By Claire Jones
Every summer seems to bring another stretch of triple-digit heat, weeks without meaningful rain, and lawns that turn brown almost overnight. While we can't control the weather, we can choose plants that are better equipped to handle it. The key is designing with resilience in mind. By selecting plants naturally adapted to heat, humidity, and …
Continue reading "Gardening Through Heat Waves: Plants That Never Miss a Beat"
Every spring, I watch the same ritual unfold. Gardeners head to the nursery full of optimism. They load their carts with compost, fertilizer, lime, “plant food,” maybe a bright new bag promising bigger blooms or deeper green lawns. They come home and begin spreading amendments generously, convinced they are giving their plants exactly what they …
Continue reading "From the Ground Up – The Importance of Soil Testing"
Early spring bird feeding changes almost overnight. All winter the feeders were busy — chickadees arguing, sparrows squabbling, woodpeckers tapping on frozen mornings — and then one day in March, silence. Nothing has gone wrong. Your garden has simply shifted from cafeteria to nursery. Early Spring Bird Feeding: The Winter Transition During winter, birds survive …
Continue reading "When the Bird Cafeteria Becomes a Nursery"
As I write this, a major winter storm is on its way, bringing the familiar mix of snow, ice, and biting cold. For gardeners, these moments always spark the same question: Should I be doing something? The answer is: sometimes yes, often no — and occasionally, absolutely not. A winter garden is not dormant in …
After months of seed trays under lights, misting, thinning, hardening off, and finally planting out, there comes the best part of all — cutting armfuls of flowers and bringing them inside. This is where seed starting turns into something tangible, generous, and joyful: the cutting garden. The phrase cutting garden can sound a bit elitist. …
Continue reading "The Cutting Garden: From Seed Trays to Mason Jars"
