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Free-Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom
Jessi Bloom‘s new book Free-Range Chicken Gardens seems sure to be a new bestseller, because while the backyard-chicken trend has taken off, nobody has really stepped up to offer guidance on some of the issues common to owners of free-ranging hens, until now. In just four years of keeping my own tiny flock, I’ve had…
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Monday Miscellany: Garden Illustrations, DIY Projects, Gratuitous Chicken Cutes and Botanical Belize
Yep, it’s been a busy week around the web, with all of the fine people on the internet coming up with cool DIY projects, tantalizing competitions, and all kinds of neat stuff to share. Starting us off? Garden illustration giveaway Steve over at The Rainforest Garden is launching his garden illustration business with a contest…
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Guest Post: Want Happy Plants? Feed the Microbes!
Five Ways To Improve The Health And Diversity Of Your Soil Food Web: A guest post by Phil Nauta, The Smiling Gardener. Most of the work in our gardens is done by the “soil food web.” If you’re not familiar with this term, it refers to the inhabitants of the soil, including plants and animals,…
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Free to Amazon Prime Members! Amy Stewart’s Last Bookstore in America
You guys know I’m a big fan of Garden Rant-er and author of Wicked Plants, Amy Stewart. Her clever writing and ability to unearth the stories in any topic make her books a singular pleasure to read. If you feel the same way, then you’ll want to head on over to Amazon to pick up…
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Book Review: The Beginner’s Guide to Gardening
Katie Elzer-Peters is one of those dynamos of the gardening world who is so busy Getting Things Done that you may not have actually heard of her yet. But she’s been working behind the scenes on so many projects – nursery newsletters, writing articles for sites too numerous to mention, and mentoring authors with Cool…
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Monday Miscellany: Valentine’s Cheer
While I’m no fan of the Hallmark holidays, which seem to have been manufactured into popularity by people wanting to sell us stuff, I am a fan of telling people I love them. And eating copious quantities of chocolate, of course. Given that I also have a brand new pair of shockingly vivid fuchsia pants…
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Thick Rind on Meyer Lemons: How to Fix It
The reason all of us foodie gardeners grow Meyer lemons is that their thin skins and delectable flavor surpass the acidic pulp and thick white rind of the grocery store Eureka or Lisbon lemons. Yet there are two common garden conditions that make Meyer lemons taste more acidic, develop thick bumpy white rinds, and have…
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Monday Miscellany: The Drunken Botanist, Organic Eggs, Top Perennials, Garden Eyesores, and Free Reading
Lots of great discoveries around the web this week! The Drunken Botanist First up, Amy Stewart launched the website for her new book, The Drunken Botanist. I for one cannot WAIT for the book to drop, but since that’s still a year off, we shall have to console ourselves with the columns she’s been writing…
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Faux Bois: False Wood
I admit it: I love Martha Stewart. She drives me crazy, but her involved-yet-ever-so-elegant craft projects? Her table centerpieces? And her recipes which cause me to swoon (when reading) and curse (when preparing – I mean, who wants to spend six hours on a cupcake recipe?). She’s the queen of aspirational living. So when Martha…
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Monday Miscellany: Monsanto Trial, Happy Honeybees, NWF Triumph and Some Awesome Contests
Monsanto Trial The normally non-political Margaret Roach of Martha Stewart Living fame and A Way to Garden has spoken up about the Monsanto trial that starts tomorrow. Why is this important? Because Monsanto’s been genetically engineering seeds for common crops like corn, wheat and alfalfa so that farmers can spray their rows with the herbicide…
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Wildlife Miscellany: Trends, Native Plant Books, and Special Thanks to Carole Brown
A quick wrap-up of some recent posts on wildlife gardening from around the web. . . You know how I love to read the garden trend reports at the start of each year, and this year I’m seeing a lot of trends that I like. Over at Beautiful Wildlife Gardens, Carole Brown posted a list…