~Terri Guillemets

Over a year ago I met Kelly Guerin on Twitter.  She was a fun and excitable Peep who LOVED gardening and was interested in becoming an entrepreneur.  There was an instant connection between us!  . . . → Read More: A Guest Post from Kelly Guerin – The Art of Seed]]> Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.

~Terri Guillemets

Over a year ago I met Kelly Guerin on Twitter.  She was a fun and excitable Peep who LOVED gardening and was interested in becoming an entrepreneur.  There was an instant connection between us!  She and I talked a bit about starting a business and things one might expect during the journey.  I admired Kelly’s ambition and drive; juggling motherhood, a full time position, and a passion to start a business can be challenging!  

Just a few weeks ago I learned that Kelly made her dream a reality!  She recently launched a COOL online heirloom seed company named The Art of Seed.   I adore these kinds of stories and asked Kelly if she would write a guest post for us.  It is my honor, pleasure and delight to share a bit more information about a wonderful young lady who said YES to herself! 

Thank you Kelly for sharing your journey with US!  We wish you ALL the best!  Now, here’s Kelly:

My whole life has been spent in the garden. I started growing Cosmos and Hollyhocks in my grandma’s gardens, then transplanting Impatiens in my parent’s backyard, and now creating small intimate vegetable gardens for friends and family — gardening surely is my calling!

My absolute favorite part of gardening is being creative and adventuresome with the many types of heirloom, vegetable, and flower seeds available. There are wonderful stories to be told about all of these plants but the best stories are the ones created when growing them. My 3 year old son calls the Red Zebra tomato the Yellow Lion!  I lovely assure him to call it whatever he wants!  Together, we plant, water and pick tomatoes; gardening brings so much joy to my soul!

The Art of Seed has been a dream of mine forever. Raising young children puts life into perspective so I know when I’m not spending time with them I better do something I truly enjoy!  Launching my own business affords me the opportunity to share my excitement with others. It is my mission, through The Art of Seed, to bring that same joy and passion to others around the world!

Here are a few of my tomato favorites!

 Green Zebra Tomato

Mortgage Lifter Tomato

Purple Tomatillo

Federle Tomato

Be sure to visit Kelly’s website, The Art of Seed, and check out the gorgeous merchandise!

May all your gardens grow,

~ Henry David Thoreau

May all your gardens grow,

. . . → Read More: But Who Will Warn Our Wildlife?]]> What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on?

~ Henry David Thoreau

May all your gardens grow,

~Author Unknown

~Alexander Smith

During a recent walk I spotted a huge GLARING problem with a row of trees planted last year in a new subdivision by my home.  The manner in which these trees were planted is . . . → Read More: Tips On Tree Planting!]]> A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity.  

~Alexander Smith

During a recent walk I spotted a huge GLARING problem with a row of trees planted last year in a new subdivision by my home.  The manner in which these trees were planted is often common, but extremely detrimental to a tree’s health.

Although I felt awful for the young trees, I knew it was a perfect opportunity to take some pictures and share the information with others.  After all, spring is right around the corner and there will be a lot of newly planted trees!

As you may already know, the root system of a balled and burlapped tree is encased with burlap and a wire cage.  It is our best practice to cut back the wire cage.  Then, we cut the burlap away from the tree and lay it down; it is alright to leave the burlap.  Fine Gardening‘s website offers a very helpful video on how-to plant a balled and burlapped tree.  Be sure to check out the video; great info there, Friends!

In the picture above, the burlap and wire basket was never removed.  We HIGHLY recommend removing both as demonstrated in the Fine Gardening video.

Twine or string is often tied around the trunk of the tree to secure the burlap and wire cage.  However, the twine and cage was not removed at the time of planting, which may effect the health of the tree.

In the picture above, you can see the wire cage protruding through the soil.  Another potential problem for this tree is the lack of mulch.  Rocks were randomly thrown on the soil surface, which offers no benefit.  Mulch is a must!  Mulch helps to retain moisture, suppress weeds, and adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes.  Bonus:  when used around trees, it eliminates the possibility of damaging the trunk with lawn equipment.

We hope this information is helpful!  With a little TLC, a healthy tree will live for many, many years!

