In recent newsletters I’ve mentioned a couple of projects I’ll tackle this Spring:

➡️ expanding the planting area in my small-but-mighty urban backyard garden;

➡️ creating a brand new flower bed behind our tiny house in the big woods, a project that requires quite a bit of edging which, for me, means quite a bit of lumber.

With all of the tariff talk these days, and my upcoming projects, I realized I don’t really know where the lumber I use with 2xEDGE actually comes from.

So, this morning, I went looking for data.

According to the most recent data on forest products available from the US International Trade Commission (compiled from 2019-2023 data), the top three places that export products like dimensional lumber to the US are Canada (40.5%), China (13.3%), and Brazil (6%).

Pie chart and table from the US International Trade Commission (USITC) showing U.S. general imports by selected trading partners, 2019–23. Screenshot from the USITC website.

Hmmmm.... Interesting....

Given my not-so-distant-future garden edging plans....thinking the sooner I strap lumber to my car roof the better the savings!

All of this talk of lumber reminds me that earlier this year I created a new lumber guide. It pulls together all of the lumber-related 2xEDGE blog posts and adds some new info.

You’ll find cost comparisons, pros and cons of various types of lumber, instructions for getting lumber home - on your own (there are how-to-use-a-ratchet-strap videos) or delivered (possibly for free!), and more.

It's all in the post, aptly titled "Garden Edging with Two-by (2x) Lumber: The Complete Guide".

Take care,
Lisa

Hi there -

It’s a gorgeous sunny Spring morning here in Chicago and I’m enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to birdsong while I type.

I’m a bit concerned about how much this coffee will cost me in the coming weeks…. We shall see.

When the world feels difficult, unclear, uncertain, I turn to those activities that get me out of my head and into my hands and feet. It probably isn’t a surprise that gardening is one of those activities.

But the garden has its own perils in store for me. Like - I can't kill plants. I can kill grass, but not plants. It’s this gardener's Achilles heel!

And so, this Spring, I will finally remove all of the grass in my little backyard oasis to create more garden beds for all of those plants that will need a home when I'm done thinning things out.

This garden is about 11 years old and this photo is from several years back. At this point I have a bumper-crop of transplants to work with. Fine.

Where you see grass, there will be new garden beds. And there will be wood garden edging installed with 2xEDGE Staples (of course!). Not sure if I’ll use 2x2, 2x3, or 2x4 lumber. We shall see.

We’re in the 30s at night here in Chicago and snow is expected next week. So the big garden reno reveal is likely a month away. Fine.

I’ll use the time to find out where the wood chips are (the Chicago Parks District offers wood chips for free!) and sketch up juuuust the right design for this small urban garden space.

All to say, I’m wishing those who need it (like me) time to escape the uncertainty and get into the things that bring you calm, contentment and rejuvenation.

Take care,
Lisa

PS. If you're also scouting for free woodchips, I've got six ideas for you in the 2xEDGE Landscape Edging Ideas blog.

PPS. Getting your hands in the dirt really can change your mood for the better. It's science! Real all about it in this Psychology Today article.

Hi there -

Being out in the garden - transplants in ground, sun on face, hose in hand - remains in the realm of dreams here in Chicago.

Fine. 😑

I've got plenty of other things to tend to - like the 2xEDGE blog!

I just made some tweaks to a post about cedar and cypress mulch. As I reacquainted myself with the problems associated with cypress mulch I realized I was fuzzy on the details all over again. 🫥

So, when shopping for mulch this Spring and peeking over at those bags of cypress mulch that are on sale?

Here are three things about cypress mulch to keep top of mind:

1. Harvesting cypress trees destroys wetland ecosystems and harms wildlife habitats.
2. Cypress trees are not a renewable resource. They take 100 years to mature at which point they can perform a variety of beneficial eco-functions.
3. Mulch made from cypress trees doesn’t offer anything special when compared to other organic mulches like cedar, bark, pine, wood chips.

The complete story is available in the now refreshed post!👍🏼

In other news -

I've been quoted in Homes & Gardens! The article is all about early Spring garden tasks. Guess what task my comments focus on. 🤓

Thanks for reading!

Take care,
Lisa

PS. This Saturday, 3/29, is Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. Happy claps! Best way to shout out? Shop at your favorite independent small businesses!

