letters from the wilderness
This weekend I spent time digging and digging. The rain garden is one area I tackled which I'll work on again this week. This area has been eroded by the downhill flow of water and the 2 pipes attached to the rain gutters. You can see the pipe ends (black) marked by a rock in... Continue Reading →
One thing I had in abundance in my Pennsylvania garden was beneficial insects. Ladybugs, praying mantises, spiders, dragonflies, bees, earthworms, you name it, we had it in our 1/4 acre yard. When I first started gardening, I didn't plant to attract bugs. But, as I learned more about organic gardening, I started planting to get... Continue Reading →
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 →
2 dogs and a house 