The Memphis Botanic Garden in Memphis, Tennessee gives visitors a chance to connect with nature in a relaxing and enjoyable way. Sculptures, plants and water all coordinate beautifully in this lovely botanical garden. The botanic garden offers lush walking trails with plenty of tall trees to shade visitors from the hot summer sun. The garden …

If you are in the Southeast California area, be sure to add this list of things to do in Sequoia National Park to your must-see attractions. Sequoia National Park is home to giant sequoia trees, and along with King’s Canyon National Park, is a vast designated wilderness comprising over 800,000 acres. The drive through Sequoia National …

Do you have a problem with soil born diseases in your cucumber plants? These cucumber trellis ideas will help to solve this stumbling block. Anyone who has grown cucumbers knows that they take up a LOT of room in a vegetable garden.  One way to overcome the space problem is to use trellises or other climbing …

This crostini appetizer recipe is simple to make. The delicate asparagus spears and distinct flavors of prosciutto and Gouda cheese will make your guests think you spent hours in the kitchen making them. The appetizers are the perfect choice for an easy drinks night. Are you having friends over for drinks any time soon?  The right appetizer …

It’s about this time of the year that I get lots of questions from readers about ripening tomatoes on the vine. I’ve written a whole article about how to ripen tomatoes indoors. Now it’s time to see if we can hurry things up on the vine itself! Nothing is quite as frustrating as tomato plants …

Does your vegetable garden have more unripe tomatoes than you can use in salads? Are you wondering what to do with unripe tomatoes? Try using some of the green ones for this fried green tomatoes recipe. This delicious side dish makes a nice change from raw tomatoes and is very, very tasty. There is nothing …

This neat garden tool storage DIY project not only looks great in the garden, but is functional and weather-proof, too. This means that you can have your tools handy, no matter the weather outside! Are you wondering what to do with an old mailbox? For me, the best way to store garden tools is inside …

Crassula Ovata ‘Hobbit’ is a small shrubby tender succulent that is popular with followers of J.R.R. Tolkien. because of the shape of its leaves. Grow the Hobbit Jade plant if you enjoy succulents with an unusual look. Crassula are a genus of succulents that are often seen at garden centers. They come in many forms …

Do you have plants in your garden that love to climb? English cottage gardens often do, and a wooden garden obelisk (or tuteur) is a structure that gives them room to roam. You can buy these structures, but the cost is prohibitive. $70 is the cheapest one that I have seen and they can run …

Hydrangea color change is always a surprise to gardeners. You buy a plant with blue blooms only to discover later that the blossoms are now pink. Why does this happen and what can you do about it? Hydrangeas are a very popular garden plant. They are a perennial shrub that comes in a variety of …

This  frozen strawberry daiquiri recipe is super tasty and could not be easier to make. If you have a blender and the supplies, the cocktail is ready in just minutes. To make this drink easy to prepare, the daiquiri recipe features a mix – “Island Oasis Strawberry” – and this gets combined with crushed ice …

This visual guide to herb identification makes identifying herbs a snap. How well do you know the names of the fresh herbs? Many herbs look quite similar, so it’s easy to be confused. Do you often ask yourself – “What herb is this?” I can’t tell you how many times I have come back from …

Every morning I take a garden walk to see what is growing and what needs tending. Today, I spent the morning deadheading daylilies. I have clumps of daylilies – hemerocallis – that have naturalized into plants with numerous blooms on them. Some of them have 12 or 13 blooms out in a day. Since daylily …

Gloriosa lily (gloriosa rothschildiana) is a climbing tender perennial that is sure to catch the eye of anyone who likes dramatic flowers. The flame-colored red flowers have scalloped yellow edges and swept back petals. If you have a bare trellis or a wall in your garden that needs spicing up, plant gloriosa and prepare yourself …

I have a new favorite flower – it’s my beautiful mandevilla vine! This stunning plant is now covered with gorgeous pink flowers that have been blooming for months and shows no signs of slowing down. One of my favorite places to sit outside during the summer in on my back deck overlooking my garden beds. …

The gardens are booming right now and many of my readers ask “why are my cucumbers turning yellow, round and deformed?” Cucumbers are a popular warm season vegetable. Many beginning gardeners choose them since they are normally fairly easy to grow. Cucumbers are easy to plant, taste great, and will give you a big harvest. …

This homemade pasta sauce is made with both pork and beef for a meaty spaghetti sauce that your family will ask for again and again. It is the ultimate topping for any type pasta. This is a recipe that has been a favorite with my family for one reason – it  tastes amazing! I have …

I have been making this roasted tomato pasta sauce for years. It is rich and chunky and one of the best tasting homemade spaghetti sauces I have ever tried. The recipe is just full of flavor. The key ingredient to the taste and texture of the sauce is that I use roasted garden tomatoes. I …

If you like the cottage gardening style, you will likely have a cutting garden. A common question from readers of my blog asks “how to keep cut flowers fresh?” When you purchase a bouquet of flowers from a florist or specialty shop, it will likely have a package of flower food attached. But what about …

Trying to control squash bugs can seem like an insurmountable task when you find them in your vegetable garden.  If you grow zucchini or squash, you may be familiar with trying to deal with a squash bug infestation. These bugs can do a huge amount of damage, particularly to new plants. Young seedlings and plants …

I love watermelons. They are sweet, juicy, messy to eat, and remind me of summer like nothing else does. Did you know that there are many watermelon varieties which you probably haven’t even heard of? How many varieties of watermelon are there?  More than 50 watermelon varieties are grown around the world. Because of the …

Onions are a vegetable that I use almost every day in recipes. Growing onions at home is easy, as long as you have a sunny garden spot and a patient nature. Onions are a cool weather crop. Get started early on your planting and you will be enjoying fresh onion bulbs by the middle 0f …

After a long winter where not much is growing in the garden, it’s nice to have an early crop that likes the cold. Growing sugar snap peas gives the gardener a much anticipated outdoor task to do at this time of the year. Peas like cool temperatures and have a tendency to fade out when …

Bay Leaf plants are slow growing trees with leaves that are used as seasoning in cooking. It is also known as bay laurel, sweet bay and simply laurel. If you enjoy growing herbs, this is a great one to try, since it has a very aromatic flavor. Bay leaf plants are a member of the …

This creamy shrimp pasta with broccoli has a velvety parmesan cheese sauce that is light but still comforting. It is full of flavor and easy to put together.  The dish is colorful to look at and only takes about 15 minutes to get it on the table. Combining shrimp with pasta gives a lovely delicate …

If you are looking for an easy to grow vegetable that ranks right up there in popularity with tomatoes, try growing green  beans. Growing string beans is so easy that even gardeners with a brown thumb will be successful.  The key is to wait until the ground is nice and warm. Even kids can get …