gardening

  • Fencing in the kitchen garden

    Josh and I have something of a squirrel problem in our backyard kitchen garden. Accustomed to running free and wild thanks to the apartment’s no-pet policy, these squirrels are daring. They take risks. They chew on plants and dig up… Continue reading

  • The best-laid plans of gardeners

    It’s been some time since we’ve visited the container garden. Let’s take a stroll, shall we? Here’s the basic layout: broad beans (the happy tall stalks in the corner); sugar snap peas climbing those bamboo trellises; one strawberry plant; onions… Continue reading

  • Two years

    Dear blog, Today you are older and hopefully wiser. (I’m not sure I am.) We’ve done quite a bit this past year… cooked from recipes from 1967, 1903, and the 1st century AD visited Downton Abbey through Victorian and Edwardian… Continue reading

  • Afternoon Adventure: Longwood Gardens

    A month ago my family met up in Philadelphia to celebrate my sister’s graduation. We had some free time before the festivities began, so we drove about an hour outside of the city to the Brandywine Valley, former home of… Continue reading

  • Spring greening

    Ah, spring! When a young lady’s fancy turns to…plants? Yes, it is all plants, all the time around these parts. When Josh and I go for a walk, I coo over the tiny purple stars blooming in the myrtle. I… Continue reading

  • The wearing of the green

    Almost all the seeds I planted a few weeks ago have sprouted, and my seed tray is now a veritable wonderland of tiny green sprouts and tendrils. While I love all the phases of the growing season (except perhaps pest… Continue reading

  • Starting seeds

    Earlier this week, it was finally starting to feel like spring. The air lost some of its chill, birds chirped in the tree outside our dining room window, and the first crocuses poked up from neighborhood yards. Of course, this… Continue reading

  • Planning the garden

    Today I taught my first session with a new group of students: little guys (to me, anyway), 4th – 6th graders. We talked about reading and books and the program we’ll be starting tomorrow. The kids were fun, energetic, and… Continue reading

  • Harvest

    Suddenly it’s fall. Vendors’ stands overflow with corn and pumpkins and squash and apples at the farmers’ market. Mornings are chilly enough to put on a warm sweater. Starbucks has switched over to Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Salted Caramel Mochas. Saver’s now… Continue reading

  • Kitchen garden (V)

    It’s been a while since the last update from the garden. Unfortunately, in between moving and travel, the poor tomatoes and peas had a rough transition. Those big green tomatoes I planned on harvesting? The squirrels at my new place… Continue reading