My cutting garden has slowly faded away as the days and nights have grown colder. Yesterday, my husband made me a sweet bouquet from the last of the zinnias. The sunflowers stopped blooming weeks ago, although I have been saving the seed heads for winter food for the birds. The cosmos and black-eyed susans have just a few scattered flowers. The coneflowers, daisies and all the rest are completely gone. Read More →
I’ve talked about my love of gathering natural materials to use in my home decor. Another thing that I like to do is forage for edibles. I’m not talking about eating plant stalks and roots. I’m talking about real foods like blackberries, apples and elderberries. I use them to make delicious food, such as blackberry syrup and apple crisp. I gather the elderberries each year to make a batch orRead More →
Daffodils, tulips and crocus are the last things on my mind right now. Instead, I’ve been thinking of pumpkins and apples. Processing the garden herbs and harvesting the last of the produce. If you garden, then you know that this is a busy season where you’re trying to wrap everything up for the year. But if you want some beautiful blooming flowers next spring, then now is the time toRead More →
If you have a cutting garden or you like to gather natural materials, then having a flower press can be a great way to extend the use of your flowers. There are so many things that you can do with pressed flowers, ferns and leaves. Over the years I have pressed leaves and flowers many different ways. In fact, I was about 7 years old when I pressed my firstRead More →
The fall season is a wonderful time for gathering natural materials for your autumn decor. I look to nature to provide much of my autumn decorations and embellishments. Not only do I enjoy the gathering process, but the colors and textures are perfect for the fall. I would like to share some of the natural materials that are ripe for the picking. And give you some suggestions on how toRead More →
It’s feeling like Autumn… well, just a little. The mornings have a crispness to them. The sun hangs at a lower angle, which diffuses the light differently. And the garden is slowing down. Definitely not as many zucchinis growing in the autumn garden. So what’s a gardener to do when the season is slowly changing? Embrace it! Every season offers some enjoyment and beauty in the garden. As we moveRead More →
Although we still have plenty of growing going on in the garden, it’s time to start preserving some of your herbs. Just like I process the beans, berries, tomatoes and zucchini as the summer progresses, I like to harvest my herbs and preserve them a little at a time as well. This way you won’t be overwhelmed at the end of the season with a massive job. Cooking with freshRead More →
Did you grow a cutting garden this year? Or do you have perennials that you love and would like to spread? Are you enjoying the flavorful herbs that you’re growing? If so, then you need to think about saving some of your seeds for next year. Saving seeds is easy to do and it will save you money when you go to plant your garden next spring. And if youRead More →
Every summer I grow sunflowers in my garden. I don’t grow them to eat the seeds but instead I love to use the flowers in my bouquets. One benefit of all of the sunflower plants are the little birds that it brings to the garden. Little finches, wrens and sparrows love to feast on the seeds as they dry. So I decided to make a Dried Sunflower Wreath for myRead More →
When summer hits, and flowers are blooming, I like to make bouquets to give away. And that means I’ll need vases to put those flowers in. Throughout the year, I save glass food jars to use for my flowers. But just giving a bouquet in a pickle jar is not very attractive. So over the years, I’ve found ways to make these simple containers special. Here are some of myRead More →