Saying good bye to a summer garden is never easy. A hard frost typically knocks out everything by mid September, yet as mid-October approached it was time for an intervention. I dismantled the bean poles and severed the tomato vines from their hoops, and harvested leeks, onions and the last of the green peppers. My […]
Taming the wild garden
Taming the wild garden takes courage. But when the nasturtium vines take over the paths and sprawl along the steps, it is time to get to work. I rip out the old lettuce and plant new rows of meslcun and salad greens, yank weeds from in between the leeks, to reveal dry tops of shallots […]
Ornamental Stepping Stones
Sometimes, it isn’t just about the garden, but about the personalized touches we place in the garden. Take for instance stepping stones. We can use the garden variety of flat topped granite, blue stone or marble, depending on where you live. I’ve seen sliced logs and cast cement, and even pieces of carpet, (which I […]
Edible flowers for the kitchen table
Fresh flowers, above all, are a state of mind. Nothing compares to the colorful burst they bring to a room. When my kitchen garden is alive with blossoms, I fill large and small vases to display in every room. It can take a bit of time to orchestrate, but the results are always worthwhile. Lately, […]
Earth Engine Composters
In my small yard, hiding the compost pile isn’t easy. That’s why I said goodbye to a funky black plastic composter, in favor of a more aesthetic design. My new cedar composter from Steve’s Earth Engines is a year old, and has aged to a gentle patina that fits easily into my backyard garden landscape, […]
Art of Eating
Combining art with food is my idea of a good kitchen garden design. When planting your kitchen garden, think beyond the practical N-P-K requirements of healthy garden soil. Visualize color, and the excitement of planting with dabs of red radicchio, alongside ruffles of blue green kale. It’s is like eating the landscape. Design your kitchen […]
Texas Tomato Cages
This spring, when I ordered my Texas Tomato Cages, I was leaning towards the 4 foot towers. But the voice on the other end of the phone encouraged me to purchase the extenders, taking the hoops up to 8 feet tall. It’s not even July, and I just added the extra sections to contain the […]