Happy Spring!

I'm celebrating despite waking up to this -

😑

That's a snap from my living room window taken this first morning of Spring.

I could go on…. But I won't.

🙄

Okay, I'm over it.🌞

Thank you to everyone who took advantage of the subscriber-only 7-days-to-Spring sale that ended last night. I really appreciate you giving 2xEDGE a try!

Missed the sale? No worries! As you’ll see when you visit 2xEDGE.com, the gen-pop SPRING2025 sale - 20% off staples! - is in full effect.

Yes - another opportunity to grab the 2xEDGE Staples you need while saving some loot for bags of mulch and seed packets!

Okay, I’m heading out to shovel snow (instead of dirt 😑).

Whatever the weather in your neck of the woods today, I’m wishing you a fantastic first day of Spring!

Take care,
Lisa

PS. Enter discount code SPRING2025 at checkout. Sale ends at midnight on Sunday 3/23. Discount applies to orders of 2 or more staples. Scratched & Scuffed Staples are excluded.

Hi there.

This past Monday Chicago temps climbed about 25 degrees reaching the low 60s!

Since then, we’ve plunged back down into the 30s and 40s where we’ve been…forever.

I’m mad. 😡

If you’ve read any of my newsletters this year, you probably know I’m losing it over how long it takes for Spring to arrive.

This isn’t a new behavior. To know me is to know my fatal flaw: impatience.

So, yeah. I’m impatient and I’m mad.

To turn around my mood and, more importantly, to say thanks to my subscribers for putting up with my seasonal mood swings:

We're just seven days away from the Vernal Equinox. For the next seven days subscribers - and only subscribers - take 20% off your 2xEDGE Staples order!

Enter discount code 7TOSPRING at checkout and save! (Discount applies to orders of 2 or more staples).

Sale ends Wednesday March 19th at midnight.

(Hey - I do feel better about things now. 🤓)

Yay! Just seven days to Spring!

Take care,
Lisa

Hi there -

Coming into 2025 I was going like gangbusters to organize 2xEDGE videos and blog posts and to generally clean up the 2xEDGE.com website. (Have you seen the homepage? Scroll for new photos!)

Well, for the past several weeks I've been tending to 2xEDGE on Pinterest.

I love Pinterest. It's helped me do everything from growing a better garden to building a better bookcase.

The 2xEDGE Pinterest account has been around for a couple of years now. I admit, I check in on this account...semi-regularly.

Ahem, a little maintenance was needed which necessitated updating blog posts including one of the most popular 2xEDGE blog posts - a deep dive into using cardboard in the garden.

One word applies to using cardboard in the garden: Wrong! That’s backed up by science. (We 💓 The Garden Professors!)

However, if you were innocently scrolling through the cardboard sheet mulching buzz on Pinterest, you'd likely start hoarding cardboard boxes and spending your free time cleaning off tape and labels in prep to use them as a weed barrier/grass smotherer/soil builder this Spring.

Please don't.

As the photo above attests, I, too, used to use the cardboard sheet mulch method to quickly create garden beds. In fact, you'll see me using cardboard like this in a number of 2xEDGE videos. (Revising these videos is on my to-do list!)

As we inch closer to Spring (14 days to go!), and garden plans start to turn into happy hands-on garden tasks, maybe give "Easy & All Wrong! The DIY Cardboard Method In the Garden" a read.

You'll help the worms in your garden thrive🪱, avoid putting out a welcome mat for termites🐜, and skip adding forever chemicals to your soil! 🌱🌎

It's all in the post. Pins to follow!

Take care,
Lisa

PS: Friday March 7th is National Employee's Day. High-five a worker! (High-fiving yourself is fair play!)

PPS: Saturday March 8th is International Women’s Day. We appreciate your appreciation! 🤓

Hi there.

On the 2xEDGE.com site there’s a page where I share plans for typical garden edging installations. It’s useful for figuring out how many 2xEDGE Staples are needed to edge a flower bed, a garden path, whatever needs edging!

Something I’ve always wanted to create is a zig-zag garden bed border. There's a plan for it! And I think I’ve figured out where to try out this fun edging design.

You might recall that in my last message I honored a tree we had to have removed. It was right behind our little house in the forest. Removing it created a new wide open sunny garden space (as well as a giant and glorious pile of wood chips!).

