Start the New Year with Black-Eyed Peas: Good Luck and Great Gardens! When I was a little girl, every New Year’s Eve meant one thing: my grandfather, Pap, taking over the kitchen to cook black-eyed peas. My grandmother was the family cook, but this one tradition was all his. I’ll be honest—I never really liked…
Is a Soil Test Necessary for Your Vegetable Garden?
Should I test the soil in my vegetable garden before planning my spring garden? A healthy garden starts with healthy soil. By incorporating organic matter like compost and worm castings, you can create a rich and fertile environment for your plants to thrive. Every season, before planting a new garden, I routinely add these amendments…
Christmas Herbs: Rosemary
Herbs have been valued for thousands of years, with depictions even found in prehistoric cave paintings. It’s no surprise they were commonly used during the time of Jesus, as they were common in Mediterranean landscapes. While reading about the significance of rosemary at Christmas, I was fascinated to learn about its connection to the Nativity…
Easy Tips to Help You Attract Butterflies to Your Garden
When planning your vegetable garden this year, don’t forget to invite in the butterflies. Butterflies are great pollinators for those squash and cucumber plants you are planting. I started reading about what I needed to not only attract butterflies to my garden, but to keep them there to lay their eggs, and raise their…
Landscaping: Creating Art with Plants
I’ve been growing vegetables for years, and over the last few I’ve developed a no fuss garden system that has been successful, and allows me to enjoy fresh vegetables for 8 months out of the year. I also incorporate flowers and herbs into my garden plan for companion planting. But that’s where my talent stops. …
How to Revive an Overgrown Garden Part One
I am embarassed to show this eyesore of a garden. I’m not sure how it got so out of control. A busy summer of working, teaching classes, and tending my own vegetable garden, allowed me to keep putting this perennial garden on the backburner. It is right beside the drive way coming into my house….
Preparing Your Lawn and Garden For Winter
Fall is the time of the year when many gardeners start thinking about the best methods to prepare their gardens,and lawns for the coming winter months. Even if you know your average first frost, you need to be ready for an unexpected, sudden frost or unseasonably freezing temperatures. Many of your plants, such as annual…
4 Steps to Create A Versatile Garden
I have been growing vegetable gardens for years, but I feel I’ve neglected creating the inviting space that has been missing in my yard. I hope to take time during the winter months this year to take a course in garden design and incorporate some of the ideas in the following contributed post that offers…
Tips on Growing Garlic
I’ve decided to use one of my raised beds to grow garlic this fall. Since this is my first time growing garlic, we’ll learn together if you’ve never grown it either. Planting garlic in one of your beds is a commitment to space because garlic planted in the fall will be harvested in the summer….
Printable Garden Planner
I’m ready to get out and play in the dirt. We had a rain free day over the weekend, and I cleaned out my butterfly garden, and planted gladiolas and yarrow. My new raised bed is planted with strawberries, and the smaller second one is ready for lettuce seeds. Perennial plants are popping up and…