organic gardening
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bird Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, Caterpillars, Color in the Garden, Ferncliff, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Meadow Gardens, Native North American Meadows, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, organic gardening, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Pollinating Insects, Wildflowers and Meadows, Wildlife
Notes on Nature’s Bold Artistry: Brilliant, Blooming Butterfly Weed & Her Colorfully Patterned, Wild Guests …
Asclepias tuberosa – Our Beautiful, Native Butterfly Weed Catches the Golden Light of Summertime Along the Wildflower Walk In search of inspiration for your next creative project; pattern, form or color play? Sometimes, you needn’t look further for fresh ideas than your own backyard! While out admiring the blooming butterfly weed in my Wildflower Walk […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Native Plants, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Wildflowers and Meadows
Birds, Bees & Butterflies in the Garden: A Seminar on Attracting Winged Beauty! Brattleboro Garden Club in Vermont
I’ll be presenting a free gardening seminar with slide show & discussion: “Gardening to Attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies” Please note that the Brattleboro Garden Club has changed the time of this event to 6 pm. Thank you! This event is sponsored by the Brattleboro Garden Club and will take place Monday, March 14th at […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Butterflies and Moths, Extending the Growing Season, flowering shrubs, Garden Visits, Gardening Inspiration, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Inspirational Gardens, New England, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Summer flowering shrubs, Tropical Plants, Wind Breaks
On Magic Wings: A Visit to the Beautiful Butterfly Conservatory & Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden…
Postman (Heliconius melpomene) – Native to Central and South America Spring may be fast approaching, but yesterday’s cold and wintry temperatures left me craving a bit of warmth, moisture and color. I love visiting conservatories at this time of year, and fortunately, I live near several, wonderful gardens-beneath-glass. One of my favorite wintertime ‘vacation’ spots […]
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Beets, Carrots, Early Spring Garden Plants, Garden Design, Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
Getting Rooted: Pretty Potatoes, Colorful Carrots, Radiant Radishes & Beautiful Beets…
Now that I have enlarged the potager, I’m planning a bumper crop of colorful potatoes! Radishes and carrots make great companions, not only in salads, but in the potager as well (see pelletized carrot seed planting tip/velvet carrot recipe here, and read a carrot/radish companion planting article here) Colorful Salad of Red and Gold Beets […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Container Gardening, Cooking, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Deer, Flower Seeds, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers, Front Yard Gardens, Fruit for home gardens, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Dining Rooms, Garden Journals, Garden Maintenance, Garden Paths, Garden Rooms, Home, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, seed starting, Seeds, soil science, strawberries, Tomatoes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Dreaming of Springtime’s Sweet Veggies: Planning a Lush, Welcoming Potager…
A tumbling jumble of nasturtiums creates a warm welcome for people and pollinators alike Sweet seats! In June, the potager becomes my outdoor living/dining room Wide pathways and mounded-earth beds give me plenty of room to work and maneuver about with carts and wheelbarrows Winter is a wonderful season —I’m still having fun snowshoeing and […]
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Cippolini Onions, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Early Spring Garden Plants, Garden projects for kids, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Planting Techniques, Seed Kits, seed starting, Seed- Saving, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden
Here Comes the Sun, Doo’n Doo Doo: Gettin’ Started with Seed Starting…
On your mark, get set… Twenty degrees fahrenheit. Ow… That’s nippy! Yes, the outside temperature still says ‘winter’ loud-and-clear, but the good new is that the days are getting longer, and the sunlight is getting stronger. That means it’s just about time to get a jump on the growing season by starting seed indoors. At […]
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Cookbooks, Cooking, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Home, Indoor Gardening, organic gardening, Recipes, Woody Plants
The Delights of a Cozy Winter Kitchen: Warm Oven, Fragrant Herbs & Freshly Baked Focaccia with Onion & Rosemary
Freshly Baked Slices of Focaccia with Rosemary and Onion Rosemary Blossoming in my Kitchen There’s just something about cold, wintry weather that makes a girl want to bake… Know what I mean? Yes it’s nippy outside, but here in the house, things sure are warm and cozy. The wood stove is popping and cracking and […]
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Conservatory, Container Gardening, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Rooms, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Insects/Entomology, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Studio Garden, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, The Seasons, Tropical Plants, Winter, Woody Plants
Indoor Eden: Trouble in Paradise… Aphids & Scale Attack the Studio Oasis!
