I couldn’t wait for the season’s first outdoor signs of spring, so I decided to bring spring indoors. I first gathered tree bark that I found scattered on the ground then hot-glued it onto the sides of a basket to give it more of a woodland look. I lined the basket’s bottom and sides with…

Every year in February, I experience the first rumblings of spring planting excitement in my soul. I begin to pore over seed catalogs and browse Internet sites to decide what new varieties I might want to try in my garden this season alongside my favorites. I acquired my passion for gardening from my father, who…

"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap… yet your Heavenly Father cares for them." I enlisted the services of Judd Brink, owner of MN Backyard Birds, to provide a weekly service whereby he fills my feeders with different kinds of seeds, as well as nectar and fresh fruit, purchased from…

In the 21st century, our fast-paced lifestyle doesn’t always allow time to tend our own garden plot. The desire for home-grown quality and a reduced carbon footprint achieved by food not having to be shipped across country has made farmers markets and CSA memberships popular. Community Supported Agriculture is a "farm-to-table" concept of supporting local…

The Three Sisters companion planting method, which I discovered on the Park Seed Company’s web site, is an ancient Native American technique of growing corn, beans, and squash together to increase harvests naturally. Corn acts as a support for climbing bean vines, the beans add nitrogen in the soil for the high feeding requirements of…

I’m really really really in the spring gardening mood even though the calendar tells me it is eleven weeks away. Growing up in Minnesota, we always planted on my Dad’s May 20th birthday. My small greenhouse allows me to get a headstart ahead of that date, but it’s even too early for that. While in…