February To-Do List 1. Make rosemary cookies 2. Go to Garden Expo 3. Vacuum indoor houseplants with garage vac 4. Write hits and misses from 2016 for school garden and personal garden 5. Write more blog posts to share ideas with as many peeps as possible 6. Scour gardening catalogs and magazines–favorites: Jung’s, Seed Savers,… Continue reading February 2017 To-Do
So, what’s a gardener who gardens for her profession, passion and lifeline to do when she discovers she has a pretty severe allergy to bees? A. Have a panic attack, or several? B. Have a nervous breakdown? C. Have a midlife crisis? D. Become a total shut-in, an agoraphobic? E. Never go outside again? F.… Continue reading Bringing the George Costanza Fanny Pack Back from the ’90s
When I was in my early twenties, the feminist in me remained adamant: I didn’t like to cook, and I didn’t care to learn how. Once again, gardening has taught me the value of something other than gardening. Yep, now I like to cook. I love harvesting from my yard and cooking up something nutritious and delicious… Continue reading A Gardener cooks….
The idea of getting chickens was daunting. How could I possibly take on one more mouth to feed and more poop to pick up? But my family really wanted them so I did what I do best: I caved. And it was the most joyful, happy, easy, fun experience of 2012–for each and every family member, dog… Continue reading Chicken Mama
Show of hands! Who buys wonderful, expensive, organic fruits and veggies with the best intentions of making a healthful meal, only to throw them away weeks later, after the fridge starts to produce a strong, foul odor? Mel’s tip, which has been working for a while: When you realize you are not going to use… Continue reading Garden to Table
1. Sungold indeterminate tomatoes 2. Ornamental millet 3. King Tut grass 4. Dinnerplate dahlias 5. Amaranth 6. Rainbow Swiss chard 7. Lemon basil 8. Cobra garden tool for weeding. It will make you more successful with weeding, digging and planting! 9. Elephant ear to try: King of the Nile, West Indian kale 10. Edible flowers.… Continue reading 12 Essentials for 2012
Anyone who knows me well knows I am “a worrier,” an “over-protective mom” of three, so it was important to me to be educated and keep my kids and dog safe when I garden. This was my main motivation for creating a green and organic yard and garden, as I learned that most kids absorb… Continue reading Poison….Beware….Caution….
When did you start gardening? The summer of 1959, our first summer in Patricia Park (in Des Moines). That was the 1st time we lived in a home long enough and with a big enough yard to really garden. I was so into gardening then that when my youngest son, who was in kindergarten, was asked… Continue reading Interview with one of my favorite gardeners, my grandma!
What is bright yellow, cheerful, edible and can detoxify your liver? Yes, the little old dandelion. Last spring I watched my then 17-month-old son pick up one of those fuzzy seed pods from the dandelion and blow again and again, having such a joyful ball! Then I watched my daughters make dandelion crowns. Later that… Continue reading In Defense of Dandelions
Mel's Green Garden 