Category: Gardening
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Six Yards of Mulch
Finding new gift ideas for Regan’s mom is always exhausting. What do you get for a very particular woman? She loves art, but is running out of places to put it in her small, contemporary home. Regan’s dad always has her set up with any jewelry she might have had her eye on. Clothing is…
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A Closer Look
Our neighbor, at nearly 90 years old, still works in her yard each day in spring and summer, clipping back bushes, watering plants and spraying whatever she thinks needs to be killed. If there’s a task she can’t handle she’ll call over her son-in-law, who lives a few blocks over, and bark orders at him…
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Fix the Mix
This weekend the sun came out, and with it came warmth. It’s finally turning into the season during which the two of us pretend like we’re farmers and spend the days outside trying to work the land we have. Working the land involves weeding, landscaping, mulching, a bit of vegetable gardening and composting. There is…
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Our Little Jungle
About 16 years ago my family was driving along a stretch of Minnesota highway that was under construction. Swaths of great evergreens were cut down and a normally vibrant landscape was reduced to stumps and loose soil. It was overwhelmingly grey and lifeless. Noting the absence of trees my five-year-old sister began to gasp for…
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Holding on to Summer
Somewhere along the line work knocked me over and stole part of my summer. I remember June and the first part of July, but then it gets hazy. Summer evening walks in the park turned into summer evenings with me inside, blinds drawn, watching Disney movies. Lots and lots of Disney movies. I can take…
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Summer
The hot hot summer heat has got us in its fiery grip, but that hasn’t stopped us from enjoying summer like we should. Mint Juleps to keep us cool. Fresh salad from the garden makes every meal special. Fresh berries on everything from breakfast to dinner makes Jack jealous. Creating a pie a week has…
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Tomatoes
I’m a big fan of growing tomatoes, but not a huge fan of eating them plain. I simply like how prolific they are. The fact they multiply without much effort on my part makes them my favorite part of our mildly productive garden. That and the green peppers. This weekend we maxed out on tomato…
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Dear Summer,
Thank you for sharing your sunshine. It’s so generous of you. This past week and weekend proved again that summer produces extraordinary fun. It might actually just be ordinary fun, but the warmth and the sun and the life that it brings makes it extra special. This week summer fun came in the form of…
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It’s a Jungle Out There
Heat in the 90s. Humidity at 80%. Rain and storms nearly every day. It’s kind of rough on us (well, rough on the dog), but our yard and garden are loving it. We’ve got some serious green going on in our backyard. Plenty of room for fetch AND a lovely garden. Peas and tomatoes fighting…
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First Harvest
Sometimes you just have an overabundance of basil. And sometimes you just have to make pesto. The first creation of the season made from fresh picked garden goodies made me eager for more. I can’t wait to see how our garden continues to grow.