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As spring days grow warmer and flowers burst into bloom, botanical gardens and arboretums inspire us with grand ideas for our own yards and garden beds. A half day walk through a garden followed by a visit to a great garden center is a dreamy day trip for anyone who aspires to be a great… Continue reading Day trips from northeast Ohio: botanical gardens, arboretums and garden centers
Everybody wants a bargain. My gardening friends tell their gardening friends where they found the best price on vegetable and flower seeds. Social media gardeners discuss the cheapest place to buy everything from strawberry plants to decorative clay pots. Before the season of gardening frenzy goes into full swing, I’d like to wave a red… Continue reading Real Gardeners Don’t Dig Cheap Dirt: Saving the Garden Center
The garden has always been my domain. When I met my husband, his definition of gardening was to mow the lawn on Saturday. A foundation planting consisted of a few shrubs surrounded by a bed of mulch covered black plastic. Anything that grew between the shrubs, or in his lawn, was a weed to be… Continue reading The Surprise Gardener
I began learning about gardens even before my first day of school. We lived in a typical middle-class neighborhood crowded with houses on small lots. There was a small yard for me to play in. There was also a sunny patch of ground behind our garage. This was where my mother chose to plant her… Continue reading My Gardening Roots
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash As a toddler I called them "West Virginia potatoes." They could be red potatoes or common white ones, but whatever the variety, I would wolf down boiled potatoes whenever we visited Wetzel County. At home in Ohio however, I was a picky child. I loved potatoes mashed or fried,… Continue reading Memories of Wetzel County: West Virginia Potatoes
My friends would tell you that I have a beautiful garden. I also have deer, rabbits, raccoons, field mice, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, fox, possum, coyotes, mink, feral cats, birds, moles, voles, turkey, and dogs that a thoughtless neighbor turns loose each night before retiring to his bed. I started a garden as soon as I… Continue reading Coexisting with Critters In the Garden
As we grow older and outdoor spaces become more work than we can handle, many gardeners feel the need to downsize. They sell their homes and move into smaller apartments or maybe a condo – some place that won’t require lawn and garden chores. As a result, they save themselves the work, but they lose… Continue reading The Low Maintenance Garden Experiment: Planning a Garden for Senior Living
Driving down the road last week, I spotted the first blooms of roadside lilies popping up out of a ditch. Just about everyone is familiar with this tawny orange summer bloom. It grows everywhere in Ohio. Probably everywhere else too. Because it's so prolific I used to assume it was one of our native… Continue reading Heirloom Garden Flowers: the Ditch Lily
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