Create Distinctive Holiday Gifts
Gardeners and flower lovers would be delighted with flower quilts. The American Quilter’s Society has released “Appliqué Rose Garden: Vintage Album Patterns” by Faye Labanaris. For this title, the author selected 48 different, full size rose ... [... more]
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The Best Season
When considering shrubs with berries, remember many of the roses will produce large, colorful rose hips if they are allowed to do so. Some cultivars or species, such as Rosa xanthina, the Manchu rose, has particularly colorful hips. It produces ... [... more]
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Christmas Books For Children
“A Katie Kazoo Christmas” by Nancy Krulik is part of the best-selling Katie Kazoo Switcheroo Series. This is illustrated by John E. Wendy, and was published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. This volume features a ... [... more]
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A New World Edible Landscape
Agriculture in the New World was very advanced by the time Europeans arrived. Natives had observatories from which they could forecast accurately the best time for planting crops. Squash and pumpkins were ones that were domesticated later. ... [... more]
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Antique Apples
For more information on individual varieties, there is a great book for all growing zones. Cornucopia-A Source Book of Edible Plants by Stephen Facciola, published by Kampong Publishers, gives a complete history and description of each variety, ... [... more]
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Flavorful Spices
You might think that English food is very bland, but oddly enough they seemed to use more spices than we realize. It has been said that international spice trade was the very basis for the British Empire. In British kitchens in the 1800’s, it was ... [... more]
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Garden Report On My Veggies And Herbs
Let’s start with the herbs. This year, I grew several kinds of nasturtiums. My Tip Top Alaska nasturtiums (Territorial Seed Company) bloomed wonderfully in pots where I’d combined them with perennial lavenders. The gorgeous light green variegated ... [... more]
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Spinach For The Edible Landscape
Spinach is an ideal cool season vegetable. It can be grown during the warmer months if you choose a more heat-tolerant variety. The Territorial Seed Company has a number of varieties that should do much better during the summer months. These ... [... more]
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The Edible Landscape
Many people prefer to grow organic fruits and vegetables. For that reason, I recommend “The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food” by Tanya L.K. Denckla from Storey. Whether you’re growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers, this title ... [... more]
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The Kitchen Garden Yields Home Grown Produce
For the edible landscape, the best title by far is “Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruit-an Illustrated Encyclopedia” by vegetable specialist Matthew Biggs, herb expert Jekka McVicar and organic gardening expert Bob Flowerdew. This comprehensive guide ... [... more]
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The Three Sisters Garden
Some Native American tribes believe these three crops are special gifts from the creator, and associate them with various creation stories. There are many creation tales dealing with corn in particular. Some of these are presented in a wonderful ... [... more]
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Vegetables In The Edible Landscape
Other scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are focusing on colors rarely seen in carrots, such as purple, yellow, and even white, because these seem to have health benefits. Researchers have already succeeded in increasing the ... [... more]
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