When my grandfather bought his first house, a grand old Victorian in the heart of Yonkers, New York, he couldn’t wait to make everything “just right.” The previous owner, though, begged him at the closing not to do anything to the gardens for exactly one year. Not really understanding why, he obeyed the seller’s wishes. [...]
Archive for June, 2010
Inheritance
Posted in Around the Garden..., Garden Inspiration, tagged Flowers, garden, gardening, perennials on June 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Sustainable Steps
Posted in Beginner Gardening, Sustainability, tagged alfalfa sprouts, craft, craft fail, gardening, sewing, sustainability on June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Step outside of the garden with me for a moment, and take a look around. Do you see what I see? In the last ten years there’s been a change. Its become cool to be green and carry reusable shopping bags, while the Prius has become the ultimate post-modern hipster statement of cool. Environmental impact [...]
Getting Into the Swing of Things
Posted in Around the Garden..., Garden News, tagged carrots, harvest, onion, spinach, sugar snap peas on June 24, 2010 | 1 Comment »
With my first “real” garden fully underway (I don’t count last year since we got such a late start in the house), I’m finally able to sit back, with calloused hands and tanned shoulders, to actually harvest some of what I’ve been growing! We’re kind of in a bit of a lull right now, as [...]
Gardening as Crime Prevention
Posted in Garden News, tagged crime, crime prevention, detroit, flint, michigan, self-sufficiency on June 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There is no doubt, that at least for me, gardening is not only a stress reliever, but also a positive use of my time. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than planting seeds, watching them grow and then reaping the rewards, in terms of beauty, nutrition, exercise and frugality. That is why the focus [...]
The Day of the Solstice
Posted in Around the Garden..., tagged garden animals, garden pest, groundhog on June 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Twas the day of the solstice, and all through the yard, The plants were all growing, including swiss chard. The sunflowers watched over the garden with care, In hopes that the watering can soon would be there. The onions were nestled all snug in their bed, While tomatoes got ready to turn all bright red. [...]
The Secret Life of Tomatoes
Posted in Tomatoes, tagged tomato, tomato history on June 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Pop quiz: What is yellow, shiny, and often referred to by the always illustrious name “love apple”? Believe it or not, this early aphrodisiac (or so it was believed) is actually the ancestor of the modern gardener’s backyard staple, the tomato. Quite conversely, common lore told that the yellow, and eventually red orbs were actually [...]
Every Rose Has Its Thorn…
Posted in Garden Inspiration, tagged FDR, Hyde Park, NY, rose garden, roses on June 15, 2010 | 1 Comment »
*Cue bad eighties hair and power guitar…* OK, I’m done rocking out now. Seriously though (because we’re a *very* serious blog here), you might think that a rose is just a rose, but trust me, these puppies are no wallflowers. Always the center of attention, these garden beauties are Marcia Brady to the tulip’s Jan. Neve r [...]
Gardens…Live and In Technicolor!
Posted in Garden Inspiration, tagged Dutch Windmill, Flowers, garden design, garden inspiration, Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden on June 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Its a bit grey here today, and I’m having a doozy of a time getting motivated. The drone of a backhoe is wailing in my ears, and the clouds are hanging oppressively low in the windless, swampy air. I went on a few minitrips that I can’t wait to tell about, including the Rose Garden [...]
Gardening Trends
Posted in Around the Garden..., Garden News, tagged Arugula, garden, garden news, garden trends, gardening, heirloom seeds on June 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
So, probably because I’m a giant garden-geek, I decided to go a search of Google Trends, to see what people have been looking for relating to gardening. Seems like those Brits have got us beat, since the term “gardening” is searched the most in the United Kingdom, with the United States coming in third after [...]
Another Type of Savings Account
Posted in Skills Savings Account, tagged disaster preparedness, foraging, planning, survival skills on June 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Outside of the garden (wait…there’s life outside the garden???), one of my hobbies is finance and planning. Diversification and beginning to save early are the easiest, most commonsense and most successful methods of securing a comfortable retirement, and not outlasting your savings. Been There, Done That – Wait, There’s More??? There is another type of savings [...]
