) and adults feed mostly on the invasive Tree-of-Heaven but also on crops like grapes, apples, hops, walnuts, and other hardwood trees such as pines, m ..read more

Did you know that invasive trees, shrubs, and perennials are all around us and, maybe, in your garden too?! GUIDE TO COMMON INVASIVE SPECIES Everyone loves a nice shrub or tree in their yard, so you go to the nursery and pick a beautiful and colorful plant and think “AS nursery would never sell invasive species right?” WRONG! Sometimes, plants that come from other regions can spread uncontrollably (by roots or/and seeds) for the lack of pests, diseases, and competition and they can quickly replace the local flora. And many of these plants are not a good food source for local fauna while attac ..read more

Spring is so close and so is the time to make a decision. What’s your favorite garden style? We’ll help you decide. Just keep reading… DID YOU KNOW? The right garden will change your life! You are probably looking outside and you can’t figure out what is wrong with your yard. There are many plants, or there are none, there is no color, there is too much color, you don’t like the shape of the plants…too formal or too informal. Well, let me tell you…your garden is not the right one for you! Sit down, get a cuppa, and keep reading! Choosing the right garden can be overwhelming, especially if you ..read more

Landscape Construction Let Gardenalia help you bring the comfort of your home to your outdoor spaces. We are Green, holistic, & ecologically responsible designers, Bee Balm in Pittsburgh Parks I found a patch of Monarda in Highland park while hiking with my puppy and I had to take a photo of this wonderful yet fragile flower! DID YOU KNOW? Monarda didyma (bee balm) was used by Native Americans to brew a tea to treat chills and fever. They called it the Oswego Tea. The oil within the leaves was used to treat insect bites and relieve bronchial congestion. This is a great perennial that st ..read more

GARDENING VS LANDSCAPING Both Gardening and Landscaping are techniques to improve your property and they both involve plants, rocks, and other elements. They are both meant to enhance the beauty of a home in general. 1. Gardening It is the practice of growing and taking care of plants in planters and in the ground. Gardening doesn’t necessarily involve a design, therefore, anyone can be a gardener! It can be a hobby and an interest but also a job. Professional gardeners are some kind of magicians and they know how to take care of plants whenever homeowners can’t figure out what is happening t ..read more

You are probably standing in front of the window and staring at your back yard or front yard and you are probably thinking “Those blooms are so dead. The mulch so dry. Those perennials so slimy”. If this sounds like you then your garden needs a face lift. FALL MAINTENANCE Let’s see what to do when our garden looks sad. Pruning is the most important practice for spring and fall. Not only your garden will look better but it will also be healthier. In fact dead leaves and blooms are very attractive to fungi and bacteria that will quickly infect your plants and, unfortunately, kill them. So, take ..read more

If you are familiar with the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) or you have it in/in proximity of your garden you might have noticed how hard is to grow something underneath it! Let’s see why but first… …let’s get to know it a little better before judging it. The black walnut tree is native or North America and its nuts were ‘famous’ already long long time ago in fact the presence of walnut shells is very common in Native American archeological sites and they have been harvested for thousands of years. In Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania German settlers would choose lands with abundance of this tree and t ..read more

Late author and neurologist, Oliver Sacks, wrote about the value of green space to the injured mind in a collection of essays, Everything in Its Place. The piece was recently reprinted as an opinion for the New York Times. We love how his brain works, and we think you should too. Nature is medicine. Please click on the title below for a fantastic read, and consider the power of stepping outside. Oliver Sacks: The Healing Power of Gardens ..read more

Thanks to Paul Tappenden for this great article! One of the first plants to flower each year is an often overlooked member of the mint family, yet, by mid-April it can be found growing in large patches. The flowers of Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) begin to appear in mid-March, and the leaves will often stay around all year long. Dead Nettle in flower. This ubiquitous wayside weed is both nutritious and medicinal. It is abundant in Vitamin C and other essential vitamins and minerals (particularly iron), and, although it has a strong, earthy flavor, it makes a great addition to a spring ..read more

When William Forsyth brought forsythia from the far east to western gardens, I wonder if he had any idea that the precious cuttings transported in Wardian cases  would spread so far and wide. It’s now a ubiquitous landscape shrub that graces our gardens, highways, parks and vacant lots - a brave harbinger of a new season. Forsythia spilling over an embankment. It’s April, and the canary yellow forsythia is blooming everywhere. In our Western Pennsylvania gardens,  the flowers rarely get to age gracefully. As soon as they reach maturity - zap! There's a freeze or a heat wave and they ..read more