Spring is just around the corner and we’ll soon be wanting to start planting for flowers and vegetable gardening. These tips for preparing spring flower beds will make things much less hectic when the warm weather arrives in a few weeks (or months!) The weather is so cool now, and that makes it the perfect…
A silicone baking mat can take high heat and replace parchment paper for baking & food preparation. I like to use them in lots of unusual ways in my kitchen. You can use them for cookies, of course, but there are lots of other creative Silpat baking mat uses, as well. With a silicone baking…
Today’s featured daylily is a real beauty. It is called Daylily Earth Wind and Fire. It is a gorgeous large daylily that blooms in mid summer. This daylily was first hybridized by Lovett in 2004. The plant is from the family hemerocallidaceae, genus Hemerocallis About a year ago, I spent the day talking to the owner…
Crock Pots are a huge help in the kitchen. They make meal prep a cinch and give a wonderful aroma as the meal cooks, almost by itself. But be sure to avoid these slow cooker mistakes. If you open the lid, fill pot too full or add ingredients in the wrong order, you may end…
This recipe for Italian sausage and peppers is oven baked in one dish for a really easy week night meal. Flavorful whole sausages are combined with tomatoes, Italian seasonings, sweet peppers and onions for a tasty dish that is really simple to prepare. It is one of my favorite 30 minute meals. One of our…
Looking for a pretty indoor plant to brighten up a window sill or table? Try this purple passion plant – gynura aurantiaca. This distinctive plant has velvety leaves with slightly raised hairs on greenish purple stems. It is native to Java and is fairly easy to grow if you have a brightly lit room. Common…
This pretty little indoor plant adds a distinctive touch to your home decor. The variety of fittonia is also known as Pink Angel. and is a distinctive plant with dark green leaves which have brightly colored pink veins. Growing Fittonia Albivenis is very easy for beginners, since it doesn’t mind low light. The plant is a native of…
Home grown watermelons are one of the real sweet treat pleasures of summer. How do you know when your watermelon is ready? There are lots of tips that will help you with harvesting watermelons. Just remember that patience is a virtue with this summer favorite. Vegetable gardening is a love of mine and watermelons are…
Compost piles are mounds of nutrient rich organic matter. Generally soil is mixed with compost to enrich it. Instead of doing growing my vegetables the normal way in soil that is enriched with compost, I experimented this year with planting in compost itself. This type of planting works best in a rolling compost pile rather…
Not everything about vegetable gardening turns out as expected. There are many vegetable garden problems that can plague the average gardener. Fortunately, there are also easy solutions to those problems. Troubleshoot your garden with these easy tips to get a bumper harvest this year! You have spent the first part of spring getting vegetable garden…
These hasselback baked apples are a fun take on the traditional baked apple recipe. Instead of hollowing out the apple and adding a filling, the apple is thinly sliced and then drizzled with a delicious buttery brown sugar topping. A crunchy gluten free flour and oat topping completes this delicious dessert recipe. When you are…
One of the biggest pleasures that my garden gives me is its ability for attracting butterflies to it. With the right nectar plants, a garden can be swarming with these fluttering friends all season long. But it is not just the plants that attract butterflies. There are a few other things that you can do…
Growing Columbine – aquilegia in your garden will reward you with delightful dangling bell shaped flowers that come in almost every color of the rainbow. This hardy perennial is easy to grow and much sought after by many gardeners. Since they self seed readily, you will never be without them once you have them planted. Grow Columbine…
Oxalis is a shamrock-like plant that is also commonly referred to as love plant and wood sorrel. This plant is easy to grow, can sometimes be considered a weed and is a popular perennial plant that shows up around St. Patrick’s Day. Growing Oxalis is actually pretty easy. Keeping it under control can often be…
English cottage gardens have a very romantic feel to them. The look may seem haphazard but is actually planned. To choose cottage garden plants, think of tall flowering perennials, self seeding annuals and hardy biennials to give your garden just the right look. A cottage garden has a very distinct style that throws formality out…
I love the taste of sweet treats that are mixed with alcohol. They add a touch of decadence to recipes and are perfect for celebrating. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this Baileys Mudslide Truffle recipe is the perfect way to end a romantic meal with a loved one. These Irish Cream Truffles are…
Chervil is a delicate herb that comes from the carrot family. Close cousins are dill, parsley and fennel. If you like to cook French cuisine, growing chervil is a good idea, since the fresh herb is hard to find at local grocery stores and Farmer’s Markets. Chervil is a native of Southeastern Europe, southern Russia…
Indoor plants are pretty easy to grow during the spring and summer but have a few extra requirements during the cold weather. This guide to winter house plant care will give you tips for taking care of indoor plants during the winter months. Most indoor plants will benefit from being placed outside in a shady…
