letters from the wilderness
This past winter, I decided to try winter sowing. I have lots of beds to fill, and I also wanted to get back into vegetable gardening in our new home. Putting plants in can be an expensive proposition. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck by doing traditional indoor sowing and winter... Continue Reading →
In the morning before the kids get up for school, my hubby and I hang out in the living room drinking our coffee. He watches Northern Exposure while I surf Pinterest looking for ways to protect my plants from marauding deer or improve heavy clay soil. In one of my searches, I ran across ways... Continue Reading →
Last fall, we had extensive tree work done on our property and kept the woodchips for our flower beds. The same company returned 2 weeks ago with more free woodchips which I've been spreading around the yard. I took advantage of the windfall to start a rain garden. But first, a brief tour of my... Continue Reading →
In my search for ways to have a vegetable garden while living with deer, I came across this 8 x 4 foot crop cage on Amazon for $72.99. I bought 3 to install them in a bed that I wasn't ready to work on this year. Last year, my husband cut down the oak tree... Continue Reading →
I continue to wrap my brain around the differences between gardening in southwest Virginia zone 7b versus suburban Philly zone 7b. Here in VA everything starts just a bit earlier, plus there is a hot, dry season during the summer that we didn't have up in PA. Unfortunately, my brain still operates on my Philly... Continue Reading →
For my second year of gardening here in VA, I decided to frugally grow my plants from seeds. This does mean an upfront investment in equipment which I expect we will use for many years. I found this greenhouse set up on Amazon. I started with 2 inside and recently purchased this one to harden... Continue Reading →
If you want to start an argument in a gardening group, ask people for deer solutions. And then step very, very, very far away from the computer. Given the highly visible aspect of our garden, the presence of deer, and my desire not to spend all my money on deer deterrent spray, I've been searching... Continue Reading →
This is a catch-up post from my fall gardening tour. When I share the current state of the yard, it will be interesting to see what worked last year, what's remaining in place, and how I plan to change some stuff. ----------- Every year, I think I'm prepared for the beginning of school and every... Continue Reading →
Since it's been way too long, I'm catching up on my garden from this past summer, and then I'll move on to the changes we've made and plans for 2024. This area on the side of the house receives a fair amount of sun during the day. It also has the richest soil of all... Continue Reading →
My garden tour has been delayed by lots of time in the car this week. Time to catch up. Today, I'm sharing the area behind our house. With several oak trees in the bed and nearby, about half of the area remains shaded most of the day. The other half gets the afternoon sun. While... Continue Reading →
2 dogs and a house 