gardening

  • A Tale of Two Sunflowers

    With visions of an eye-catching row of tall sunflowers towering over the fence in my backyard, I carefully placed the seeds I had harvested from last summer’s blooms in a row of dirt along the fence line. I watered the… Continue reading

    A Tale of Two Sunflowers
  • Compost is Context

    This past May, I bought a special oversized planter and dreamed of harvesting fresh squash from our backyard this summer. I filled the container with a blend of organic soil and carefully placed squash seedlings and a sprinkling of fertilizer… Continue reading

    Compost is Context
  • Reservoirs

    After a week of cycling in the cool and breezy weather of Nova Scotia, I was shocked when I came home to the brutal heat and humidity of a Tallahassee summer. Fortunately, my husband had kept our garden and yard… Continue reading

    Reservoirs
  • Becoming a Bean

    I wasn’t planning to grow beans this summer, but a few months ago, I went to a Tractor Supply Store for the first time in my life in search of advice on raising backyard chickens (a subject for a future… Continue reading

    Becoming a Bean
  • Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

    We have the most beautiful shrub in our backyard. It blooms in early spring and produces fragrant deep purple blossoms that change color on the vine to lilac and then to white, before dropping off. At any given time, all… Continue reading

    Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
  • Garden Tulle

    When we first planted our blueberry bushes, we were complete novices, and it took several years before they collectively produced more than a few dozen berries. After a lot of research – and numerous blueberry bush funerals – we finally… Continue reading

    Garden Tulle
  • Hidden in the Dirt

    Last fall, I cleared out a small space in my backyard and planted three different pairs of flowering grasses and shrubs. Each of the pairs of identical plants were the same size and came from the same nursery. Fast forward… Continue reading

    Hidden in the Dirt
  • In Search of the Sun

    It’s full-on Spring in Tallahassee and that means the star jasmine in our backyard is on the run! I love watching this climbing vine take off as soon as the weather warms up. The plants are rooted in the ground… Continue reading

    In Search of the Sun