Every morning, I take a stroll around my newly planted garden areas. The seedlings are coming up and the dahlias have broken ground. It’s so exciting to see all the new growth. While my plants are growing slowly, all around them is a massive amount of very determined plants that have sprung up. Some of these plants are weeds and some are overachievers in the garden. What is an overachieverRead More →
Do you remember the story of Chicken Little? He ran around shouting, “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Of course, the sky wasn’t falling. We’ve heard so many scary stories lately… the economy is going to crash, we’re headed for WW III, and more pandemics are on the horizon. And maybe you’ve heard the rumors of a coming food shortage. We don’t have a crystal ball to tellRead More →
Some days it’s really hard to tell that we’ve moved into spring. The calendar says it’s spring, but the weather doesn’t always cooperate. The weather reminds me of a two-year-old. One day, the weather is beautiful with crystal blue skies and warming temperatures. And then the next day it turns cold and blustery. Although we want to jump in with both feet and start gardening, we have to be patient.Read More →
Most of us are creatures of habit. We often learn to do something one way and then never consider alternatives. That’s the same for gardeners. When you first began to garden, you learned a way to prepare your new beds for planting. And that method was probably a lot of work… digging, tilling, turning, adding amendments, watering, raking, and digging some more. When you prepare a garden bed for theRead More →
How do you go about planning your garden for the year? Do you run to the garden center when it feels like spring and grab a little of this and that? Or do you pick up a few packets of seeds to plant in your flower beds and hope for the best? Do you purchase vegetable starts only to find that you planted way more zucchini than you could everRead More →
Here’s a gardener’s nightmare… you purchase your beautiful flower seeds for the growing season. In the spring, you plant those seeds in the ground. And then you wait for the first little sprouts to pop up. You wait. And you wait. And you wait some more. Eventually, you realize nothing is going to grow. Why did your brand new seeds fail? Maybe the seeds needed a period of cold inRead More →
There’s a cozy blanket of snow covering the garden. The world is quiet and still as the fluffy flakes continue to pile up. The garden is resting and waiting for renewal to begin. It needs this time to “just be”. The garden embraces this season of rest. That layer of snow can protect the plants from excessive cold, just like being wrapped in a warm woolen sweater. Organic matter leftRead More →
If you love to garden, you probably have plenty of evergreens in your yard to decorate with. Real evergreen branches are a perfect decor item for the holiday season. However, there are a few drawbacks to using real evergreens in your home. If your decorations will be around for a while, you risk the evergreens drying out and dropping needles everywhere. This could be a problem if you want yourRead More →
We live such fast-paced and busy lives that we often ignore seasonal changes. It’s hard to miss the color changes outdoors, but are you actually changing your activities to fit the season? Most of us don’t stop our fast pace until we collapse into bed at night. We ignore our internal clock telling us to slow down. We’ve forgotten that life lived by the seasons can provide the perfect opportunityRead More →
As the gardening season winds down, there’s always so much to do! Trying to beat the first frost is critical… getting all the produce harvested before Mother Nature says enough is a mad dash. Not only are there veggies to pick and process, but herbs to harvest. And you also need time to gather in your seeds for next year. I’ve been working overtime to grab the seeds that areRead More →