Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis, is a perennial herb native to the Mediterranean, but now grows rapidly throughout the world. It’s a member of the mint family and because all mints have square stems, identifying this herb is as easy as crushing a leaf between your fingers. If the aroma released is sweet, lemony, and slightly…
Grow
Growing your own food and medicine is one of the most rewarding and self sufficient things you can do for yourself and your family! I’m here to help you learn the benefits of growing your own vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers, and how to get started.
You will also find information on permaculture, forest gardens, and other regenerative gardening techniques.
Gift Guide for Backyard and Permaculture Gardeners
If you know someone who has a backyard garden, and I’m sure that you do, I have some great gift ideas that they will love! Many of these items are a little different than the normal gardening fare, and some of them even have a bit of a permaculture twist. This gift guide for backyard…
10 Reasons to Grow Basil
Basil is one of the most popular herbs used in cooking and for good reason! It has a slightly peppery and sweet flavor that everyone seems to love. Turns out that it’s also a great plant to have in your herb garden for many reasons! Besides being a delicious addition to food, basil is easy…
10 Reasons to Grow Chamomile: For Your Health and For the Garden
A cup of hot chamomile tea is the perfect way to end to any day, as it helps to calm the mind and relax the spirit. I know that I enjoy it most evenings. Beyond its ability to tame frayed nerves, chamomile has many other benefits, both for the garden and for us. I love…
6 Easy Backyard Permaculture Projects for Beginners
Permaculture is a word that brings to mind beautiful and large swathes of property filled to the brim with fruit trees, perennial food forests, and natural water sources. While this is a dream that many of us have (myself included!), it can feel like a difficult reality on a small suburban lot. Surprisingly, it isn’t…
12 Common Flowers to Plant for the Bees (that are good for us too!)
{This post is sponsored by Beesponsible} With the bee population at risk due to overuse of pesticides and other factors, it’s important to plant flowers that bees love – and that aren’t treated with pesticides, of course. Having a little pollinator garden is nice, not only for the bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, but…
10 Benefits of Growing Chives
Chives are often one of the first plants to pop up in the springtime and they are a welcome sight after a long and cold winter. I love growing chives for many reasons beyond putting them on a baked potato with sour cream (but that’s an excellent reason to grow them, too!). They are great…
Comfrey Tea: Homemade Natural Fertilizer
My husband Joel has been making this awesome homemade natural fertilizer for our garden using comfrey, and its been working amazingly well! It’s super easy, too, especially if you have comfrey growing in your garden already. Basically, it’s a simple comfrey tea, or infusion to be exact. Joel wrote this post for us today to…
How to Grow and Use Violas
Violas are one of my favorite flowers, not necessarily because of their beauty, but because of their hardiness and multiple uses. They are an edible flower, which are my favorite kind, like calendula, lavender, and nasturtiums. They also have some medicinal uses. Viola is actually a genus composed of many different species, including pansies, wild…
8 Ways to Eat Radishes and Radish Greens
Radishes are a vegetable that are sometimes hard for people to get excited about. I think they are amazing, though! For one thing, they are super quick and easy to grow. They germinate in no time, even in cold weather, and are on your dinner table before any other plant in your garden has time…