The house is just a little wood frame box. There’s nothing all along the back of it except weeds and dirt. Well, and now - sunshine!

I found this online garden planner and got to sketching -

I think the zig-zag garden bed along the back of the house could be a cool way to start gardening (and maybe lounging) in this space.

What do you think?

If you’re looking for garden design ideas or are ready to go with your garden plan and just want to verify how many 2xEDGE Staples you need, .

We also have a that’s great for figuring out how many staples you need if you're installing lumber in a long straight line.

And if you’re looking for an easy to use garden planner, I recommend the one I used to create the sketch above. It's intuitive and free to use!

Take care,
Lisa

PS: 20 days until the Vernal Equinox!

Hi there.

Have I mentioned that my partner and I have a little house in a big forest? You can catch a glimpse of the property in many of the videos I've posted to the 2xEDGE Youtube channel.

It's actually this forest, or I should say a tick bite 😬 that happened to me in this forest, that set my mind to work on landscape edging design. (Curious? Here's the story.)

We're in our fifth year of creating garden spaces here, there, and everywhere. I've never had access to so much garden-ready real estate. Thrilling if overwhelming at times.

Also sad at times.

Like around new year's day when we learned that an enormous poplar tree needed to come down. It was rotted through at about its mid-point 50 or so feet up. The threat of it falling onto our little house was a little too real.

It was a bummer to get this news. We love our trees! And this giant was a majestic feature in our backyard.

We left it to our tree guy who preferred to do his work "when nobody's going to be around. Just in case...." 😐

A few weeks later he texted us photos of the completed job. It was shocking to see a giant wide open space where there used to be a gorgeous enormous tree.

Swiping through the photos and feeling all the feels as I made my way through our changed landscape, I got to this snap:

🤓

Whaaaaat?

Game changed!

It's just luck that our tree guy dumped that pile of wood chips right behind a giant 6-sided flower bed I made last Fall.

No wheel barrow needed? Just shovel over the good stuff directly from the pile? My back thanks you tree guy!

And we owe many thanks to this tree, for this life giving and generous mulch pile. 🙏🏽

With every garden bed we create or replenish this Spring you 🌳 will live on.

Take care,
Lisa

PS. Check out the 2xEDGE Landscape Edging Ideas blog. It's full of mulch-related posts.

PS: Exactly 4 weeks to go until the Vernal Equinox!

Hi there.

Earlier this week Kate in South Carolina emailed me. She missed the window to use her 2xEDGE "welcome" discount code.

She wondered if she could possibly get another code because she was ready to purchase. "Just thought I'd ask."

Of course I gave Kate another discount code!

Then I looked up the temps in Kate's town, mostly because all I was hearing about for days was the mondo snow storm that was coming for Chicago.

Seems that, while I'm shoveling snow this weekend, Kate will likely be out in her garden, where it will be a balmy 61 degrees, edging a flower bed.

Sigh.

After emailing with Kate I headed out to the post office to drop off 2xEDGE shipments and caught these lovelies popping up here and there.

Daffodils!

A reminder that even here in Chicago, where snow is on the ground and temps are in the 20s, Spring may not be in the air, but it's definitely on its way.

I'm glad Kate got in touch. She inspired the 2xEDGE Valentine's Day Sale - where we're turning a missed opportunity into a second chance.💞

Use discount code SECONDCHANCES at checkout and get 15% off of your 2xEDGE order. Don't wait too long - sale ends Sunday, 2/16, at midnight.

For all of you who are in warmer climes and already out in your gardens scheming and dreaming, enjoy the weeds and seeds!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Take care,
Lisa

PS: Just 4 weeks and 6 days until the Vernal Equinox!

Hi there.

Today is Western Monarch Butterfly Day. And there's bad news.

Turns out that both Western and Eastern monarchs are in big trouble.

Before 2010 there were millions of Western Monarchs wintering along the Pacific Coast. By 2020, the population had dwindled to less than 2,000.

The reasons for this severe population decline include: loss of habitat (development), pesticide use (including pesticide coated seeds which - just - no), and (sigh) climate change.

Since 2020 the monarch count has increased to around 200,000. A lot of advocacy work is behind this good news including a push to get monarchs protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Thing is, the Act is overseen by two federal agencies - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - that have uncertain futures.