May all your gardens grow,

I was so delighted after I read her Sunday morning message, garden stuff  has its . . . → Read More: Cultivate the LOVE this Spring!]]> I feel so blessed to have dear friends that truly love me for me.  Recently, front and center on my Facebook Page was a lovely garden poem from my beautiful friend.  How thoughtful of her to think of me.

I was so delighted after I read her Sunday morning message, garden stuff  has its way with me, that I nearly squealed like a pig!  My next immediate response was to thank her then share with my other Facebook friends.  And now, I am sharing with you; it’s just too GOOD not to!

Without further ado, this is the message Cynthia left for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 Here are some tips for your GARDEN:

Go out to your GARDEN alone, while the dew is still on the roses.

Plant 4 rows of lettuce:
✿Lettuce be faithful
✿Lettuce be kind
✿Lettuce be patient
✿Lettuce really love each other

Plant 4 rows of squash:
✿Squash gossip
✿Squash indifference
✿Squash grumbling
✿Squash selfishness

Plant 3 rows of peas:
✿Peace of mind
✿Peace of heart
✿Peace of soul

No GARDEN is without turnips:
✿Turnip for meetings
✿Turnip for service
✿Turnip to help each other

To complete your GARDEN, you must have thyme:
✿Time for each other
✿Time for family
✿Time for friends

Water freely with patience & cultivate with love!

May all your gardens grow,

~Unknown

May all your gardens grow,

~James Dent

After some playful exchange of information about turfgrass on our Two Women and a Hoe® Facebook Fan Page, I asked TC Conner if . . . → Read More: A Guest Post on TC Conner’s Turf!]]> A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. 

~James Dent

After some playful exchange of information about turfgrass on our Two Women and a Hoe® Facebook Fan Page, I asked TC Conner if he would enlighten me on the benefits of turfgrass and he graciously complied.

For the record, I DO NOT have anything against lawn or tuffgrass!  I just don’t want to maintain it, not now anyway!  In fact, when we are designing landscapes and gardens for clients, we find ourselves removing sod to ADD gardens.  I cannot EVER recall incorporating lawn or turfgrass into a design and that’s the truth.  No apologies.

On this particular day, TC Conner struck a chord in me and I was overtly curious to learn about the environmental benefits of lawn and turfgrass.   Fortunately, TC agreed to contribute a guest post and I am glad he did! Little did I know, I had a lot to learn about turf!

P.S.  That’s me in the pink T-shirt below pruning hedges at a client’s 5+ acres.  The other pics on this post are the same client’s property.  My disclaimer:  it’s a lovely place to work, turfgrass and all!

Without further ado, let’s hear from TC Conner on turfgrass:

Why is it that some folks just seem to be so set against lawns these days? I can understand some aspects of the anti-lawn rhetoric, for example, urging folks with small yards to get rid of grass in exchange for edible flowers and a veggie garden. But it’s not really all that bad to have a front or back yard with a carpet of turfgrass to play on. After all, grass has been around since, well, ever since God made dirt!

Writing in “Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education” (Grove Press, 1991), Michael Pollan gives us reason to ponder why we’re in love with our lawns: “Perhaps the allure of the lawn is in the genes. The sociobiologists think so: they’ve gone so far as to propose a ‘Savanna Syndrome’ to explain our fondness for grass.” I’m thinking of the African savannas, Pollan continues: “Encoded in our DNA is a preference for an open grassy landscape resembling the shortgrass savannas of Africa on which we evolved and spent our first few thousand years.” And for those who don’t believe in evolution, think of the grass in the Garden of Eden.

Hold on a minute you might say, Pollan’s book is a bit outdated, in 1991 the urbanites were just beginning to rethink their role in the natural world, edible landscapes weren’t as popular then as now. Farmers too played a much larger role in growing a lot of what we ate back then. With the demise of small family farms, growing produce in the yard instead of grasses seems like a natural progression, which is all well and good. But some of us still enjoy keeping a lawn and I’m not giving it up for a wildflower meadow or an oversized veggie garden. (And before you even accuse me, I DO NOT have anything against wildflower meadows, I just don’t want one in my back yard, not now anyway.)

Let’s think for a minute about the following statement from Dr. Ranajit Sahu: “With proper education and awareness, it is now possible to retain the benefits of lawns and turfgrass areas while minimizing or eliminating the negatives associated with water overuse and other harmful practices – leading to an experience that affords community, lifestyle and environmental benefits.” (Dr. Sahu teaches classes in air pollution and environmental health risk assessment at Loyola Marymount University’s Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering.)

