Edible landscapes

Want to eat more of what you grow? Bachman's is offering a how-to workshop on edible landscaping, one of the hottest garden trends of recent years. Certified landscape professional Suzanne Gappa will present a step-by-step approach, including tips for designing an easy-care vegetable garden, using edibles in container plantings, and ideas for incorporating other edibles, including herbs, fruit trees, berries and nuts into your landscape.

The workshop will be offered twice, from 2 to 4 p.m. May 2, and 5 to 7 p.m. May 7. The cost is $10, and the location is the Heritage Room at Bachman's on Lyndale, 6010 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. Register at 612-861-7311 or www.bachmans.com.

Container planting, stone patios

What will you plant in your patio pots this growing season? Learn how to create a showstopping look for your doorstep, window box, pool or deck at a free container-planting workshop. Gertens will cover what you need to know to create great-looking and healthy container gardens. The workshop will be offered at 1 p.m. on both May 2 and May 9.

Also at Gertens is a free workshop for DIYers who want to install a natural stone patio or walkway. You'll learn what products are available and what you can do with them, including tips, tricks and tools to successfully complete your project. The workshop will be offered at 11 a.m. May 2.

Gertens is located at 5500 Blaine Av., Inver Grove Heights.

Kim Palmer

“The Living Landscape: Designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden” by Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy. (Photo courtesy Timber Press) ORG XMIT: 1166207

Beauty meets biodiversity

Doug Tallarmy's books grab the gardener's attention. His newest book, "The Living Landscape: Designing for beauty and biodiversity in the home garden," ($25) is no exception. Co-authored with Rick Darke, the book promotes less lawn and more native species, and includes recommendations.

The authors guide you through the layers of a wild landscape — ground layer, tall canopy trees, smaller understory trees, shrubs, wet edges and wetlands, meadows and grasslands — and birds in every layer.

"In the past, we thought nature operated someplace else, and that was good enough. So we designed our yards for beauty, but not for ecological function," says Tallamy. "Today, there is not enough nature left to create the ecosystem services that support humans, so we now have to produce ecosystem services at home."

Newport News Daily Press