We’re all feeling the pinch of close quarters these days. With family members working and schooling from home, we have less time to ourselves. As much as we love each other, taking a break from the togetherness, stress, and worry can help each of us to stay sane. One way to do this is to head out to the garden to work on spring garden chores. Even if the weatherRead More →
I walked out into the garden and was shocked to see branches of my beautiful apricot tree all over the ground. My husband was hard at work cutting more. That was in my early years of gardening when I didn’t fully understand the value of giving your trees and shrubs little haircuts. Late in the winter season is when you’ll want to prune your shrubs and trees. This is vitalRead More →
The cold, gray days of winter are upon us. We often have the tendency to stay cocooned in our cozy warm houses when the weather turns cold. But there are simple activities that you should do in your garden this winter to help prepare for spring. Some of these activities will need to be done outdoors but a few of them can be enjoyed in front of your fire. BeginRead More →
Every year as we count down to the new year I like to take time to think about the past year. As I sit in front of my fire and finally enjoy some downtime, I’m reflecting on last year’s garden. And I’m thinking about the garden year to come. You should spend some time thinking about your new year in the garden as well. This past year was a busyRead More →
Each year, as the garden season winds down, it’s a good idea to assess how your garden grew. Hopefully, everything you planted was amazing but things don’t always turn out the way you hoped. Sometimes flowers do not grow and thrive. And sometimes you’ll struggle with diseases and pests. And of course, you might over-plant and regret the excessive amount of growth. The best gardeners will learn from each mistakeRead More →
It’s getting to be that time of year again. You know where you have to scour the Internet, rack your brain, and walk the isles of Target trying to get inspiration for gifts. Each year seems to get harder to find those “perfect” gifts. Try something a little different this year. Gifts you can give from your garden can be a great place to start. When you come up withRead More →
This time of year, hydrangea flowers are abundant in my garden. It was not always this way. My husband had some sort of bias against them. He would refer to the hydrangeas as a funeral flower. Whenever I suggested we plant one, he was firmly against it. But one day, I found a white hydrangea on the clearance table and couldn’t resist it. I planted it in an out-of-the-way areaRead More →
The weather has turned cool. An October chill is in the air. You might think that it’s time to put away the garden tools for the season. But fall is actually a perfect time to garden. When the first frost hits, many gardeners throw in the seasonal towel. But as long as you don’t have a hard killing frost, you can still get mileage from your garden. There are aRead More →
Have you noticed more aches and pains as you’re getting older? It’s a little harder to squat down without your knees hurting. Picking up that pot hurts your back just a little. Your fingers get too stiff to hold the rake sometimes. Ahhh aging! As we grow older, we don’t have as much energy to work in our gardens. And when we do, we seem to have more difficulty doingRead More →
Can you squeeze in 30 minutes a day? Think of all the time you spend on non-essential activities like scrolling through your Facebook feed, watching a mindless TV show (Family Feud anyone) or reading the latest magazine before you get to the checkout line. I hear so many people say they don’t have time to garden. You can’t squeeze in another minute for creating a beautiful garden…a garden that willRead More →