“Is this a weed?” I get asked that question a lot from gardeners and my answer is always the same: A weed is simply a plant in the wrong place. So before you get out for this long holiday weekend and start pulling everything in sight, here a few weeds you might want to reconsider throwing in the compost bin. Comfrey is a noxious weed
Propagating Grapevines
Springtime means pruning and our grapevines were more than overdue for their annual haircut. We love the Glenora and Himrod grapes growing on old bed frames on either ends of our raised beds. But each year they grow so long that they get tangled into the nearby trees and shrubs. Pruning them back keeps their growth under control and also gives me the chance to
Rediscovering Spring
What is springtime through the senses of a newborn? Juniper is a tender two weeks old, so I’m guessing most of it is lost on her. She’s focused on discovering the taste of milk, the smell of momma, the feeling of daddy’s freshly shaven cheek. Nevertheless, spring is sprung and I have been introducing her to its wonders. One of my favorite early flowering ornamental
Dividing Bulbs
Flowering bulbs are my favorite way to add color to the garden. They take just a few minutes to plant, need very little maintenance and multiple every year making them a small investment in your garden’s future. After a couple years away from our homestead, the bulbs in our garden have gotten crowded! The best time to divide spring flowering bulbs is probably in the
New Fruit Trees
We have three new additions to our homestead! No, the baby is not one of them – yet. This past weekend we purchased three new, bareroot fruit trees to fill in some holes in our garden. Nothing makes me happier than adding new, exciting plants to our food forest. We lost two fruit trees during the two years we rented our house, so it was
Risky Business: Exotic Edible Plants
January is the time when nursery catalogs pour through our mail slots and cold evenings are spent carefully deciding what new trees, shrubs and vines to add to the homestead. There is an on-going debate between permaculture advocates and native plant experts on which plant species should be planted and which ones are dangerous. David Fothergill is one of my classmates and a plant expert,
Winter Morning Garden
There are little treasures of beauty peeking out of our winter garden. It takes some searching between the skeletons of fruit trees and shrubs to find them, but they are out there quietly shivering away. With a warm mug of chai, I bundled up to capture some of those lovely corners. Artichokes, my favorite vegetable, make pretty winter flowers – little memories of their perennial
Problem Solver: Strawberry Tree
In late fall and winter, you may start to notice a lack of anything looking alive in your landscape. The trees lose their leaves and there’s nothing left behind but a skeleton of plantings. That is when you know you need more “evergreen structure” – something to give life to your garden year round. Here is a plant that may just solve multiple problems for
Early Fall-Coloring Trees
The trees are telling us that autumn is upon us! I wanted to share a few of my favorite ornamental trees that put on a great, early fall show. They are not edible, but could still have a place on the modern homestead along streets and driveways, where you don’t want fruit falling. The native trees will offer some value to wildlife and others are
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