As someone who lives on the second floor of a large brick building, I know a thing or two about stifling rooms in the heat of summer. You know, the …

Hover flies are truly unsung heroes in the garden. Operating like undercover agents, hover flies are easily mistaken for bees or wasps. When at rest on a flower, it’s nearly …

Every year we gardeners spend the entire growing season holding our breath. Seriously, we do. Think about it for a moment. We wait patiently in the spring, fingers crossed, hoping …

Few things taste better than the summer’s first fresh strawberry. Take one bite of a sun-ripened berry, and you’ll never be satisfied with watery commercial varieties again. Fresh strawberries are …

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Ducks are better than chickens. I know; it hurt me a little to say it too. But it’s true. It’s …

When it comes to making your living space fresh and inviting, it’s hard to find anything that does the job better than plants. And while I love the creeping tendrils …

Just as you might be congratulating yourself on your green thumbedness – after all, your tomato plants are big and healthy and strong – you notice dark lesions on the …

Is there a stubborn patch of soil in your garden where most plants seem to wither away? You could be faced with something all gardeners dread – low-quality soil. As …

Ah, summertime! The lightning bugs are hovering over the lawn in the evenings, the hot weather has us all drinking gallon upon gallon of ice-cold switchel, and everyone is planning …

If you’ve got an aphid problem you’re looking to fix, you’ve probably read that ladybugs are the solution. Using these cute little beetles to combat tiny green pests is an …

For many of us, living a life of self-reliance goes hand in hand with making better choices concerning the environment. By creating a more self-sufficient lifestyle, we’re choosing to remove …

Purple! Yes, purple. You need more of it in your garden. We’ve all got plenty of green going on, but what you really need is more purple. You may not …

Did you know all rose petals are edible? Though some are more fragrantly delicious than others. However, it’s important to note that the only rose petals you’ll want to ingest …

One of the great things about strawberries is that they are very easy to propagate. Buy one plant and it will usually produce several new plants over the course of …

Removing a tree stump makes for a great weekend project – outdoor exercise combined with a profound lesson on how different trees grow different roots. Does your tree have a …

Growing your own potatoes is usually guaranteed to give you a plentiful harvest. However, there is one little thing that may get in the way of your harvesting plans – …

The decision to build an eco-friendly greenhouse on our little farm in Pennsylvania was really an afterthought. My wife Shana and I had just bought our first piece of heavy …

Not all rhubarb is created equal. Neither are homemade jams, but we’ll get to that in a moment. This rings especially true when you have the opportunity to grow and …

Long winters and short summers don’t exactly make for the most productive growing seasons. Yet, that is exactly where some of us are at: facing short growing seasons in colder …

When the dog days of summer roll in, many of us head inside and crank up the air conditioning, others head to the beach, looking for the cool breezes coming …

With summer on the way, the time you spend in your garden is about to increase dramatically. And that is a beautiful thing! Fresh air, sunlight, dirt on your hands …

I was making my morning inspection of my garden, coffee in hand when I noticed something on my spinach that made my heart skip a beat. There, on one of …

Some plants are easy. All they need is a bit of sunshine, a sprinkling of compost, and the occasional watering to put out a captivating display of flowers and foliage. …

If you grew up in rural America, a big part of summertime was fireflies. Or lightning bugs. Or lightning beetles.  No matter what you called them in your neck of …