Your child won’t have a problem getting their fruit intake when you present them with these fun banana food art creations! Food art is the process of preparing and presenting food in creative ways. It is a popular art form in many Asian countries and is enjoyed around the world. If you have a hard…
This date oat bars recipe is rich and hearty with a deliciously sweet taste. These date squares are adapted from one of my mother’s recipes, and baking them always makes me feel nostalgic. The oatmeal bars are sweetened with pure maple sugar and brown sugar. The buttery oat crust is topped with the rich date…
Do you love getting new plants for free? This project is for you! It is super easy to propagate spider plants from the babies that the mother plant sends out on the ends of its long, arching stems. The offsets of Chlorophytum comosum – AKA spider plant, airplane plant, ribbon plant, and St. Bernard’s lily, can…
A small-space vegetable garden lets you grow fresh produce when you don’t have room for a traditional vegetable garden. With the right setup, patios, balconies, and decks can all be spaces to grow vegetables. You’ll need containers with good drainage and a quality potting mix. Your area should receive at least 6 hours of sunlight each…
This mushroom marinara sauce recipe combines mushrooms with garlic, onions, fresh herbs, roasted tomatoes, and red wine. It’s a rich and hearty sauce that pairs well with all types of pasta. If you normally use bottled pasta sauces, you are in for a treat. They just can’t compare to the taste of a homemade pasta…
Try growing Astilbe for beautiful, showy flowers that majestically sit above fern-like leaves. This perennial plant thrives in partial to full shade, making it a favorite plant for shade gardens. Its ability to grow where other plants struggle makes it the perfect choice for low-light areas. Pair astible with other shade plants such as hostas…
Roasting tomatoes for sauce is an easy way to bring out their natural sweetness and deepen their flavor. You can roast both store-bought and garden-grown tomatoes in the oven to produce a flavorful base for pasta sauces. In this guide, you’ll learn which tomato varieties work best, how to prepare them, and simple oven-roasting methods…
This recipe for chicken and red wine sauce is a classic combination that never disappoints. The deep, savory flavor of the sauce balances the tender chicken beautifully. Mushrooms pair with chicken breasts and red wine for a hearty, satisfying taste that delivers depth and comfort in every bite. The recipe is easy to prepare for…
Looking for herb plants that live for more than two years without needing to be replanted? This list of 33 perennial herbs features herbs to use in cooking, for medicinal use, and to add interest to your garden. Each hardy herb in this list includes a description of its key traits—leaf shape, growth habit, scent, and…
Want to add new flowers to your garden this year? Check out the list of orange flower names and pictures below for inspiration. You can use it to discover new types of orange flowers, or identify ones you have seen and liked. Of the 45+ plants with orange flowers in this list, some are uncommon varieties,…
Mealybugs on plants is a common pest for indoor plants and succulents. These bugs look like a fuzzy, white coating on the leaves of your plants. Signs of a mealybug infestation are a white cotton-like substance on the plants, sticky amber colored honeydew, ants around your plants, or a layer of black “soot” on the…
Pruning shrubs regularly will keep them more healthy, will maintain a manageable size for them and will help them to produce more flowers. When it comes to trimming bushes, the most important factors to take into consideration are proper pruning techniques for shrubs and when to trim bushes. The trick really is knowing where to…
Herbs bring fresh flavor to recipes and are easy to grow, but not all herbs have the same life cycle. This list of annual, perennial, and biennial herbs will help you select the perfect herb for your garden. Annual herbs complete their life cycle in one season, biennial herbs take two years to grow, and…
Catfaced tomatoes have an unconventional and ugly appearance. Few things are more of a disappointment to a home vegetable gardener than discovering that their prized tomato plants don’t look the way they expect them to. Catfacing on tomatoes is a physiological disorder that is characterized by irregular and often distorted growth, resulting in misshapen tomatoes…
If you are looking for an easy-to-grow vegetable, ranking second in popularity after tomatoes, try growing green beans. Green beans are also called French beans, string beans, and snap beans. They come in two types – bush beans and pole beans. Snap beans are a great vegetable for beginning gardeners. Even kids can get involved….
Flapjack succulent plant is a striking, tender succulent with flat, paddle-like leaves. It is easy to care for and grows well both indoors and outdoors. With the right conditions, this plant can be a bold addition to gardens and container displays. Caring for a flapjack succulent is simple. It thrives in bright sunlight, well-draining soil…
Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Candy Stripe’ is a low-maintenance annual with large, single white flowers that are striped with dark pink edges. It is a popular plant in English cottage gardens. This plant has a long blooming season, flowering from early summer into fall. It’s great for cut flowers and looks nice in container gardens, too. Keep…
Many gardeners want to know how to ripen tomatoes indoors when the growing season ends or the weather turns cold. Whether your tomatoes are completely green or only partially ripe, you can try the simple indoor methods below to finish the ripening process. Basic supplies like paper bags, cardboard boxes, newspapers, sunny windowsills, bananas, and…
If you’re looking for a cool-weather root vegetable to plant in your home garden this year, try growing rutabagas. This guide will show you how to grow rutabagas from seed to harvest. Rutabagas – also called swedes, neeps, yellow turnips, Canadian turnips, or Russian turnips – have an earthy, peppery flavor when raw, and a…
Tomato blossom drop is a problem that many vegetable gardeners experience, particularly those in hot climates. In fact, a common question that I get from my readers in the warmer states is “Why is my tomato plant dropping its flowers?” You’ve nurtured your tomato plants with care, eagerly expecting to get a harvest of luscious,…
Growing herbs indoors is a great way to keep their fresh flavor at your fingertips all year long. With the right setup, many popular herbs will grow inside, providing a constant supply to use in your recipes. It’s important to choose varieties that adapt well to indoor conditions. Basil, rosemary, parsley, and chives are popular…
Kalanchoe houghtonii, also known as “mother of thousands,’ along with other common names, is a tender succulent that is very easy to grow. In fact, left to its own devices and uncultivated, the plant can be quite invasive. These growing tips for mother of thousands succulent will show you how to easily grow this interesting…
A cottage garden blends beauty and practicality in a relaxed, welcoming way. It’s a mix of flowers, herbs, and edibles that feel natural yet intentional. In this guide, you’ll learn simple ways to create the look of a cottage garden in your yard. We’ll discuss edging ideas and features that make the style so popular….
What a gorgeous tropical plant this plant is! The common name for the plant is angel’s trumpet and the botanical name is Brugmansia. One can almost hear the sound from the trumpet! Angel’s trumpet plant gets very large and its sprawling growing habit makes it a good choice when landscaping to cover an ugly fence….
False indigo plant (Baptisia australis) is a long-lived native perennial that adds height and color to garden beds. After blooming, blue false indigo develops black seed pods that add visual interest and food for birds in the winter. It is deer and rabbit-resistant. Baptisia plant also attracts hummingbirds and beneficial insects like bees and butterflies….
Propagating hydrangeas to get new plants for free can be done in several ways – hydrangea stem cuttings, tip rooting, air layering and division of the mother plant. Growing hydrangeas from seed is also possible, but not as widely done as other forms of propagatio In today’s article, I will show how each of these…