We are only 14 days away from the first official day of spring! The outside garden still has a long way to go, so I’m continuing to care for the houseplants inside and dream about what’s to come. I was looking to bring in some sunshine, so I created this floral arrangement indoors.  Calla lilies have always been one of my favorite flowers. Do I just have to choose one? That seems too hard. I was looking for cheerful yellow blooms. They ended up making an excellent focal point for this arrangement.  Yellow Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)   White Snow Ball Feverfew (Tanac ..read more

Mason bees certainly have earned the title of super pollinator and are a backyard gardener’s new best friend. If you are a backyard gardener, these gentle insects can be the key to having an even more successful growing season. They are easy to raise, non-aggressive and native to North America. Last spring, I decided to venture into the world of beekeeping. While keeping a large hive filled with honey can be rewarding, keeping solitary bees can be more affordable, more beginner friendly and less of a long term commitment. Solitary bees do not live in colonies, do not make hives and do not p ..read more

As I sit here with my notebooks, seed packets and plant catalogs scattered all around me, I can’t help but reminisce about last year’s garden. It was my first year fully utilizing my unheated greenhouse. This extra space allowed me to start mostly everything from seed. It took lots of planning, scheduling and time. It was definitely worth it, and I’m so glad I put in all that extra work. I was able to enjoy so many homegrown plants.  Starting New Varieties From Seed I grew so many different vines from seed last year. From sweet peas started in February to Love in a Puff started in March ..read more

We are only 14 days away from the first official day of spring! The outside garden still has a long way to go, so I’m continuing to care for the houseplants inside and dream about what’s to come. I was looking to bring in some sunshine, so I created this floral arrangement indoors.  Calla lilies have always been one of my favorite flowers. Do I just have to choose one? That seems too hard. I was looking for cheerful yellow blooms. They ended up making an excellent focal point for this arrangement.  Yellow Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)   White Snow Ball Feverfew (Tanac ..read more

Have you been looking for a fun project to spruce up your home? Creating an indoor water garden is quick, easy and doesn’t take up much space. Some of us see fabulous looking ponds, but simply don’t have a large enough backyards to recreate that. I’m here to share some great news. All you need to start this project is a medium to large glass bowl or vase. I had so many empty glass vases just lying around, so I figured why not put one to use. Let’s jump into it and get started! I have my vase, now what? So we’ve chosen our perfect clear glass container and we’re looking to display something ..read more

Jasper cherry tomatoes   The sizzling temps are starting to reach the 90’s here in the Northeast. The garden is abuzz with hummingbirds, bumble bees and monarch butterflies. My basket it overflowing with an abundance of cherry tomatoes, peppers and fresh basil. I was lucky enough to experience my corn being “knee high by the 4th of July” this year. That has been a goal of mine for years! The coneflowers, nasturtiums and zinnias are really filling the garden with so much color. Come with me, and enjoy this tour of my garden! I love going outside every morning with my cup of coffee and ..read more

The days are getting longer here, and it’s finally starting to warm up. The plants are all thrilled! They are soaking up the sunshine and absolutely loving the heat. The spring chives are in bloom, and the tomatoes are gaining in size. Things really take off at this time of year, and I am loving it! In this particular bed, I have Sun Gold cherry tomatoes on the left and Mountain Merit slicer tomatoes over to the right. I tried to choose all disease resistant varieties for my garden this year as I mentioned in my previous post. I’m very excited to see how they do! I gave myself the goal of gr ..read more

We've made it to spring, and I'm so ready to get back to what I love doing the most - gardening! I've been busy planting seeds, building new shelves for the greenhouse and cleaning up debris left over from last year. Not much happens here in late fall and winter in New England, so I'm happy to be back and share with you all! Back in early February, I got to work and organized some of my seed cases. I figured it was important to take note of what I already had before I put in any big seed orders. Turns out I still have a ton of seeds (shocker, I know!) I am changing things up a bit this year ..read more

Becoming self-sufficient and starting a homestead can help many of us lead a debt free life. Living a more frugal lifestyle while taking advantage of the natural resources around you can put you on a path to financial security. I'm here to show you how you can begin make those changes! Here is a list of ideas to keep a steady income that will also allow you to rely on your own supplies all year long.  Getting and Staying Out of Debt The first step to getting and staying out of debt is developing healthy habits. You are going to need to sit down and really take the time to make a plan f ..read more

Today we're revisiting my July garden located in Northern Massachusetts (zone 6a.) My crops are grown in raised beds and planters. This is my fourth year growing in these untreated cedar beds. This growing season, my garden was filled with vegetables, herbs and companion flowers. Most of what I grow is started from seed. I decided to expand a bit by adding more pots, vertical planters and hanging baskets this season. The garden perimeter is 24 ft. x 24 ft. featuring a tall fence to keep out any large critters. Come and see what I grew! Alaska Mix heirloom nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus), Pin ..read more