Dr. Sahu mentions lawns having benefits, there was a time that most gardeners thought the same thing, and some still do. I believe the anti-lawn crowd (which includes many gardeners) needs to be reminded about the good things grass provides. And I’ll mention just a few; this little testament is already getting longer than I thought it’d be.

• The “sea of green” we call our lawns is one of the best and easiest to maintain groundcovers you’ll ever grow.
• Grass filters water and recharges the watershed.
•  Lawns, often called “green space” when referred to in research reports, reduce storm water runoff. An average suburban green space lot of about 10,000 square feet absorbs 6,000 gallons of rainwater (Environmental Health Research Foundation’s “Benefits of Green Space – Recent Research, April 25, 2011).

I could go on and on naming numerous other benefits of lawns, but I won’t. Suffice to say that I think lawns are very beneficial, and those of us who keep them do so for good reasons. Barefooting through a yard full of grass, dandelions, and white clover, dodging honeybees (God help them!) on a hot summer day is stingingly invigorating. But if you prefer to swap that out for a yard full of more zucchini and beans, have at it! I’ll keep on barefooting around my lush lawn, “Savannah Syndrome” or not!

Special thanks to Jim Novak, Public Relations Manager, Turfgrass Producers International, for a couple of PDF documents stating facts and figures (available by request).

TC Conner is a freelance writer, master gardener, amateur photographer, musician, and author. For reprints of the above article, copy and paste!

Here’s what I learned:  It’s a wonderful world to have the freedom to surround ourselves with the things we love, without judgement.  Thank you, TC, from the bottom of my heart!

May all your TURFGRASS grow,

~Minnie Aumonier

Despite the frigid Michigan zone 5b temperatures, gardening lives on 365 days a year in my world even when I am indoors!

Greeted with a cold gush of air in . . . → Read More: Fill. Plant. Grow!]]>

When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden. 

~Minnie Aumonier

Despite the frigid Michigan zone 5b temperatures, gardening lives on 365 days a year in my world even when I am indoors!

Greeted with a cold gush of air in the dead of winter, can you imagine how delighted I was to discover The Little Acre™ ?!?

Here’s what I love about The Little Acre™:  It is truly so simple and convenient to set up.  It has multiple uses and appeals to a very large audience!  So perfectly designed to engage and encourage growing!

Follow these simple steps to start gardening:

1. Unfold the bag, set it in a sunny place, fill it with 10-11 cubic feet of  soil/compost combo

2. Plant your favorite veggies, herbs, berries and flowers – seeds or plants

3. Water!

Yep, it’s that easy.  For me, it is perfect for growing herbs!  Until spring arrives and warmer temperatures, I will patiently wait and develop my planting strategies!

 May all your gardens grow,

~Charles Dudley Warner

I am so excited to share the helpful tips below from my very own Chiropractor, Dr. Anna Saylor!   Dr. Anna is credited for keeping my back healthy so I can do . . . → Read More: Healthy Back…Happy Gardener! A Guest Post from Dr. Anna!]]> What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.

~Charles Dudley Warner

I am so excited to share the helpful tips below from my very own Chiropractor, Dr. Anna Saylor!   Dr. Anna is credited for keeping my back healthy so I can do what I love,  and I am forever grateful!  Thank you Dr. Anna!

 Five Tips for a “Healthy Back”

Many spinal related injuries like back pain come not as a result of accidents, but more as a result of awkward posture, over-use or unconditioned muscles. Here are a few tips to keep your spine and back feeling great as you garden.

1. Warm your muscles before starting any project. Even walking for a few minutes will help.

2. Wear the proper shoes. Make sure they are flat, comfortable and offer firm support.

3. Make sure you avoid awkward positions, such as bending forward at your waist for a long period of time. Get down on your hands and knees and try to keep your spine in a neutral position.

4. Using the proper tools for each job can go a long way in keeping you pain free.

5. Do not lift more than you can handle. If you think it might be too heavy, it probably is!

And the final tip:  if you injure yourself, see your chiropractor as soon as possible!

Wishing you Health, Happiness and Beautiful Gardens,

Dr. Anna Saylor

Van Every Family Chiropractic Center