Today is March 4, 2026, and I am working hard, getting my flower and vegetable plants ready for the Saturday Gardener’s Markets, which will take place in old, Historic Water Valley, Mississippi, each Saturday morning, from 8 until 12 – Beginning April 4. Vendors Are Invited to Apply. Very Limited Sidewalk Spots $5.00 per Saturday. …
Tag: Cottage Garden Living
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,…
Jacki Kellum – Avid Gardener, Painter, and Author
I admit it; I am a Jacki of Many Trades. But to make up for the fact that I spread myself thinly, I pursue a few of my interests with zeal. Some people know me as an author of picture books — especially my Donkey’s Song: Some people know me as a painter: Others know…
Propagating Old Garden Roses – A List of the Easiest to Root – How to Propagate Roses
This will seem crazy to some, but I always start my garden season in the dead of winter. In my opinion. gardening is the best way to beat the winter blues. Winter is the time that I start seeds inside, and this year, I’ll be trying something I have wanted to do for years. I’ll…
Toxic Trumpet Plants: Purple Datura [Devil’s Trumpet or Jimson Weed] & Angel’s Trumpet
Purple Datura – Devil’s Trumpet or Jimson Weed Image Credit: Wikipedia Today, I am battling a toxic nuisance in my garden — my Purple Datura Plant. I am also buffeting myself for my mistake in having allowed this guy to grow to become the large shrubby problem that he has become. You see, I love…
In Writing and Painting, Be Specific – Learn to See the Differences with Contour Drawing
Learning to Write and Paint Is Dependent on a Person’s Ability to Dig Deep and to Be Specific. When I start new writing an painting students, I always tell them that having previous experience is not necessary. Sometimes, a person’s previous training is more detrimental than helpful because my approach to teaching is different. Regardless…
The Empty Lot of My Childhood – Mow It – Make A Path – Weed to Find the Way – Joy Comes in the Morning
On one scorching hot summer morning, I heard the ratcheting sound of lawn mowers firing up. I hoped the sound was coming from my yard. For days, feather-tufted spikes of Johnson Grass had been waving jubilantly in the wind. I rushed to the door to be sure that my ears were not deceiving me, and…
Plans for a Fragrant Repeat-Blooming Rose Garden – Filled with the Scent of Old Roses – Mixed with Compatible Native Perennials for a Shabby Chic Cottage Garden
Silas Marner Rose Image Credit: David Austin Fragrance: Old Rose Height: 4.5′ Repeat Bloomer Desdemona Rose Image Credit: David Austin Fragrance: Strong Old Rose Height: 4′ Repeat Bloomer Harlow Carr Rose Image Credit: David Austin Fragrance: Old Rose Height: 4′ Repeat Bloomer Image Credit: Zéphirine Drouhin Image Credit: Heirloom Roses Fragrance – Bourbon Rose…
How to Compost to Create Soil for Your Garden
During my lifetime, I have lived and gardened in several parts of the country, and in almost every place I have lived, I have been forced to amend my garden’s soil. Before I moved back to Mississippi, I lived and gardened in the Ozark Mountains, where most of the earth is covered by bedrock. In…
Down My Garden Path – Elements of a Cottage Garden
Better Homes and Gardens online has a great article that details the elements of a cottage garden, and one of those elements is that of curved, natural pathways. My garden is a veritable maze of curved pathways: “Create soft meandering pathways instead of those that follow a straight, structured line. Many paving materials work in…