March is such a weird month in the garden, especially if you’re in the Midwest or similar climates. Just this week we had temps that hit 66° and I was outside cleaning out raised beds and prepping for cool weather crops with my grandbabies. But this weekend we’re expecting a couple inches of snow. Bipolar weather, for sure! These early spring temperature swings can make it really hard to know what you should be doing in the garden right now. One day feels like full-on planting season, and the...
14 days ago • 1 min read
I hope you’re settling into the final stretch of winter and starting to think about spring a little more each day. We’re supposed to be warming up to the 40’s and 50’s next week here in Southeastern Michigan and I am SO excited to finally get outside! Over the past couple of emails, I shared some seed starting tips, but today I want to back up just a bit and talk about garden planning. It’s tempting to jump into the season and just wing it, but a little planning now can make for a lot less...
28 days ago • 1 min read
I hope you’re finishing your February strong and heading into a wonderful spring season! We’re in our 4th month of snow cover and spring can’t come soon enough! I’m over it already. 😅 So let’s talk seeds again! Last week I shared when to start your seeds, and today I’m going to share with you 3 seed starting mistakes I see beginners make all the time. They’re simple mistakes that don’t seem like a big deal at first, but they often lead to weak, stressed seedlings before planting season even...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
One of the most common questions I get from gardeners every spring is “when should I start my seeds?” And the answer surprises a lot of people. A lot of gardeners think that seeds should be started in January because garden centers start putting out seed displays in January. But seeds don’t follow store calendars. They follow your last frost date. So instead of starting seeds based on the month, we start them by counting backward from our average last frost date. And here’s the easy way to do...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A few years ago, when most of us were spending a LOT more time at home, I did what many gardeners did at the time. I built myself a dream garden. And I’m talking big. Nine raised beds, plus as many ornamental beds as I could reasonably fit on about a third of an acre in the suburbs. I loved that garden so much! But as life slowly picked back up and I went back to working away from home, that same garden started to feel like a lot. What once felt exciting began to feel overwhelming. There was...
2 months ago • 2 min read
I’ve been hearing from a mix of gardeners in my inbox this week. Some of you are already thinking about layouts, seed orders, and what you want to grow this year. Others are very much still in winter mode, enjoying slower days, indoor projects, and not quite ready to think about the garden yet. Both are completely normal. January tends to be an in-between month. The garden isn’t asking much of us yet, but our minds start drifting there anyway. Sometimes that shows up as planning. Other times...
2 months ago • 1 min read
I don’t know about you, but my mailbox has been filling up with seed catalogs lately. I’m getting a little excited for what’s ahead! My granddaughter, Ellie, and I have been flipping through them together, circling our favorites and talking about what we might like to grow this year. No big decisions yet, but lots of dreaming and circling with Crayola markers. This time of year always does that to me. After the holidays, I’m usually itching to get outside and get my hands in the soil again,...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I’ve been doing a lot of fall garden consultations lately, and one question keeps coming up again and again: “What do I cut down in fall, what do I leave, and should I be doing it now or wait until spring?” The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Like so many things in gardening, it really depends on your preferences. Cutting things back in fall can help remove pest and disease problems that overwinter and cause trouble in spring. It also keeps your garden looking tidy through...
6 months ago • 1 min read
Happy October 1st!! In the words of Anne of Green Gables, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Yes, even though the garden is winding down, and the season is coming to an end, I get so EXCITED for October!! Cider mills and crunchy leaves and fiery red maples tree? Crisp autumn air? *happy sigh* Plus, October is still an important month in the garden! I’ll have a full “October Garden Tasks” blog post for you soon, including a printable to do list. But while I finish that...
6 months ago • 1 min read