To celebrate Earth Day, we planted eight tiny trees! Last fall I enjoyed harvesting and juicing wild grapes, and came away inspired to add more fruit to my young collection of berries. So this spring, two plum, elderberry, mulberry and winterberry holly (for winter centerpieces) plants were shipped bare root from a Michigan nursery to … Continue reading
I love all of the really cute crafty things people do in the spring. From the decorated cookies to the place cards with duckies to the floral centerpieces… But when it comes to crafting, I am not talented. Last Easter, I bought fancy icings, cute cookie cutters and pastry bags with decorating tips and decided … Continue reading
By Jakob Barry While every garden is different every gardener has one thing in common: the need to water plants. That means this part of their nourishment is either coming directly from nature or out of the tap connected to our homes. When it’s the former we’re home free, however, when it’s the latter, two … Continue reading
In the last cold days of winter, everyone could use a taste of spring! And fortunately this can be easy and economical—with a simple walk around your yard. Just cut a few branches from flowering plants to bring indoors for “forcing”! Many spring flowering trees and shrubs can be encouraged to flower indoors long before … Continue reading
By most accounts, the next few weeks mark the end of summer, and autumn is just around the corner. When it comes to the home and family, school will be starting and the focus of life will slowly shift indoors, away from the yard and garden. At this point, it’s clear to many that the … Continue reading
My first clear memory of my grandparents dates back to the age of 7. I can still hear my mother delivering the news that we would be moving to a new town. I took this in stride but there were two things I wanted to know— would we be closer to my favorite vacation spot (yes) … Continue reading
Growing potatoes always sounded hard. Dig a deep bed, “fluff up” the soil (especially painful with clay), then go back with the shovel for harvest. I am a lazy gardener. I started my gardening career at roughly the same time as my corporate career, so if it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t going to happen. This … Continue reading
I have been dying Easter Eggs naturally for years. I’d much rather cut up and boil old vegetables than run to the drug store for a synthetic coloring kit—and it just feels like more fun. At this point I have my standard formulas for the primary colors, which I covered in last year’s Easter post … Continue reading
I had plans to blog about starting seeds a couple weeks ago when I began the task . But it seemed so ordinary that I simply started the seeds and forgot the blog. I didn’t give it another thought until last night, when my daughter was studying at our house with a classmate. Her friend’s … Continue reading
For those who have not been following my story, here is a synopsis. After a really nice holiday season this past year, I decided to make amends and curtail my spending for the month of January (see original post). Now that January is over (!!), here is a brief summary of how it went and … Continue reading
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