Garden Delights

03/30/2022

I love a good gothic story, so this was such fun to write for National Garden Bureau!

Create Your Own Goth Garden: Spooky and Beautiful Lots of black flowers, nearly black foliage, and veggies to choose from! Get ready to go ! Read more at https://ngb.org/gothgarden

07/27/2021

So. Many. Tomatoes! I spent today canning and freezing a zillion of these beauties, and I’m wiped! I’ll be happy this winter, when we need a taste of summer. Tonight: tomato pie for dinner! We’ll also be donating some surplus garden goodies to our local food pantry through a great partnership with and with . Still, the tomatoes are coming in like crazy. What’s your favorite tomato recipe? I need it! 😂

07/24/2021

The tomato harvest from the past couple of days. So many pretties! I think ‘Cream Sausage’ wins this year’s award for most prolific plant. And just after I took the photo, I brought up another basketful of yumminess. Our kitchen table is currently the holding spot for all the baskets of tomatoes. The humidity is insane today, but I’m about to open a bottle of rosé and take the bowl of homemade salsa down to the pool to hang out. The guys have been working on the new seating area by the kitchen garden, and they deserve a treat. How’s your weekend going?

07/23/2021

I’m deep into zinnia-love here. They’re just starting to bloom, and I added more seeds last weekend for fall color. The pollinators are thrilled! Do you have a favorite zinnia? I can’t wait to see all the varieties bloom!

07/20/2021

It’s , and the kitchen counters are overflowing with daily harvests! While I love the big slicers, I also adore cherry tomatoes, especially ones with interesting colors. Aren’t these Blue Cream Berries from adorable? They’re as tasty as they are pretty. I’m a sucker for a great mix of colorful cherry tomatoes. What’s your favorite tomato in your garden?

07/20/2021

One of our honeybees found the echinacea in the mailbox garden—and shared with a native bee. The echinacea is literally buzzing with the pollinator party that rages every day! Today, every single echinacea flower—and there are loads of blooms—hosted at least one bee or butterfly. Do you grow echinacea? I promise—it will lure pollinators to your garden!

07/18/2021

Today’s harvest! The garden is jungle-like but producing so much goodness. I love all the different colors and sizes of the tomatoes, and they’re really just getting started. Cucumbers, beans, squash, peppers, and melons are a little behind but filled with babies. What are you harvesting this weekend?

07/12/2021

It’s ! There’s really nothing better than the first sun-warmed, ripe tomato eaten straight from the vine. (Not pictured: the first Sungold, which went straight into my mouth before the photo. Oops!)

There’s definitely more food than a family of four can eat, and I’m excited to share the bounty with my local food pantry. Do you know that 1 in 6 Americans is food insecure, meaning that they don’t know where their next meal will come from? No matter where you live, there are people in your community (and mine) experiencing hunger. That’s why I’m really excited to spread the word about the amazing partnership of and . When you visit the AmpleHarvest.org website (link in profile), you can find a food pantry near you where you can donate your excess garden goodies to help feed your neighbors who may be experiencing food insecurity. It’s a great feeling to grow an incredible harvest—but it’s an even better feeling to share that harvest with folks who can use a good meal. What are you growing in your garden that you can share?

06/30/2021

Doesn’t everyone grow artichokes in the mailbox garden?! 😂 One of our new honeybees found the bloom!

06/25/2021

Happy ! Our native bees are loving the echinacea, monarda, and artichoke flowers, while our honeybees are throwing a party in the squash blossoms! Our 16-year-old is taking great care of his buzzy “children,” as he calls them. I love that he took up bee keeping! Our garden loves it, too. What are the bees loving in your garden?

06/23/2021

Here come the blueberries! I can’t believe how full our blueberry bushes are this year! The bushes by the kitchen garden are always loaded, but the two by the little greenhouse are bent over, because they’re so heavy with fruit! It’s always fun to bake something with the first few ripe berries. I made a pretty tasty blueberry coffee cake this morning, which the family seemed to enjoy! What are your favorite blueberry recipes? Help me out, please—I’m going to need ideas! 😂💙

06/21/2021

Is 58 tomato plants a tad excessive? When you’re *slightly* tomato-obsessed, you want to try them all! I’m growing some of my tried-and-true favorite varieties, but I always need to test new ones each year, too. Obviously, with this many tomato plants (and 30 peppers, dozens of cucumbers, squash, beans, melons, and ground cherries), we’ll be overflowing with goodies soon…more than four people can eat. That’s why I’m excited about and their partnership with . Gardeners with excess harvests can visit AmpleHarvest.org to find local food pantries where they can donate veggies to help feed people in their communities. It’s a fantastic program—and I can’t wait to start sharing our garden treats with our local food pantry. Did you plant a few too many tomatoes or cucumbers, too? Check out AmpleHarvest.org to find a food pantry in your community. Together, let’s . It’s a great feeling, sharing homegrown goodness.