Gardening
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Help! I Can’t Keep my Houseplants Alive!
Here’s how I finally broke the cycle of killing all of my houseplants, once and for all. And I’m pretty sure, no matter how many houseplants have died in your watch, you’ll like this method too. It’s no secret that stay at home Covid life has spurred interest in houseplants. There are even entire posts dedicated to IKEA plant hacks! When we moved into a beautiful traditional home, almost 17 years ago, the houseplants that had been part of our decor for at least ten years before at three other homes, soon died. After buying more plants to replace the dead ones, those too quickly joined the compost pile of…
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The Lucky Ones
This beautiful onion was left in the lake house all winter long, from some time last fall. Trapped in the dark cold, it managed to create life for three new onions that are drawing nutrients from its mother. So many things to be grateful for in that tiny moment- thank God there is no mold or rancid smell. The entire plant is a perfect specimen of health. Gardening always mirrors life. I came late and the meeting had already started, but I snuck in the kitchen to have a chat with the one person I had been meeting to talk to all day. Our eyes met as if we were…
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Low-Maintenance African Violet Kokedama
Are you as enamored as I am with Kokedama hanging gardens? The Japanese style of tying the rootballs of plants in balls of moss and hanging from the ceiling? I’m in love. What’s not to love? But wait! There’s a lot not to love. First of all, the mess? Hanging plants will need to be watered, and then, how? The only way to prevent a mess is to take them down, water them thoroughly, and then keep them down until they are dry enough to not drip all over your floors. But then, won’t they need to be watered again? Ah yes, but I’m so in love with the design…
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The Pretty Spring Centerpiece You Already Have
I’ve been pushing the envelop when it comes to spring, despite the cold, bitter winds, snow and ice that has enveloped us. I’ve been shunning winter by boldly buying fresh greens, cucumbers, melons and arugula and making colorful salads each night for dinner, and eating them on these cold, dark winter night and pretending it is just a late, hot summer night. Pretending it’s summer when it’s not is hard. I’ve been scanning Pinterest for ideas for a spring table centerpiece, and while they are nice, they seem so contrived. After spending so much time de-cluttering, who wants to go out and buy some bunnies that you’ll only use for…
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Weeding and Watering Your Garden With Minimal Effort
Several years ago, I was entranced by the whole Key Hole Garden concept, used in Africa, and its importance in helping people living in areas with little water to create a sustainable garden. However, I have had the supplies/time/manpower to create my own. But the idea of putting vegetable and fruit scraps directly into a tower, where the moisture and nutrients are readily available to plants immediately has always been intriguing and satisfying to my curious mind. Last winter, I tried a technique that I learned from a friend — burying my compost directly in my garden. All winter long, I saved my compost and buried it in holes I had…
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Turn Your Favorite Tins Into Leak-Proof Planters
I have scads of these Harney & Sons tins of Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. I use them to store pencils and pins, hair ties — and everything else that needs a spot. Then, I found another use for them, once I realized that the fluorescent lights that lit up my countertop could be used as grow lights. So, these tins found another use — as herb planters. The color of the tins clashed with the countertops — Honestly — it’s just too bad I don’t buy this flavor more often because this tin would look great on my countertop or even this pretty tin… (I think I need to order more…
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Hydrangea Gain
My neighbors are tearing off the front wall of their house to add a porch. These beautiful “big plate” round Hydrangeas fell victim to the back-hoe. Now, the two bushes are anchoring a black bench that I used to sit on to hold my babies, while I kept my eye on the older ones running around outside. Nice to have a bounty of fully grown “snowballs” just fall into your lap… I feel like I inherited something special… And I found this really interesting Hydrangea arranging tip on Marth Stewart: To prevent your cut blooms from wilting prematurely, try this tip: Cut them early in the morning or late in…
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Fastest Way To Harvest Your Tomatoes
Technically, my favorite way is still, roasting tomatoes. But, since I saw this post on Epicurious about the beauty of grating tomatoes — to eat right now — I’ve been re-thinking my position on roasting. Grating, with the use of some power tools, just may be the fastest way yet to preserve the full flavor of summer-grown tomatoes. Raw, fresh tomatoes can be frozen, whole, to be used later in sauces all winter long. The tomatoes are bulky and cumbersome — so I thought why not combine the best of both worlds, and grate them, into a “sauce” so that the tomatoes are ready to be used in any form…
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How To Preserve Those Little Batches of Herbs and Vegetables
Cilantro goes to seed so fast, basil starts flowering, and you’ve got a handful of peas — not enough to make a meal, but too much to let go to waste. For these piddly amounts, there’s no point in getting out the canning equipment – or to start blanching and freezing. Our harvests rarely come in batches, but rather little morsels that we can too easily fritter away. Not enough for a meal, but too precious to waste. There is a simple way you can harvest these little bits of garden treasures, on the fly. Here are the options we’ve covered so far: You could layer them in salt, which…
