I currently live in the Ozark Mountains and while the area is gorgeous, the rocky soil is a gardening nightmare. It is almost impossible to dig in soil that is laden with stones, and I am in the process of building raised beds all around my yard. The good news, however, is that bulbs are…
Month: October 2018
Free Plan for a Heritage Vegetable Garden – Save Space by Growing on Trellises and Walls
Long before the common, every-man began gardening, there were the stiff and manicured estate gardens–the gardens intended for a show of lavish wealth. When the commoners began gardening, however, they did so simply to provide food and medicines for themselves. Some of the medicinal plants were flowering herbs, and other flowers were introduced into the small…
Free Plan for a Small, Colorful, and Easy Vegetable or Kichen Garden
Check out this free Better Homes and Garden Plan for a Small Vegetable Garden. The garden is about 8′ x 12′ Typical of an older-styled kitchen garden, flowers are planted amidst the vegetables. I especially like that this plan is incorporating sunflowers. One of my main purposes in gardening is to provide subject matter for my paintings,…
Free Garden Plan for Small Cool Weather & Warm Weather Vegetable Gardens to Grow Against A Fence
When your vegetable garden space is tight, growing upwards, along a fence or wall, increases your potential yield. Check out these free Better Homes & Gardens plans for a small 4′ x 12′ kitchen garden space. Both a cool weather and warm weather plan is included. “Our cool-season garden features vegetables and herbs that thrive…
Why Everyone Needs A Secret Garden – A Garden Plan for Softening a Privacy Fence and Melding It Into the Garden
Not long ago, I visited The Cloisters in New York City. By definition, a cloisters area is an open hallway that surrounds a protected garden. It is a natural walkway where monks and nuns might retreat into nature and still have a degree of protection from the elements, like wind, rain, snow, sun–and other people, too. At…
Fall Is A Good Time to Plant Lilies – A Free Plan for Planting Lilies Along a Picket Fence
A few days ago, a recently orphaned shih tsu and I resued each other, and now, I found it necessry to build a small, fenced area to protect her from the street. Jacki Kellum’s Cabin Home in Harrison, Arkansas Since this photo was taken, we have built a cedar fence around most of the property’s…
It’s Fall – It’s Time to Plant Germanic Irises in My New Ozark Mountain Garden
I moved to the Ozarks this summer, and when I arrived it was too hot to begin planting much of anything. Because the terrain here is terribly rocky, I did add some topsoil to the ground, but I have been waiting until fall to do any serious gardening. Since I was a young child, my…
Pamper Yourself with Pumpkins – Planning My Fall Garden A Year in Advance
This will sound nuts to some, but I have already planned my vegetable garden for next year. You see, I have recently moved to the Arkansas Ozarks, and I left my gorgeous and spacious garden back on the East Coast. I moved just as the temperatures soared to 100 degrees, and I found it absolutely…
What Is A Cottage Garden? Which Flowers Should I Plant in My Cottage Garden?
In his introduction to The Cottage Gardener’s Companion: A Seasonal Guide to Plants & Plantings for Informal Gardens, Douglas Taylor said that cottage gardens are like horses. They are easier to recognize than they are to describe: “Perhaps the chief hallmark [of a cottage garden] is informality.” He observed that the old cottage gardens did…
Free Small Garden Plan to Work Around a Mailbox from Better Homes and Gardens
Check out this free garden plan that is designed to work around a mailbox set on a wooden post. Dress up your mailbox with this charming, small-space garden, which features a variety of low-care, long-blooming annual flowers for a burst of front yard color all summer long. Garden Size: 3 x 5 feet: https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/easy/colorful-mailbox-garden-plan/ A…