If I were forced to choose a favorite color for flowers, it would be lavender blue. The lavender is a complement to the yellow sunflowers, tall marigolds, and black-eyed Susans in my yard, But I also love lavender blues with the pinks of my roses. I have always planted one blue sage or another, but…
Category: #Cottage Garden Living
How to Use Hi-Yield Calcium Nitrate to Prevent End Rot when Planting and or Potting Tomatoes & Peppers
Although I am a a seasoned flower gardener, I am still learning how to better grow vegetables. And while I can be a cottage gardener without growing vegetables, I aspire to be a better kitchen gardener, which, in my opinion, is planting flowers and vegetables together–side by side. Jacki Kellum Kitchen Garden In all honesty,…
Off-Topic: A Tall, Fast-Spreaing German Iris
I am not sure when I purchased my off-topic iris–nor exactly how many bulbs I initially [ planted, but I know that I had one plant growing in my garden in the Ozark Mountains: Off Topic Iris Jacki Kellum Garden in the Ozark Mountains Off Topic Iris Jacki Kellum Garden Water Valley, Mississippi I transported…
Daffodils – Preparing to Draw and Paint Them – Starting My Painting Time of Year
This past week, I have cheered on one after another of the wild weeds that were blooming in my February garden. Posted only two days ago, I ended the following video by saying: “As soon as you see these things, you know that your garden is about to fully wake up.” And as regular as…
Spinach in My Garden – Planting in February in Zone 8a
“Spinach is thought to have originated about 2000 years ago in ancient Persia from which it was introduced to India and later to ancient China via Nepal in 647 CE as the “Persian vegetable”.[8] In 827 CE, the Arabs introduced spinach to Sicily.[9] The first written evidence of spinach in the Mediterranean was recorded in three 10th-century works: a medical work by al-Rāzī (known as Rhazes in the West) and in two agricultural…
Growing Mint in the Garden: Comparing Peppermint and Spearmint
My Cottage Garden is in my backyard. I grow vegetables, herbs, roses, flowering vines. and flowers all together back there. Other than my Fairy Roses, my front yard is not much unlike most front yards. In fact, before I moved to my house, both the front yard and the back were dull. Bit by bit,…
Dead Nettle Is A Precious Little Flower in My Garden — It Is Medicinal & Great for Tiny Bouquets — and Essential for Early Pollinators
Although I have always liked the way dead nettle looks, I usually immediately dismiss this sweet little guy as a weed. You see, someone poisoned me with that thought many years ago. Therefore, when I saw Dead Nettle making a showing in my yard in early February [blooms in tact]. I almost dismissed it. But…
Carolina Cranesbill: The Good, the Bad, & the Pretty
It is February 18–two weeks after a brutal ice storm crippled my community, and today, I went out into my garden to see whether or not any plants had begun emerging from their wintry beds. I found all the following plants and more: Carolina Cranesbill is not a perennial, but she liberally reseeds, and it seems…
Perennials and Self-Sowing Annuals Flashing Green & Purple in My February Garden – Separating the Winter Weeds from the Keepers
It is February 18–two weeks after a brutal ice storm crippled my community, and today, and today, I went out into my garden to see whether or not any plants had begun emerging from their wintry beds. I found all the following plants and more: Carolina Cranesbill is not a perennial, but she liberally…
How to Make A Tussie Mussie, Nosegay, or Tiny Victorian Bouquet Step-by-Step
Image Credit: Alecia Lauren This entire post first appeared in Flower Mag https://flowermag.com/how-to-make-a-tussie-mussie/ SUPPLIES Fresh rose(s), herb sprigs, small flowers, leaves Waxed floral tape 1 yard of 3-inch-wide lace, elastic thread, and tapestry needle One finger cut from a (disposable) cotton glove 1 yard of double-sided satin ribbon about 1/2 inch wide to match the…