Pots in the Studio – Kalanchoe ‘Tessa’ (About to Bloom) Shares Space with Other Succulents (Mustard pot: Crassula ovata ‘Minimus’, Senecio macroglossus ‘Variegata’. Green pot: Kalanchoe mangini and Crassula ovata) By now, it should be fairly obvious that I take as much pleasure in my garden during the winter months as I do during the […]
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Garden Journals, Garden Maintenance, garden tools, Gifts for Gardeners, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Planting Techniques, Record Keeping, Seed Kits, Seed- Saving, Seeds, The Seasons, Uncategorized, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening
Marking Time’s Passage in the Garden: Beautiful & Practical Journals…
Keeping a permanent record of your garden is one of the keys to horticultural success! I keep records for both my vegetable plot and my ornamental gardens December 2010. It’s hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close, isn’t it? While flipping through my garden journal last week, I couldn’t help but […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Dragonflies, Nature, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, The Seasons
I Spy a Beautiful, Scarlet-Red Dragonfly! Meet the Autumn Meadowhawk…
An Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly (Odonate sympetrum vicinum) Rests in the October Sun Look, it’s a red dragonfly! Actually, to be specific, this dragonfly is commonly known as an Autumn Meadowhawk (Odonate sympetrum vicinum). I got so excited when I saw this beautiful creature lighting beside me on a lichen-covered stone the other day, that I […]
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annuals, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Cocktails, companion planting, Cutting Garden, Dried Flowers, Fragrance, Garden projects for kids, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, organic gardening, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Preserving Herbs, Recipes, Summertime Cocktails, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Savoring Summer: Harvesting and Drying The Garden’s Finest Herbal Treasures…
Drying Herbs in the Stairwell One of the great pleasures of living in New England is, of course, the seasons. The natural world operates on a distinct schedule here, and all life flows along with it at a steady pace. On these late August days, the song of the hermit thrush —an ever-present twilight melody […]
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companion planting, Cooking, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Garden Rooms, Garlic, Herb Gardening, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Planting Techniques, Potatoes, Secret Gardens, The Seasons, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
August Abundance: Notes from the Kitchen Garden…
My Summertime Kitchen Mid August is always a busy month in the kitchen garden. Abundant cucumbers, summer squash, beans, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and onions must be harvested and put up —frozen, dried, pickled and/or canned— at the peak of freshness. Late summer chores in the potager include watering —especially during this extended dry spell we […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Caterpillars, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Photographers
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Insect Enemy Number One: Tomato Hornworm Wanted Dead or Alive!
The Hornworm (Manduca sexta) – Image â“’ Tim Geiss at Poltergeiss Wanted Dead or Alive: Manduca quinquemaculata (and also Manduca sexta) aka The Hornworm. Although he looks almost clownish in Tim Geiss’ photo (above), this garden pest is no laughing matter. The hornworm feeds on tomato plants and their relatives (other nightshades of the Solanaceae family; including peppers, tomatillos, eggplants, […]
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companion planting, Cooking, Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Homemade Remedies: Anti-Fungal, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Sweet Summertime Risotto with Zucchini, Basil & Golden Peppers & Cultural Notes and Tips from the Kitchen Garden…
Summertime Risotto â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE Endless summer. Between the deep green leaves in my kitchen garden, zucchini plants offer up their tender, young fruit and bell peppers glisten in the morning sun. Green and purple basil plants —pinched to form bushy mounds— brush my ankles, scenting the air as I walk along the […]
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Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Science, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Chinese Proverb: The Best Fertilizer is The Gardener’s Shadow…
The Gardener and Her Shadow Delivering Fish Emulsion to Cippolini Onions… Photo â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE Morning Chores After the Rain Storm. Photo â“’ 2010 Michaela at TGE High winds, driving rain, thunder and lighting; a violent band of storms shook me wide awake last night and when I heard hail on the tin […]
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Annual Flowers, Artful Garden Objects, Books, Cutting Garden, Dining Outdoors, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
The Art of French Vegetable Gardening in Honor of La Fête Nationale…
A Country-Casual Potager from The Art of French Vegetable Gardening by Louisa Jones with photographs by Gilles Le Scanff & Joelle Caroline Mayer A Formal French Garden of Culinary Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables featured in The Art of French Vegetable Gardening (image â“’ Gilles Le Scanff & Joelle Caroline Mayer) In remembering La Fête Nationale […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Birds, Container Garden Fruits, Fragrance, Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Indoor Gardening, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, strawberries, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Ruby-Red, Fragrant Fraises des Bois: Life’s Sweetest Little Luxuries…
Fraises des Bois, or alpine strawberries, offer a continuous supply of summertime fruit – Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE Oh the magic of Fraises des Bois! To me, they look as if they belong at the center of a tiny table in an enchanted forest; one set just for leprechauns, fairies, nymphs and elves. Alpine […]
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Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
From Verdant Shades to Violet Hues: The Potager is Beginning to Look Beautiful, Bountiful and Very, Very Veggie…
Beautiful Broccoli © 2010 Michaela at TGE… Every morning now, when I stroll through the vegetable garden on my early rounds -coffee in hand and pets in tow- I am astonished by how much the summer crops have grown in just one short month since planting. And no matter how groggy, or harried, or pressured […]
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companion planting, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Weeds and Weeding
I Know They Are In There Somewhere! Companion Planting in the Vegetable Garden: Guest Post by John Miller of The Old School House Plantery…
Radishes and Carrots Together Again at the Market, (photo © Michaela TGE) “They”, in this instance, being carrots and parsnips. In my previous post I mentioned how farmers use plug sown onion transplants to overcome the problems associated with the slow germination time of onions. Onions are not the only vegetables that exhibit long germination […]
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organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Growing Great Leeks and Onions the British Way: Guest Post by John Miller of the Old School House Plantery
Triple Planted Lincoln Leeks and Savoy Cabbage,(with Garden Fork for Scale) Triple Planted Onions It’s the middle of May in New England and winter seems to be finally releasing its grip on the climate! Late last week I was planting onions and leeks and I invited Michaela to stop by as I knew what a […]
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Garden Science, Garlic, Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Is It Time Yet? Getting a Jump-Start on the Vegetable Growing Season………. {Plus a Special Anniversary Give-Away}
Herbs and vegetables acclimating to conditions in the great outdoors before planting. A process known as “hardening off”… Well here we are in early April, and it’s finally almost-but not-quite-growing-season. What, you say, is she talking about? Why, haven’t you heard of almost-but-not-quite-growing-season? You see, this is the time of year when people start to […]
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