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Each year I think about my grandmother with nostalgia when I plant seeds from her heirloom beans. My family comes from a long line of vegetable gardeners. I can still remember when my great grandmother had her vegetable garden, I used to wander through it when I was about 6. My grandfather on my mother’s…
I live in zone 7b, so I am able to start vegetable gardening fairly early. I did not get a crop of Brussels sprouts last year, but I am hopeful that my plants will be full of sprouts this year. Brussels sprouts are a healthy cold-weather vegetable that even has its own National Day. January…
This pretty hydrangea wreath uses the beautiful big blooms of a mop head hydrangea bush for a door decoration. My hydrangea bush flowered late this year and gave some lovely color to an otherwise fairly bare garden bed. Did you know that you can make a holiday hydrangea wreath from hydrangea flowers that are done…
Want to get new tomato plants for free? Try propagation! Propagating tomatoes will give you new plants in just a few weeks, which is much faster than growing them from seed. Propagation is the process of growing new plants from a single parent plant by using parts of it. This can be done by using…
I have several butterfly bushes, also known as buddleija, in my garden beds. I love them because they attract butterflies and bees like no other plant in my garden. My main butterfly bush was put in a large island bed early this spring, when it was about 12″ tall. It is now at least 5…
If you grow vegetables in your garden, it’s probably second nature to give them a wash when you bring them inside. After all, they are growing in the dirt and those that grow on vines often have dust and other particles on them. But what about the fruit and veggies that you purchase in a…
Hydrogen peroxide is one of those things which people have in their bathroom, that they use primarily for healing wounds and cuts. It is a shame to save this handy bottle for just medical uses, when there are so many more uses for it around the home. And it is so inexpensive too! Hydrogen peroxide…
Did you know that growing pineapples from a discarded top is quite easy to do? I love pineapples. They are so sweet and the fruit makes great salsas and is perfect in cocktails and drinks. It’s wonderful grilled with a barbecue too. And one of the beauties of this project is that, if you don’t…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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. …
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…
What is better than a perennial garden bed and a vegetable garden bed? Why, a garden bed that combines them both together. And take it a step further and add herbs to the mix. You will end up with one fantastic garden that meets all your needs. And that is just what the Garden Charmers,…
This year has been a series of setbacks in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long winter and…
Blue is such a wonderful color. It is not often found in flowers, although there are some. Many of the flowers that are called blue have more of a purple tinge to them. But you can add blue to your garden with carefully chosen garden accents, seating and other items. If you like blue in…
I was born in Maine, and one of my fondest memories is the collection of fiddlehead ferns each spring. Even though I have moved away, each year my family boxes up a whole bushel of them and sends them to me by priority mail here in NC. It’s always a special day when that box…