First off, why is this happening? Thoughts on La Nina, active solar storm season, and global warming all come to one’s mind. With solar storms come beautiful auroras, that were highly visible last Tues in some parts of the world (image above is Matthew Hodges‘). Now, what can one do for the garden? Well, mostly [...]
We just got snow last night and what perfect timing…all the seed catalogs seem to be coming my way with every winter day. I thought I’d share R.H. Shumway. The old-timey-ness is just plain endearing with little caricatures and drawings throughout. Flipping through the pages, you get transported into a different time. Postcards of the [...]
This year was my first to grow potatoes, and I started thinking about grains. Is it possible to grow grains in your own city yard? I’ve heard of folks canoeing along the Wisconsin rivers harvesting wild rice, and I’ve heard of cover crops, which are grains…so this is what I’ve learned. Seems that there is [...]
This is the forest pumpkin and below is the kitty pumpkin. Both are from a farm stand in Wisconsin. I saved a few seeds to try to grow next year and roasted the rest. Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe heat oven to 325 degrees rinse seeds, coat with butter or olive oil and season with salt [...]
The first frost hasn’t come yet, and with today’s temperature in the 60s, the garden is still blooming and producing. Instead of deadheading this last round of blooms, let your flowers go to seed. It’s a great way to attract and feed our little feathered friends. Black-Eyed Susan, Echinacea, Coreopsis, Aster, Thistle, Goldenrod, Basil, and [...]
Fall temperatures and the flowers are producing seeds! Collect some and let some fall for the birds to munch on. Just remember a few things when collecting. collect each type of seed individually store in an envelope and label with type and year store in a cool, dry, and dark place til spring share them [...]
I’m excited to see the purple globe amaranth seeds I started in my closet back in March are blooming. Gomphrena are native to Panama and Guatemala. Needless to say, they love the heat! Perfect for Chicago’s current heat wave. It’s attractive to butterflies, tolerates less than fantastic soil, and is great as a dried flower. [...]
I am currently in love with love in mist. Last year I sowed seeds with only a few plants growing here and there in whites, pinks and blue. However this year, the reseeded plants are just plain beautiful. The white were the first to bloom, and now the puffy seed pods are forming, which are [...]
Bonsai is an ancient art form, as well as a practice in nature, originating in China. Chinese Bonsai is inspired from myth and appears very animal like, recalling thoughts of serpents and dragons through gnarled stem and roots. Later, the Japanese adopted it as a form of Zen Buddhism, mimicking a more natural tree landscape, [...]
Earlier we started seeds in egg cartons and then made our closet into a grow room! “i’m helping”-che Now, it’s time to give the roots some more room with transplanting. You’ll need: larger containers, old plastic pots, peat pots (these are easy for transplanting outdoors) compost container soil seedlings water friend (puppy dogs really enjoy [...]