Sustainable is the new catch word for gardening. I hear it everywhere and I think it is overused without anyone really understanding exactly what it means. By definition it means -  Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. And by working gardens, keeping chickens for meat and eggs, preserving food, adding solar panels, …
Continue reading "Suburban Homesteading – Raising and Preserving Sustainable Food"
A Honey of a Good Book I don't know how I missed the publication of this book in April of 2011 but picked it up at a local plant nursery to look at and was enthralled. As a practicing beekeepr, I get a lot of information off the web and have several beekeeping books on my shelf …
Continue reading "The Handbook for Beekeepers – The Beekeeper’s Bible"
Cucumbers are spilling out of my vegetable drawer and my harvest basket. I am picking at least 8 to 10 a day, sometimes more! I can't give them away fast enough! So, I am going to make Bread and Butter pickles and Hamburger Dill pickles which I love and are so much better than store-bought. There is nothing …
Continue reading "Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Cucumbers"
The Invasion of the Blues I have been growing blueberries for years and this has been a banner year for picking them. We have had plenty of rain and the weather has been perfect for growing. I have only 5 shrubs but that is enough to keep us in berries, as well as providing the birds all …
Continue reading "Blueberry Bonanza"
Black is Beautiful For my updated post on black flowers, check out Black Goes With Everything. There has been an explosion of black flowers and foliage in the past couple of years in the gardening world. It started out as a trickle and now is a tsunami of everything black! When I go to the nursery …
Continue reading "50 Shades of Black"
I just came back from a day trip to NYC where I went to experience the 'High Line'. I have heard so much buzz from the media and friends on this new park in NY that I made a special trip to see it and was totally unprepared for the scope and genius of this …
Continue reading "High Line – Container in the Sky"
The Read I just finished reading 'American Grown' by Michelle Obama and it is a fascinating account of the garden and landscape evolution at the White House. From the very first vegetable garden installed by John Adams, our second president, the book mentions a variety of plantings and gardens until it ended up being a hodgepodge of styles …
I feel fortunate that I live just 6 or 7 miles from one of the most innovative and beautiful public gardens in the United States, right here in Monkton, MD, called Ladew Topiary Gardens. I first saw these whimsical and  enchanting gardens about 25 years ago that were created by, Harvey S. Ladew, a traveler, fox-hunter, …
Continue reading "Magical Mystery Tour – Ladew Topiary Gardens"
The Great Bee Count Within the past couple of years, you might have heard that bees are in trouble, growing scarcer, and suffering from a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. A variety of culprits have been fingered in causing this syndrome, including pesticide use, parasites, and diseases. To study bees, scientists decided …
Continue reading "The Great Sunflower Project – The Backyard Bee Count"
Trough Gardens I am a garden designer by trade and normally design gardens in full size, but also love to design gardens in miniature! There is something unique about creating a complete space in small scale that is so satisfying and fun! I can have garden features that I have only dreamed about - like a bridge over …
Continue reading "Miniature Gardens – Whimsical Creations"