So, that's the doom and gloom. Here's the hopeful to-do list -

A good portion of the recent ten-fold increase in the population of these glorious pollinators was due to us: the humble👩🏼‍🌾, the mighty👨🏽‍🌾, the gardener.

We planted milkweed to house and feed monarch caterpillars and tended to nectar rich plants to give adult monarchs the energy to migrate and proliferate.

Of course we did! And we'll continue to do same.

If you're expanding your flower garden this year, check out this list of monarch friendly native plants, sortable by state.

Got room for more milkweed in your garden? Here's a list of places to grab milkweed seeds that are - important - native to your area. Fat and happy caterpillars coming up!

The Xerces Society is a great place to learn about monarchs and what else needs doing.

As for me, milkweed seeds are on order for the pollinator bed I prepped last Fall - with monarchs in mind! (How-to video available on Youtube.) Just six weeks to go until the start of Spring!

Celebrating better days to come for the Western Monarch.

Take care🦋,

Lisa

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Melissa Burovac on Unsplash

Hi there.

Have you ever made up your mind to do something even though you weren't sure how to do it or whether you could pull it off?

Regardless, you made the decision: "I'm doing it! Comfort zone be damned!"

That was how I felt when I made my very first 2xEDGE video back in April 2022.

The subject: a neighborhood parking strip tree with a sad, it-all-fell-down wood garden border.🌳

I thought, "OMG fixing this would be a great way to show how easy it can be to re-use existing garden borders!"

So, I roped a fearless pal into helping me with the shoot.

There was rehearsal, there was a wardrobe malfunction, there were friendly and not so friendly dogs walking through the shot.🐕‍🦺

Aaaaand, scene.

The shoot took about 30 minutes.

I spent the next 48 hours tearing my hair out while using new-to-me video editing software.😵‍💫

My goal was to turn what I came to realize was, ahem, a bunch of random video clips and photos into a short and poignant story focused on reduce/reuse/recycle in the garden.♻️

You know - living my values!

Is it my best video? My worst? On this one I agree with those who say: it's the journey that matters.☯️

And the lesson: if you have garden borders that need a pick me up? It really is quick and easy to get them back in service with 2xEDGE Staples.

This time around, add some color accents to those borders! There's still time to get in on the (code) COLORMEHAPPY sale. $2 off all color staples. Enter your subscriber-only code at checkout. Ends tonight!

Take care,
Lisa

PS. Just seven weeks until the vernal equinox!

Hi there.

Have you noticed that I've been on a tear lately with digital gardening tasks?

Not Spring garden prep. We all know that's many weeks away. Eight weeks away if we're ... dealing ... in reality.

Sigh.😐

Fresh off of tending to the 2xEDGE Youtube channel, which is now in full bloom, I've moved over to the 2xEDGE blog - and struck black gold!

Gardeners know all about black gold - that nutrient rich compost that's a soil building wonder. Spread it around and watch your plants (and your worms) stand up and shout "thank you!"

It takes a bit of work to create black gold. Fine.👩🏼‍🌾

I pulled on my gardening gloves and dove deep into the blog, turning it over, breaking up clumps, removing bits that aren't enriching.

And now? The compost is ready for use!

Head on over to the 2xEDGE Landscape Edging Ideas Blog and grab your black gold!

The blog is teeming with -

• tips and tutorials,
• insights on mmmmmulch (can't help it, I just love mulch),>
• interviews with 2xEDGE customers, and
• info on using lumber as garden edging.

All to say, it's all here for you: the 2xEDGE blog, the 2xEDGE Youtube channel, and me.🤓

Take care,
Lisa

PS. You can still save on >color staples - use the COLORMEHAPPY discount code. And the scratched-n-scuffed continues. Save $3 on Rustic Steel Staples!

Hi there.

You know that spot in your garden that isn't really "garden"?

It's sort of scraggly. Unplanned. A bit forlorn.

Maybe it's your catch-all space: a holding pen for transplants, a place to tuck thinned out perennials and left-over annuals (because, like me, you can't stomach tossing living plants in the compost or - 😵- garbage so tuck ‘em in...somewhere).

Until very recently, the 2xEDGE Youtube channel was a lot like a scraggly, unkempt garden patch. I used it for storage when I used it at all, uploading videos without much thought.

