The Beauty of the Common Violet© I don't know where they came from. I don't think I ever planted them and at first I spent a great deal of time pulling them out like weeds. However, over the past 8 or 9 years I have let these little "nuisances" have their own way and I have... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

How to Grow the Eastern Redbud Tree© There are lots of reasons to plant and grow Redbud trees, but for me they are a living memorial to our late son, Fred, who loved to see the Redbud trees each spring. Redbud trees are the Oklahoma state tree and when we had our Bed & Breakfast... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

How to Grow a Flowering Crab Apple Tree© While we enjoy April showers, after it is over, we get a chance to see the blue sky and sun shine on the glory of the Flowering Crab Apple tree and that is what I was able to enjoy on my way to my Thursday night art lesson. As a passenger in a car... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Growing Sweet Peas© My mind conjures up cottages with sweet peas growing up the sides of the front door and trellises and arbors in full bloom with the multicolored little beauties filling the air with their wonderful fragrances. Not all sweet peas have a... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

How to Grow Dogwood Trees© The woods surrounding our property are becoming alive with dogwood trees and as I drive into the village in early April I can just see their blossoms starting to break open on the lower layers. Quickly the village inhabitant's yards will burst... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

How to Build a Pergola© We live in Zone 6 in Kentucky and the area in which we live is quite windy at times. Plus we have a family compound on about 15 acres. There several outbuildings and 4 large houses that are on this land in which some of our family members dwell. ... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

The Beauty of the Soulangeana Magnolia© I see these trees by mid March in our area of Kentucky and they are truly magnificent. For years I called them the Tulip Tree simply because they blooms looked like tulips. Some folks referred to them as Saucer Magnolia, Black Tulip tree or... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Growing a Flowering Quince© As a young housewife on a dairy farm in Northern New York I often heard of people making quince jelly in the fall. I never did as I never saw a quince or even the flowering quince way back in those days. Now I have one, or at least I hope I... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

The Mystery of the Blue False Indigo© About five years ago a plant grew in one of my big planters near our front door. It eventually grew to be about four feet high and about four feet wide. It was beautiful with blue green leaves and bluish-purple flowers on spikes that were similar... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Creating Your Own Mediterranean Herb Garden© I do a lot of cooking with herbs and I do a lot of herb drying and herb blending so over the years I have grown various herbs. I also like to go to Spain and Italy and just about any place in the Mediterranean and each time I return I am more... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Arlene’s Favorite Fennel Recipes© Fennel is often used in meat recipes, especially sausage and it is often misunderstood and really not part of the American Cuisine or diet. When I lived in Australia in 1984 I dined with some folks that served me the greatest Fennel and White... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Arlene’s Favorite Snow Pea Recipes© Snow Peas are so wonderfully sweet, crisp and easy to cook with. Here are a few of my favorite recipes. Snow Peas are an excellent source of vitamins C and A and have good fiber content so they are nutritionally good for you. They are... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

There are Many Reasons to Grow Snow Peas© Snow peas not only taste good they are good for you and they are really easy to grow since they take up hardly any room at all. They are inexpensive to grow and expensive to buy. These little beauties are great because you eat the pod and pea... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Primroses are Pretty, But!© When we had the B & B in Tennessee I used to see a pretty light pink flower about 18 to 20 inches tall growing over near the front of a house each spring whenever I went to town. Once we moved to Kentucky I was able to discover some on a seed... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Growing Fennel, a Vegetable or an Herb? © Say Fennel and most people look at you funny. Ask if it is a vegetable or an herb and most people cannot answer. I started growing fennel for a lot of reasons. I like Italian and Mediterranean cooking and fennel is part of many recipes. I like... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Put Some Moonflowers in Your Garden© Moonflowers, also known as Evening Glory (Ipomoea) is a night blooming vine with huge, delicately fragrant flowers that open in the evening with white attractive blooms. I always plant these annuals near the screened-in back patio where we can see... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Thinking Perennials? Think Butterfly Flower! © Flor de Mariposa! What can sound grander than that? Butterfly Flower! This perennial has brilliant shades of orange that will attract butterflies to your garden. It can be sown from seed and it takes 14 to 20 days to germinate, 365 days to... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Using the Healing Magic of Foods Part I © In February of 2002, upon returning home from a trip to Florida, we discovered that our youngest daughter had just been in a terrible car accident. After surgery with large pins in her hip and knee and a titanium rod inserted next to her broken... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Knowing Your Onions© Spring onions are a sure sign that a gardeners on his or her way to a Valhalla garden. What can be better than to see one's gardening efforts burst forth with those luscious little spring onions? Just writing about them makes my mouth water.... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

The Beauty of Sunflowers© Native to North America, the genus is Helianthus and the Sunflower was used for food and processed to make hair oil by early North American Indians. Over the years meal from processed seed was used for livestock food. The seeds are a wonderful... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Rhubarb, Almost as American as Apple Pie© When we had the dairy farms, so long ago it is almost a faint memory, we had Rhubarb every spring. It was a harbinger of spring. Rhubarb sauce and Hazel's famous Rhubarb pie! Rhubarb seemed to grow near the house and not in the garden and we... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Growing Chocolate Mint© I really enjoy tea and especially tea that is blended with different herbs. In 2004 I was able to buy some Chocolate Mint plants which I planted down in my Mediterranean herb garden. Chocolate mint's Latin genus is Mentha piperita species and... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Tip Toeing Through the Tulips© Now that we have just about enjoyed tulips of all different sizes and colors in our Zone 6 region we will go into a time when the petals will fall off those incredible blooms and they will start to look terrible. Those tall stems with a little... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

Have I Ever Told You the Pea Pod Wine Story? © Back in 1970, just after our stone house was struck by lightening and was wrecked, we bought a "temporary" house in the small village of Parishville, NY. My real estate company had it for sale. It was a huge 2 story Victorian, "package" home from... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)

When You Get Grapes Mash Them© From 1967 to 1979 I was a very serious home vintner even winning some awards for my wine. We made a lot of wine and had fun doing it. We used to make it from just about anything and now that I no longer make it I got to thinking about it today as... ( added 1 year 63 days ago.)