For several years, I have ordered my tomato plants in winter from Bonnie on Amazon. The plants are shipped in an elaborate packaging system, and not one plant has been damaged during shipping. The tomatoes arrive in small, clear pots that are protected inside a little greenhouse. I’ll wash the pots and reuse them, along…
German Queen Tomato – An Heirloom Plant – Reminds Me of My Grandmother
For at least 50 years, I have been on a quest to reconstruct my German Grandmother’s Cottage and Kitchen Garden. If she were still alive, my grandmother would be over 100 years of age, and she had a huge, true cottage garden/kitchen garden. How to Create A Kitchen Garden — A French Potager — Includes…
How to Make Emergency Candles & Lamps from Crisco or Other Vegetable Shortening
The best time to plan for the next power outage is when you are dealing with the ravages of the one you are suffering through,l Although my Weather Channel did a great job of alerting me about the coming ice storm, long before it arrived, I wasted several days of valuable prep time by succumbing…
The Boy In the Blue Bunny Hat – A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
\ Surely we have all seen the photos of the Boy in the Blue Bunny Hat My question today is How Did the Photos Make You Feel? You may have dismissed the images entirely. In a glance, you may have rationalized: “He’ll get over it, He’s just a kid!” But exactly – The Boy in…
All About Using a Heating Mat to Start Garden Seeds Inside
One of the benefits of renting a studio/gallery space that houses much of my art stuff and furniture, is that I now have much more space in my home for doing other things — like gardening. Plus, now that I have a multi-functional sales space in the historic part of my town, I also have…
Repotting Tomatoes in Large Containers Inside Today — Hoping for an Earlier Crop — The List of Tomatoes I Am Planting & Why
A couple of days ago, as I made my morning tea, the temperature outside was 13 degrees, and yet, that was the day that I received my first tomato plants to repot in in larger pots–to give them a head start before I set them outside. Today is February 5, and I have received another…
Winter Is A Time to Lie Fallow – To Everything, There Is A Season
My little town in Mississippi is finally emerging from the damages caused by a treacherous winter storm. I had no power for 3 nights and days, and part of me cursed the darkness and the cold–especially during the night that the temperature dipped down to the low teens. But another part of me enjoyed the…
Snapdragons – An Heirloom Cottage Garden Flower to Sow Early Inside
I just realized that it is time for me to start my snapdragon seeds indoors, The mere thought of snapdragons carries me back back to my grandmother’s garden. Immediately by the back door, my grandmother always grew a mass of colorful snapdragons. Almost 75 years ago, I still remember asking my grandma how this flower…
Let’s Talk Twinings Tea – A Drink to Your Health – The Most Healthful Teas
The Jury Is In! Green Tea is the Most Healthful. Filled with Antioxidants, I have begun steeping a bag of Green Tea along with every hot drink I prepare–I even slip a bag of green tea into my morning cup of coffee. But since I am trying to restrict my caffeine intake, I have opted…
Chai Latte Tea – Great Treat – Low Calorie – Great Mixer – Keurig Pods – How to Brew with No Electricity
During the Ice Storm, it occurred to me that since the creamer and the sweetener are already mixed in the pods, Chai Latte would be an excellent tea to help endure an electrical blackout. i created a stove with Crisco candles for burners, and that is how I heated the water without electricity: Since there…