This year I decided to clean up the channel. I pruned, fertilized, topped up, raked smooth.... My goal was to create a useful learning space for DIYErs like us.

Well, the channel has bloomed!

You'll find how to videos, customer project videos, project outcome videos, and fun Youtube shorts.

Please have a look! Let me know what you'd like to see. Subscribe to the channel and be the first to know when new content is uploaded.

For my part, I'll continue with this digital "yard work", tending to the channel to help it thrive and grow into an even better resource.

All this cultivation work has me thinking: that scraggly unplanned patch in my yard is undergoing a metamorphosis this year!

👉🏼If you're thinking this is your year to give that scraggly patch in your garden a little love, we've got a "scratched-n-scuffed" sale going on. Save $3 on Rustic Steel and Satin Black Staples!

Take care,
Lisa

PS. Just nine weeks until the vernal equinox!

Hi there.

So, this past weekend a neighbor, who's also a friend and a gardener, caught me staring at my small backyard garden.

Dusted with snow on a cold grey day, it was hard to imagine that under all that gloom there's a vibrant life giving garden - and not just for the birds and bees.

"Great news!" my neighbor said. "Spring officially starts in just ten weeks!"

(FYI - the COLORMEHAPPY discount code will be in effect for three more weeks.💰Save $2 per color staple in Mint Green, Forest Green, Rose Pink, >Robins Egg Blue, and Monarch Orange through Jan 31.)

She meant well. But ten weeks may as well be ten years from nowwwwww!

It's okay. I have sweet recent memories of moments in the garden last Fall. Like edging this new bed to create a shade garden on the side of my she shed!

I got a little adventurous with this project. I used a dark walnut stain on the wood and paired that with Robins Egg Blue staples. Both are super contrasty and look great together.

Soon this patch will host a variety of shade plants. Mostly ferns which the deer have yet to show interest in.🦌🤞🏼

Plus (score!) I got the last few pots of purple Jacob's Ladder and sweet woodruff on end-of-season sale at our local garden center. Can't wait for these to make an appearance this Spring!

Check out the project video on the 2xEDGE Youtube channel, and get all the project deets in this article posted to the 2xEDGE Landscape Edging Ideas Blog.

And remember: just ten more weeks until Spring!

Take care,
Lisa

Hi there.

It's been a while since I sent out a 2xEDGE e-newsletter.

Apologies!

Life happened, I lived it, and good news: my mother is now happily living a stress-free life in a terrific assisted living situation. Phew!

If you've ever helped family, or framily, make a huge and anxiety-ridden life transition in a hurry, you no doubt get the need for stress relieving breaks.

Gardening is a go-to stress reliever for me. So when the going got tough last year, when I could, I got into the garden.

I tackled this project - installing garden edging alongside our storage shed - a few months ago. (The part where I had to get busy with a pick-axe? Extra stress relieving!)

For years this full sun patch has been crying out for a flower bed. As you can see, I decided to go all in on color, painting the 2x4 lumber to match the shed and using Forest Green 2xEDGE Staples to complement that muted blue-gray color.

(I agonized over which color staple to use but then figured I can always swap out one color staple for another - easy enough to do with 2xEDGE.)

We Midwesterners are months away from picking up a garden hose or planting anything outside. Regardless, I'm so looking forward to planting up this bed this Spring! With my mother safe and secure, my newly freed-up garden design brain can have a little fun with this.

Today I'm thinking marigolds - saturated orangey-yellows against the blue-grey will look spectacular.

Or maybe zinnias - the shed would be a fantastic backdrop for a multitude of colorful flowers.

Or - oooh - bee balm?

So many choices! I'll keep you posted!

The project video is available on the 2xEDGE Youtube channel. Get all the project details in the article posted to the 2xEDGE Landscape Edging Ideas Blog.

I hope, like me and mine, you and yours are finding things to feel optimistic and excited about in 2025.

Happy New Year! And Happy 2xEDGE-ing!

Lisa

PS. To help bring about a more colorful 2025 I've dropped the price on 2xEDGE Staples in Mint Green, Forest Green, Rose Pink, Robins Egg Blue, and Monarch Orange. 💰Save $2 per color staple! Use coupon code COLORMEHAPPY at checkout. Sale ends January 31.