Enjoy Everyday Gardening
Gardening doesn't always have to be about chores, planting or planning and today was one of those days. Today my gardening was about receiving encouragement, so that I might encourage others. Suzanne and I have been practically chained to our computers finishing our 2009 catalog that is full of "Our Favorite Things." But today my
My Gardening Cup Overflows
As I was rooting around in my garden today, I was struck by just how much my gardening cup overflows. There are so many plants on my farm that have been gifted to me over the years and they each brought along their own stories. I am ever so thankful for each and every gift
The Love of Hellebores
Located just beyond the backdoor in my cozy shade garden are the superstars of spring, my hellebore patch. This garden lays at the foot of our family Saucer Magnolia tree, often called a tulip tree. Stevie’s grandparents planted the tree about 50 years ago and I began the shade garden under it in 1996. This
Lisa and Steve Ziegler– A Garden Love Story
It all started with a dog. In 1992 I was a happy single girl employed as the office manager at the Denbigh Animal Hospital, loving my job and minding my own business. Then this guy walked in with his yellow Labrador Retriever—without an appointment. His grandfather had just passed away and left the dog, Major,
Beat the heat and get garden chores done
We are off to a great season here. My flower and vegetable garden is really coming into its own and it looks like we will have a bumper fig harvest this year too. The zinnias and sunflowers are just so beautiful and so welcomed. One would think that after all these years of growing I
Mimosa Confessions
It is dusk. Robby and I are lingering over a shared piece of apple pie as we finish dinner outside by the brick garden wall. Suddenly there is a familiar throaty whirr—and a hummingbird zooms past us. And another. The first perches on the clothesline and rests nearby. The second shoots to the very tiptop
One man’s weeds are another’s treasure.
Weeds we call them. All of those plants that we don’t want popping up in areas we don’t want them in. I would guess it is the most annoying and perplexing problem gardeners have. When I am giving a talk and mention some of the ways we handle weeds- hands always go up wanting more
Growing Great Sweet Peas
Sweet Peas Royal Mix Fragrant sweet peas are undoubtedly the one flower I have grown over the years that creates a stir in folks like no other. Memories come to the surface with just a lift to the nose, ah, the sweet scent of days gone by. Perhaps it was grandma or mom’s garden that
Wild is the Way
A dozen hungry goldfinches bob and bounce on billows of yellow coneflowers. A gray hairstreak butterfly, not an inch long, trails its delicate fringes on the surface of one of the brilliant blossoms. Bees and dragonflies of every hue teem on the flowers that grow and tumble everywhere, despite the gardener’s absence. They barely notice
Crape Myrtle—a Tree for the Ages
I open the attic window and lean out. Crape myrtle flowers billow below me in a pink froth. It’s that time of year. Blooming crape myrtles line grassy sidewalks in small towns everywhere. White church steeples rise out of a sea of pink. Visitors from France gasp at the rare outrageous blossoms so familiar and
Garden Abundance in January!
Today is January 28, coming off of a below 30 night, with lots of low 20 degree nights previously and I just harvested beautiful turnips, swiss chard, spinach and lettuces! I am really enjoying winter in a whole new way this year. I just love walking past the lettuce and greens in the grocery store
Garden Abundance in January!
Today is January 28, coming off of a below 30 night, with lots of low 20 degree nights previously and I just harvested beautiful turnips, swiss chard, spinach and lettuces! I am really enjoying winter in a whole new way this year. I just love walking past the lettuce and greens in the grocery store