The Thanksgiving train is already whistling, and soon, many of us will be hosting loved ones for a feast of turkey and gratitude. Welcoming friends and family into your home and garden is one of life’s great pleasures. Food is excellent, and maybe the best part of hosting. Yet, hosting is so much more. It’s…
It’s autumn, your neighbor’s yard has turned into a leaf graveyard, and the squirrels are sizing up your leftover tomatoes. You, on the other hand, are in an epic stand-off with your rake: To clean, or not to clean? If your garden starts looking like Mother Nature hit “reset” a little too hard, you might…
Family portraits may capture perfect smiles, but behind the scenes, it’s all chaotic dinners, passive-aggressive comments, and way too many inside jokes that everyone in the room gets. Yet somehow, amidst all the drama, grudges, and questionable group chats, we build relationships that stand the test of time (and holiday feuds). Family dynamics are like…
Fall is prime time for flexing your creativity with container gardening. As summer blooms start packing their bags, autumn offers its own parade of colors and textures: rich mums, deep purple grasses, spiky kale, and more, all ready to put on a show. Swapping out tired summer petals for bold, cool-weather plants is a chance…
The leaves are doing their annual costume change, we are airing the heavy sweaters now, and my kids are starting to use the word “bored” with alarming frequency. This magical season means it’s time to trade in our garden trowels for glue sticks and our sun hats for whatever protects the dining room table from…
We should be displaying our garden produce the way hunters display deer heads. Pulling a humongous carrot from your own garden is no small feat. However, trying to figure out what to do with 40 pounds of carrots at the end of the season is a different kind of insanity. Before you start force-feeding carrots…
Autumn is beautiful, hands down, but watching your vibrant annual flowers fade can feel like saying goodbye to old friends. What if you didn’t have to? Many of the annuals you’ve nurtured all summer can be saved from the compost pile and brought back for an encore performance next year. With a little effort now,…
October pulls up to the station welcomed by a guard of honor made up of lots of orange, black, and a whole lot of plastic skeletons. For Christian families, navigating this season can feel like trying to find a decent parking spot at the mall on Black Friday. You want to celebrate the stunning foliage…
It may feel counterproductive to make plans for planting things when other flora around you is shedding leaves, but November offers a unique window of opportunity for planting. The soil often remains warmer than the air, creating a perfect environment for perennial roots to establish themselves without the stress of summer heat. Planting now gives…