Gifts of a Productive Garden

The vegetable garden is looking good! The lettuce is nearly ready to harvest, the carrots are an inch high, the chard is developing its first true leaves, and the cole crops are growing like weeds.

Walk Like an Egyptian

My son’s bus driver gave me a small paper bag last fall—it was filled with Egyptian walking onions.

Chick Detour

I stopped by the farm-supply store to get mulch and almost got suckered. To get to the mulch, of course, you have to walk right by the baby chicks peeping and pecking and practically begging to be taken home.

Gaga for Ground Cherries

One of the crops I am most looking forward to growing from seed for the first time this year is ground cherries. I first tasted them a few years ago while visiting a friend’s farm.

How to Prune Raspberry Canes

Last week brought some beautiful weather, and so despite the boot cast on my left leg, I made the most of it by heading out to the raspberry patch to do a little cleanup.

Catalog Fun Continues!

I was elated when I opened the mailbox the other day to find the spring catalog for High Country Gardens, a company in Santa Fe, N.M., that specializes in “Beautiful Plants for the Waterwise Garden.”

Let’s Not Forget Flowers – 2012 Top Picks

Last week, I told you about some of the seeds I ordered for this year’s garden. I was talking to a friend who asked me what new flowers I would be trying this year when I realized I only included one of them on last week’s list! Just in case you are a flower nut like me, here are some of my choices for 2012’s flowerbeds.

2012 Seed Orders

I was sitting at the dining room table yesterday, browsing through my 2012 seed catalogs. Exciting stuff! There’s so much I’m looking forward to trying this year, I thought I might let you know about some of the seeds I’ll be ordering and why I’m choosing to give them a place in my garden.

Winter Plant Checkups

I performed a quick check of the container plants overwintering in the garage, and things are looking good!

5 Gardening Books I Can’t Live Without

I gave a lecture to our local Master Gardener group a week or so ago, and afterwards a small group of them approached me and asked if I have a favorite gardening book.