I have such little space on my balcony that for a long time I thought I couldn’t grow food. Now, don’t get me wrong–I don’t have crops out there. No feeding of the 5000. But I sneak in herbs and some veggies where I can. For me, this means combining lots of different types of [...]
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There’s nothing like having guests to get you to clean up your act, right? This past weekend, I was treated to a 4-day visit from The Hunky Foreman’s parents from California. Of course, the inside of the apartment was (nearly) spotless, but I also wanted to replant my balcony garden so they’d have a cozy [...]
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This week, I’ve been providing information about our area’s water restriction schedule, how to avoid starting a wildfire and how to care for your garden during extreme heat and drought. But what if you live in an area of annual wildfires such as California and now Texas? If there is a high risk of wildfires [...]
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Although the Austin area (and most of Texas) has been under a burn ban for several months now, it became apparent this past Sunday just how serious the extreme drought and heat situation is. Our city has seemed like it’s burning from all sides as wildfires in Steiner Ranch, Bastrop, Spicewood, Leander and Plugerville consume [...]
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During Texas’ extreme drought, it’s easy to wring our hands over our stressed-out ornamental plants–maybe we’ve babied that rosebush from a cutting, or your neighbor gave you those coneflowers, or you’ve had those maiden grasses for years and they’ve always looked so beautiful! But I’m here to tell you that, although I feel your pain, [...]
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Tomorrow, September 6, marks the first day of Phase II Water Restrictions for Austin. What does this mean for gardeners and homeowners? Once a week watering, no exceptions! Here’s what you need to know: Residences with odd number street addresses–Water on Saturdays with automatic irrigation system before 10:00 a.m. Residences with even number street addresses–Water [...]
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All of Texas has been experiencing record heat and drought–here in Austin, we’ve broken records for the most consecutive days of 100+ temps (over 70 now). We’ve also had very little measurable rain since April, resulting in dry, brittle grass and plants, and soil that’s hard as cement. Along with all of this is the [...]
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How’s this for garden innovation? A BBQ grill that looks like a planter! The Hot Pot BBQ is brought to you by a UK-based company, black + blum. I think it would be perfect for an apartment or condo dweller, don’t you? Patios, terraces, fire escapes–lots of people have very limited spaces for growing and [...]
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Last month when I was at the Garden2Blog at P. Allen’s Smith’s place in Little Rock, AR, one of the event sponsors was Corona Tools, and they invited bloggers at the event to participate in their new project. The “Strawberry Fields for Everyone” project was created as a contest to show gardeners that however small [...]
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I’ll admit it–the time-honored tradition of forcing spring-flowering tree branches is new to me. That’s right; I’ve never done it. Until two weeks ago. I don’t know what my problem is–I sometimes get it into my head that something is too fussy and won’t try it, when in fact it’s super-easy. So if I can [...]
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