Alice Walker The Flowers Alice Walker is the author of the powerful novel Color Purple, which became one of my favorite movies, but she also wrote a short story titled The Flowers. The Flowers By Alice Walker “It seemed to Myop as she skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehouse that the days had never…
Cottage Garden Living – Garden Ideas & Help All Year Long
Jacki Kellum is an artist and author, but she has also been an avid gardener for decades. Her blog site is at jackikellum.com, but her garden blog is at cottagegardenliving.com. As of May of 2024, she has committed herself to posting garden ideas almost every day on Youtube–sometimes more than one video a day. What…
Yellow Crookneck Squash: Summer Gold – Includes Recipe For Frying Squash in Cracker Crumbs
I am a Southern Country Girl, and during the summers, my family was sustained by the vegetables that my dad grew. My grandmother grew mounds of strawberries and flowers, but my dad–her son–grew vegetables. I know, for a fact, that I am a third generation gardener–on my dad’s side, but I feel quite sure that…
Scarlet Runner Beans — Like Red Orchids Streaking Across My Summer Sky
Scarlet Runner Beans in Jacki Kellum’s Cottage Garden For years, I have grown Scarlet Runner Beans in my cottage gardens. I’ve said many times before, but allow me to repeat myself: The earliest cottage gardeners were peasants who had very little land, and much of their cottage and/or kitchen gardens were grown vertically. I subscribe…
How to Dry Roses and Other Flowers & Herbs – Preserving Memories from My Past
I have tried several methods for drying roses and other plants, but my overarching preference is to dry flowers naturally No chemicals, No silicone, No microwaver–I just hang my plants upside down in a dark place and wait a few days for them to dry au natural. My grandparents in the early 1900s. Much of…
Creme de Cassis Hollyhocks and The Fairy Rose
This morning, I walked out my front door, and I created a video focusing on my Creme de Cassis Hollyhocks and my Fairy Rose. Creme de Cassis Hollyhock Image Credit: American Meadv The Creme de Cassis Hollyhock is named after a French liquer. “Crème de cassis is a French blackcurrant liqueur that originated in the…
Focus on Creme de Cassis Hollyhock – Hollyhocks Are Classic Cottage Garden Plants
Creme de Cassis Hollyhock Image Credit: American Meadows The Creme de Cassis Hollyhock is named after a French liquer. “Crème de cassis is a French blackcurrant liqueur that originated in the Burgundy region in the 19th century. The original recipe is thought to have been created in Dijon in 1841 by Auguste-Denis Lagoute, and the…
How to Create a Kitchen Garden with Raised Beds
Several times, I have said that my entire garden is a raised bed, and I have added that in many areas, the garden is a series of raised beds created on top of the base raised bed. A Load of Gin Trash Being Dumped into Jacki Kellum’s Garden Beneath my raised bed, I cover the…
How to Create A Patriotic Centerpiece – Red Poppies, White Daisies, & Blue Bachelor Butttons + A Patriotic Vase
For weeks, I have been watcing my Red Poppies, my White Daisiesk and my Blue Bachekir Buttons grow ]in my garden I decided to make a Patriotic Centerpiece and fill it with a Bouqut from my garden, Schlinck Haus Riesling Wine I originally started saving these gorgeous cobalt blue bottles to create a bottle tree,…
Fragrant Roses in My Garden
I love the fragranc that is characteristic of old roses. That fragrance reminds me of the early summers of my childhood. Tp help prolong the scent of roses, I have begun making potpourris: Recipes for Rose, Lavender, & Other Potpourris The primary ingredient of my potpouuris is that of the petals of fragrant roses, that…