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• Boxwood Basil
• Daylilies and Hostas
• Garden Update: Late Summer
• Love Bulk Foods (Celebrate Earth Month)
• My Gardening Journal (Review)
• Remembering the Daisies
• Starbucks: Grounds for Your Garden
• Spring Flowers From My Garden

FLOWERS

• Autumn Bouquets
• A Spring Branch Bouquet
• Happy Autumn! (and Cut Flower Tips)
• Make a Lavender Sachet
• Pretty Things (Flower Arrangements)

LAWN & GARDEN TIPS (Note: these are just some tips I’ve seen in various articles—I have not tried all of these myself, so can’t vouch for their effectiveness!)

• NATURAL WEED KILLER: Kill weeds or grass between cracks in paving stones, sidewalks, and crevices and cracks in driveways, and any other unwanted areas—fill a spray bottle with straight vinegar and spritz the weeds. Be careful not to get any on the surrounding grass as it will kill that too.
• TRASH CAN DEODORIZER: Add a dryer sheet in the bottom of a trash can to eliminate and prevent odors. Replace once a week.
• EMERGENCY WATER: Using twist ties, tightly secure large plastic bags over sections of leaves on a bush or tree that has big green leaves and that also gets lots of sun. You’ll have drinkable water in 3-4 hours. Filter the water through a clean cloth or t-shirt first, to remove any bugs.
• GARDEN SOIL: In a small container, if you add 1/2 cup baking soda to 2 Tablespoons of soil moistened with distilled water, and the mixture fizzes, your soil is acidic. If you add 1/2 cup vinegar to 2 Tablespoons of soil and the mixture fizzes, your soil is alkaline.
• GIVE PLANTS A BOOST: Give acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and gardenias a boost by watering them with a vinegar solution every so often—to make the solution, mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 gallon of tap water.

HERBS

• HERBS AS GROUND COVER: Grow a whole fragrant lawn of herbs, using low-growing herbs like some varieties of chamomile and thyme to create a lawn “carpet.” The herbs won’t need mowing and they will scent the lawn, too.
• HARVESTING HERBS: Pick herbs just as they are forming buds and before they flower—that is when they are at their peak of flavor. Pinch off just the amount of leaves or sprigs you will be using, because herbs lose their freshness and flavor soon after picking. Pick them in the morning—the heat later in the day causes them to release their essential oils and flavors. Wash and dry herbs after picking.
• PRUNING HERBS: Many herbs, such as basil, grow fuller when they are pruned.
• HERBS FOR DIY PROJECTS: These herbs work well in wreaths, garlands, dried arrangements, and bouquets: Bay leaves, eucalyptus, lavender, sage, rosemary and tarragon sprigs.

VEGETABLES

• REGROW GREEN ONIONS, CELERY, AND BOK CHOY: Place the white bulbs of green onions in enough water to cover them, then set them on a window sill—they’ll grow right back! You can do the same with celery and boy choy—place the end nubs in a bowl of water and once they begin to grow roots/leaves (usually in 7 to 10 days), plant in soil.