I am a writer, lifelong plant lover, permaculture gardener, and unabashed nature nerd. I’m endlessly fascinated by the natural world and its curious inner workings – from the invisible microbes in soil that help our plants grow, to the hidden (and often misunderstood) life of insects, to the astonishing interconnectedness that lies at the heart of our forests. And everything in between.
My gardening philosophy is simple – work with the forces of nature to foster balanced ecosystems in the landscape. By taking advantage of 470 million years of evolutionary wisdom, suddenly the garden is more resilient and self-sustaining. By restoring biodiversity, we get built-in nutrient cycling, pest control, climate regulation, and widespread pollination. By building healthy soil and supporting the food web, we can have lush gardens and do a small part in healing our local biomes, too.
On my own humble patch of earth in zone 5b, I’m slowly reclaiming the land and planting it densely with native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees. I also tend a food forest, herb garden, and an ever-expanding plot of fruits and vegetables, where I abide by the old adage, ‘One for the mouse, one for the crow, one to rot, and one to grow’.
A thriving garden ecosystem is like a world in miniature. Right under our noses, there’s a constant struggle for survival going on. Between battles for food and territory, mating rituals …
Raspberries (Rubus spp.) are sun-loving, thorny, rambling plants in the Rose family. It’s absolutely worth a few prickles for the heavenly taste of the sweet, delicate berries, straight off the …
Right up there with ants, wasps, and mosquitoes, house flies are one of the summer’s most annoying insect pests. (Although you really do need to learn to love wasps.) Getting …
When it comes to building a raised garden bed, the possibilities are many. Raised beds can take on countless shapes, sizes, layouts, and materials. From wood, metal, stone, and plastic …
From sun up to sun down, bees are doing important work for the health and safety of the hive. Foraging bees will travel up to 5 miles from the colony …
Of all the ways to garden, raised beds remain one of the most popular approaches to growing food and flowers. Among its numerous merits, raised bed gardening keeps things neat …
One astonishing thing we discover early on in our gardening odyssey is what fruits and vegetables should actually taste like. What we buy from the store is a shockingly watered-down …
Butterflies are among the most appealing insects found in nature. As indispensable members of the beneficial insect crew, butterflies are essential pollinators that pick up tiny grains of pollen on …
Lurking in the dark and damp underbellies of the home, silverfish are six-legged scaly insects that only come out at night. Perhaps you’ve gone into your kitchen for a midnight …
Out of all the pests that can plague a garden, aphids are just the worst. They don’t munch on the leaves or fruit but literally suck the life out of …
Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb with an unmistakable flavor and aroma. The complex scent is a mash-up of other members of the Apiaceae family – a bit of …
Filling your garden with an abundance of gorgeous flowers can be as simple as scattering seeds on the ground in spring. It’s really that easy. Pick a sunny site, amend …
Ants are among the world’s most successful animals. With more than 13,000 known species to date (and thousands more still to be discovered), ants are found on every landmass except …
Dirt, grease, and grime are no match for the sudsy cleaning action of soap. But a bar of soap is no one-trick pony – it can do all sorts of …
Humans have been bringing plants inside the home for thousands of years. Not only do they clean the air and brighten up a room, they carry all sorts of intangible …
The poinsettia is one of the most popular festive plants to put on display over the holidays – second only to the iconic Christmas Tree! The fiery red and deep …
The basic recipe for making soap has been the same for thousands of years. Combining plant or animal fats with an alkali causes a chemical transformation, a process known as …
Most everyone loves a good strawberry. These sweet-as-can-be, red-fleshed fruits are as sumptuous eaten out of hand as they are prepped into a smorgasbord of yummy recipes. There are hundreds …
Sphagnum mosses are an utterly unique and fascinating genus of bog-dwelling plants. Perhaps you’re most familiar with them in their dried form. The light brown, fibrous, stringy bits are widely …
By now, things are starting to wind down in the garden. There’s a nip in the air and soon you’ll be harvesting your last vegetable and pulling up your spent …
Once dubbed the “elixir of life”, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is an ancient herb from the mint family that has been used as a medicine, and as a flavoring for …
Basil is sometimes referred to as “the king of herbs”. And no wonder. Basil is easy to care for and will quickly grow into big, bushy plants that abound in …
The aroma of thyme is pleasant and complex – peppery and a little sweet with woody, earthy, minty and flowery notes. Flavor-wise, it lands somewhere between lavender and rosemary. For …
In the world of horticulture, peat moss possesses many qualities we want in a growing medium. Peat moss has a lightweight and spongy texture. It has the uncanny ability to …