Herbs
Herbal Happy Hour
Few things brighten up a winter kitchen like a cheerful container of herbs on the windowsill, but those savory stems take on glamorous appeal when used to class up some classic cocktails. More than just looking pretty, however, these everyday herbs add interesting dimensions when infused into otherwise ordinary tipples. This winter, wow your guests…
Read MoreCan You Grow Food Indoors?
Author Kim Roman says, yes, you can. In her new book, How to Garden Indoors and Grow Your Own Food Year Round (Creative Homeowner, 2022), Roman gives encouraging and pragmatic tips for how to grow food indoors using hydroponic and soil-based systems. A gardening teacher and expert in square-foot gardening, Roman lives in Maryland (USDA…
Read MoreSlow Food Movement
The Slow Food Movement encourages deeper thinking around food. It links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and environment. When we reconnect with systems that produce our food, we have an opportunity to make our current food system more equitable and sustainable. An important piece in changing the food system? Education. Slow…
Read MoreJuly Garden To Dos
July’s to-do list always starts with scouting for squash pests for me. Both squash bugs and squash vine borers usually show up right around the beginning of the month. Squash bugs lay coppery metallic eggs on the undersides of leaves—they’re easy to remove with duct tape. Then I put the duct tape in a bucket…
Read MorePlant Profile: Lovely Lemon Balm
As your eyes drift across the garden, you might not immediately notice the bushy herb with the jagged-edged leaves. It’s easy to overlook amongst the sunflowers and the summer squash and the snapdragons. But let’s take a closer look at this unobtrusive and unassuming herb. It’s sometimes called common balm, garden balm, balm mint, dropsy…
Read MorePlant Profile: Dill
Once upon a time, I planted dill in my herb garden and it grew so tall and gorgeous that I couldn’t bear to harvest it. So I just admired it in the garden every day and breathed in its delightful fragrance instead. It lived happily ever after, the end. OK, so I’m exaggerating a little,…
Read MoreBetter Basils: New Disease Resistant Basil Varieties
Basil is a pleasure to touch, smell, taste and harvest. It pairs with tomatoes as deliciously as strawberries pair with rhubarb and can even be used in desserts! While northern gardeners love the traditional sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), basil downy mildew (BDM) disease and a desire for something different have led gardeners to explore basils…
Read MoreEnjoy Infused Water from Your Garden
We’ve had some super hot days recently. According to the weather folks, 11 days have had temperatures in the 90s, with more in the forecast. After working in the garden on a hot day, I like to enjoy infused water to cool me down. We all know we need to stay hydrated when outside on…
Read MorePlant Profile: Lavender
Hidcote lavender is a good variety for northern gardeners. Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens Inc. If you’ve ever seen photos of lavender fields in Oregon or other much more temperate climates that ours, you know how delightful this perennial herb can look. With its deep purple flowers and scented foliage, lavender is a dream plant…
Read MorePlant Herbs for Pollinators
Once while poking around my vegetable garden, I noticed the parsley was looking sparse. I hadn’t harvested that much, had I? Closer examination showed it wasn’t me, but a very hungry caterpillar who had been chomping on the parsley. Since then, I’ve always planted extra parsley—for the caterpillars and also for other critters who hang…
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