Winter Aromatherapy: Lemons

Sure, if you live in California, Texas or Florida winter gloom is no big deal for you. You can run outside and pick fresh lemons from your own lemon tree this time of year. The rest of us have to grow citrus indoors to harvest our own. The smell of fresh lemons actually boosts our mood. Truly. It’s a scientific fact I read somewhere. Laura is enjoying some Lemony Pie made with Meyer lemons. The recipe is in my new book, The Kitchen Garden Companion, due out in the fall... Read More

Shortbread with Lavender Sugar

I have been practicing a little alchemy in the kitchen. My grand experiment involved sugar and fruit with the goal of vibrantly tainting the white crystals and adding flavor. It began with a quest to add a little oomph to the lavender sugar sprinkled on my homemade shortbread. The fragrant dried lavender flavor was wonderful it just needed some color. Heaven forbid I should use food coloring- I rummaged through my refrigerator for inspiration. I started with a secret combination... Read More

Hedge Apples and Pomegranates

We gave a baby shower for my daughter and invited close friends and family to the formal tea. The arrangements for the table and at the front door couldn’t have been simpler- nor less expensive. Sure, we bought the pomegranates at the grocery store because they don’t grow here in central Ohio. Everything else came from the garden. Hedge apples come from Osage-orange trees; small, dense trees planted as hedge rows throughout the Midwest. The trees are not particularly... Read More

Cold Hardy Mache

Ahhh, so what is actually growing under the cloches in my garden? What has survived the winter into mid February? Gala mache seems to be the winner. Late fall I planted a few varieties of cool season greens. I sprinkled some spinach, kale, arugula, dandelion and mache seeds on the soil, pressed them in then covered with some glass cloches. I shut the gate to the garden for the season and just peered out the window every now and again. The dandelion is doing ok but the green,... Read More

What’s Outside My Window?

A photographer can put it so plainly. What do we see? What do we see out our windows. I have been contemplating this question all week. And looking. I have been looking out my window. And seeing. I have been seeing how everything changes with the time of day and with the weather. So Photographer David Perry – thanks for the fun assignment. You see it fits so well with my philosophy as a garden designer. The garden should be right outside the window for us to enjoy. Even... Read More