Martinis & Marigolds | Refreshingly Simple Garden Tips

🌱 Gardening Made Doable: 5 Tips for Scaling Back Without Giving Up

🌱 Gardening Made Doable: 5 Tips for Scaling Back Without Giving Up

 

Gardening doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If you’re short on time, space, energy—or just feeling the strain of doing it all—you don’t have to give it up completely. With a few thoughtful adjustments, you can still enjoy the beauty, joy, and satisfaction of gardening on your own terms. In this post, I’m sharing 5 practical tips to help you scale back without stepping away, so you can keep your hands in the dirt and your heart in the garden.

Read on for 5 simple strategies will help you keep growing—even when life says slow down.

Posted in beginner gardener, beginner gardeners, busy gardeners, low maintenance gardening, senior gardeners

Creating a Low Maintenance Garden - Step by Step

Creating a Low Maintenance Garden - Step by Step

 

We all want to have beautiful gardens in the summer. But who wants to spend hours and hours tending plants that are high maintenance or just don't do well? Not me.

I love to garden but I also like to 'set it and forget it'. Meaning, I want to plant something and have it look great with very little maintenance.  Impossible, you say? Not really.

Read on for my secrets to a low maintenance garden.

Posted in beginner gardener, garden, garden design, garden maintenance, gardening, landscaping, new garden, planning my garden, spring gardening

Herb Gardening Made Simple: 8 Must-Haves for Your Summer Garden

Herb Gardening Made Simple: 8 Must-Haves for Your Summer Garden

I don't remember when I fell in love with herb gardening. For a very long time, herbs have been one of my favorite types of plants to grow. Perhaps that's because growing herbs was one of my first gardening successes.

Whether I'm growing herbs in a big garden or containers on my deck, there are a few that I always plant. And the bonus here is that they're all easy to grow.

Read on for my top 8 must have easy to grow herbs for you to try in your garden this summer

Posted in herb gardening, herbs

Gardening in the Shade: 7 Perennials You Can Count On

Gardening in the Shade: 7 Perennials You Can Count On

Got shade? Gardening in the shade can be tricky. I’m always looking for plants that do well in the shade and I'm especially fond of perennials because they come back every year. Many also spread or grow large enough to be dug up and divided, giving me more value for my money.

Read on to learn about a few shade loving perennials that have worked well for me. I've included their hardiness zones so you can see if they will be perennial for you, too.

Posted in flower bed, flower gardening, garden design, garden maintenance, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening tips, new garden, perennials, planning my garden, planting, shade loving plants

Mulch Your Way To a Happier Healthier Garden

Mulch Your Way To a Happier Healthier Garden

 

I love a freshly mulched garden bed in the spring. While it can be a lot of work, I love the tidy look when we've finished. Besides the aesthetics, mulch provides a few more benefits.

Read on to find out how to get the most out mulching your flower beds and make your gardening life easier.

Posted in flower gardening, garden, garden maintenance, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening tips, mulch, mulching, new garden, planning my garden, weed control

Spring Planting Guide: 7 Hardy Perennials That Love the Sun

Spring Planting Guide: 7 Hardy Perennials That Love the Sun

 

Perennials are a great way to add color and seasonal interest to your flower beds. They have the advantage of coming back every year and many spread to fill in spaces, giving you more value for the money spent on them. 

Read on to explore 7 sun-loving easy to grow perennials to plant this spring

Posted in flower bed, flower gardening, flowers, garden, garden design, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening tips, new garden, perennials, planning my garden, planting, spring gardening

How To Prune Liriope This Spring

How To Prune Liriope This Spring

One of my favorite perennials is Variegated Liriope. The bright green and white foliage looks great from late spring into fall. Liriope does not need much maintenance - except in the spring. In spring, it needs a good haircut.

Read on to find out how a spring haircut helps this plant look great all summer long

Posted in garden, garden design, garden maintenance, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening gifts, gardening tips, liriope, new garden, ornamental grasses, perennial grasses, perennials, planning my garden, planting

Spring Is Finally Here! What Can I Plant Now?

Spring Is Finally Here! What Can I Plant Now?

It looks like Spring is finally here!!!

One of the questions people ask me most often as the temperatures get warmer is when can I start planting??? The answer is, it depends on where you live and what you want to plant. 

Read on to find out how to know what you can plant now!

Posted in garden design, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening tips, planning my garden, spring gardening, what should I plant

Caring For Spring Flowering Bulbs

Caring For Spring Flowering Bulbs

After a long winter, seeing the daffodils blooming along our roadways really lifts my spirits. And I do see some tulips emerging in time for Easter. If you have spring bulbs in your yard,  you might be wondering how to best take care of them.

In this week's tip, I'll give you a few easy steps to caring for your spring bulb plants so that they keep flowering every spring.

Posted in daffodils, flower gardening, flowers, garden, garden planning, garden tips, gardener, gardening, gardening tips, spring bulbs, spring gardening, tulips

Spring Gardening Questions and Answers

Spring Gardening Questions and Answers

 

Spring is finally here so the amount of questions popping up in on-line gardening groups is increasing. I love participating in these groups, trying to answer questions and/or give advice.

There are a few questions that keep coming up over and over and at least one that I never thought about. 

Read on for the questions and my answers!

Posted in beginner gardener, container gardening, flower gardening, gardening tips, herb gardening, low maintenance gardening, spring gardening, vegetable gardening for beginners

What Are Those Brown Patches in My Lawn?

What Are Those Brown Patches in My Lawn?

 

If you live in an area that received snowfall this winter, you might be noticing circular brown patches like the ones in the photo as your your lawn tries to come back.

Read on to find out what is causing this and what you can do about it!

Posted in beginner gardener, landscaping, lawn, low maintenance gardening

Spring Fever - 5 Things You Can Do Now To Get a Jump on Spring Gardening Season

Spring Fever - 5 Things You Can Do Now To Get a Jump on Spring Gardening Season

 

For the last few weeks here in PA, the weather teases us with warm days followed by temperatures dipping back down to seasonal norms for the next few days and then things warm up again. The warm weather gives me Spring Fever -  I just can't wait to get out and plant.  But the returning cold makes me grumpy and I want to go back to hibernating under a warm quilt. It's been quite a temperature roller coaster of late, but hey, welcome to Pennsylvania.

 

Sadly, it's not quite time to start planting yet and I know that it is still a bit too early to remove the leaves in beds that beneficial insects are using for winter cover. 

So what's a gardener to do?

 

Read on for my list of 5 things you can do now to get a jump on your spring gardening.