My family has long loved gardening. It all started with my great-grandmother (and I am sure her mother before this but I never knew her). She loved vegetable gardening, particularly yellow pole beans. The seeds from her pole beans have been passed down from generation to generation and are now growing in my garden. Since …
Carol Speake
As much as we all love to see birds splashing around in a bird bath, bacteria and grime will soon make it not such a pleasant sight. For today’s project, I am testing Alka Seltzer and copper to clean a bird bath. I have several bird baths in my garden beds. I just love to …
Growing herbs adds a ton of flavor to all your recipes, but keeping track of what is growing can be challenging. These wooden spoon herb plant markers are both functional and decorative. Herb Identification might seem easy but those tiny seedlings have a frustrating way of looking the same! I have a large group of herbs …
My husband used to buy me lilies all the time because he loved the look of them so much. I love them too, but not as cut flowers indoors (they have a stinky smell inside that I don’t like.) I never had the inclination to tell him that they were not my favorite cut flower …
We spend so much time in the kitchen and not all of it is fun. And yet there are so many things that will make what might be heavy duty chores into something much easier. I thought it might be useful to share some of my favorite tips for making life in the kitchen easier. …
The secret to perfect BBQ short ribs is easier than you might think. Pre-cooking is the key. My husband is a rib man. He often chooses them on the menu when we go out to eat. I make BBQ ribs all the time but normally it is a rack of spare ribs that we cook, …
I can never get enough banana muffin recipes. I love bananas but there always seem some that manage to get over ripe and I never want to waste them, so I use them in all types of baked goods. This scrumptious banana muffin has a delicious brown sugar strudel topping that melts in your mouth. …
I have a garden bed in my front yard that I call my “Jess border.” The reason for the name is because my daughter and I made the bed together and it always has a big patch of sunflowers in the middle of it each year. Sunflowers are Jess’ favorite flowers. Like all my other …
When my daughter was young she had a swing set, sand box and playhouse on the left side of my garden. She loved playing there, and we chose this area of the garden so that I could see her playing from my kitchen window. All that is left of the set up is the playhouse, …
It’s time for my front garden make over! This has been a year of garden make overs for me. I spent so much time last year dealing with my squirrel problem and tending my vegetable garden that I did not have a lot of time to deal with my flower garden beds. And I can …
This toasted sesame chicken recipe has a sweet and tangy sauce with a hint of spice. The spice in the dish comes from the sriracha, a combination of red chili, garlic, vinegar and salt. You can get this sauce at Asian markets or online from my affiliate Amazon.com. (affiliate link.) The sugar, vinegar and tomato …
This recipe for chicken and shrimp carbonara combines a fabulous blend of cheeses with roasted peppers, onions and cream to make a wonderful flavor combination. Carbonara dishes are staples in most Italian recipes and one can see why when tasting the delightful flavor of the dish. Keep reading to find out how to make it. …
I love this recipe for herbed Mediterranean chicken. It’s so delicious, I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare my favorite, especially when it comes to one that I plan to roast. (I also love roast nights!) This recipe for herbed Mediterranean chicken …
It’s almost time for camping season. I thought it would be fun to start the season off with a great recipe for Caribbean grilled snapper with pineapple. This fish recipe is very easy to do, which makes it perfect for a camping trip. All you have to do is combine the spices and add some …
Red Vols Daylily is a spectacular daylily that was a Better Homes and Gardens winner of the year in 2000 and it’s easy to see why. Anyone who gets interested in growing perennials while find themselves also interested in daylilies. These showing perennial bulbs are dramatic, come back year after year and are easy to …
I lost my dad suddenly in February this year. It was totally unexpected and a very sad and hard time for my family. I have a very large and very close family. When Father’s day came around, we were all very mindful of him and each of us remembered him in our own ways. My …
Let’s test your garden smarts. I thought it would be fun to take a photo from my garden, and enlarge it to show only the bloom, and see if you can name it. A few hints: it does not mind if the soil is dry it flowers all spring and summer the flowers come in …
These are some more of my favorite Fourth of July recipes. They are sure to add a patriotic flair to any gathering with friends. July is a month for foodies. Lots of national days are devoted to celebrating the 4th of July with food. From delicious cakes to decadent cocktails, these recipes all use the …
When the harvest is booming, roasted garden vegetables are on my menu. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness and is so easy to do. It’s that time of the year again! So many things are ready from the garden to put on the table. Tonight it is a recipe for roasted baby potatoes, with onions …
My husband and I recently attended a wedding on the coast of North Carolina. While we were there, we took the time to visit the Elizabethan Gardens at Manteo on Roanoke Island. Seeing statues that depict characters from real life is so inspiring. For another post on this type of experience, be sure to check …
I love vegetable gardening. There is nothing quite like harvesting and cooking vegetables that you have grown. If you like to grow vegetables but are a beginner, be sure to ready my post about how to troubleshoot vegetable garden problems as well as some solutions. It is helpful in learning what to do about problems …
Anyone who has priced hardscaping lately knows how expensive it can be, particularly if you have large areas to cover. I am redoing my whole area that I used last year for veggies. Long story short, the squirrels were a nightmare for me and I don’t plan to go through that experience a second time. …
I know. Everyone says they have the perfect BBQ chicken recipe. But when you try it out , you often end up with a dry piece of chicken that tastes pretty good but is not in the slightest bit tender. I have tried putting the chicken on the grill for a long time, for a …
This DIY Bean Teepee is a fun vegetable garden hack, and gives great support to climbing beans. This year, I changed my vegetable garden into a combined perennial/vegetable border. It’s a long story but basically, the squirrels got the better of my veggies last year and I swore never again. Since I will have flowers …
One of my favorite things to do on Sunday morning is to meet friends for breakfast or brunch and catch up on the week. Normally, we go out to a variety of restaurants and alternate each week between them. This week, I wanted to have our friends over to our house for breakfast. I’ve been …
This smoky dry rub is a staple in our house. We use it at least once a week. It’s great on steaks or any hearty meat. I love to BBQ. Well, truth be told, I love it when my husband barbeques. I spend so much time cooking and perfecting recipes that it is nice to …