By now, I am sure all of you have heard about the revival of the Victory Garden. During WWI and WWII Victory Gardens were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens that were planted at homes and public parks all over the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany during both wars. From coast to coast, even public land was utilized, with gardens installed in both the Boston Commons and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.  People plowed front yards, lawns, back yards, flower gardens and vacant lots to grow their own vegetables.

How much food were they able to grow? 

In 1943 these …

During these crazy times it is great for us to get outside and put our focus into productive projects that provide an opportunity to use our pent up physical and emotional energy.  Edible gardening projects provide a chance to use our bodies and our minds and will offer us some nutritional sustenance in the coming months. 

I was thinking about one of the first plants I successfully grew (given my long time history as a plant killer) and recalled that I had been able to once get a rosemary plant to thrive in a pot on our condo balcony many …

I spent a recent evening at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show and the theme of the week was “Spring Fever”.  They even had vegetables planted in a canoe! Does anyone else feel that spring is in the air? Are you excited to start digging in the dirt?

I was inspired by a talk by Brian Minter who is the Co-owner and president, Minter Country Garden Store, an innovative destination garden center and greenhouse growing operation in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. 

He discussed “The Fascinating Connection Between Plants, People and the Environment” which focused on the relationship and connection between …

As the cold gray winter days continue, I have added a little “sunshine” to my life by starting some seeds!  While it is much too early to get plants started in the garden it is not too early to try sprouting some seeds indoors. Those little green sprouts provide a reminder that Spring will be here soon.  

Starting seeds indoors does require a little effort and attention, but does not have to be expensive.  There are many items that can be recycled into potting containers.  Egg cartons, plastic produce containers and even toilet paper rolls can be used for …

The season is changing and the warm summer crops are withering along the streets of the neighborhood. Enjoy the last of those tomatoes… but believe it or not, there is still one more crop you can get in the ground that will thrive in our mild winter with very little assistance. That fabulous crop is… garlic!

Garlic doesn’t take up a lot of space or require a lot of attention. Plant it before Halloween and it will be ready to harvest around the Fourth of July. Once it is in the ground it is really a “set it and forget …