Please, Eat the Flowers:)

Edible flowers are such a fun way to add color, nutrients and seasonal fun to your meals... This link from our friends at Plants for a Future features a great article about edible blooms, including many varieties I didn't know about such as daylily...



Link to Plants for a Future here.

Left, squash blossoms are wonderful stuffed with cheese and lightly fried..

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Container Gardening/ A Container 'Farm'

Check out this link to Mansfield Magazine! There is a great article by Steve Huddleson, chief horticulturist at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, and a juicy little sidebar written by moi! Steve addresses the basics of designing and caring for container gardens (ie 'potted plants'), and I get more specific with ideas for growing herbs and veggies:) Enjoy! click here for Mansfield Magazine Lawn and Garden link

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A Texas "Cut Flower" Farm

These folks down in Texas Hill Country sure are inspiring for us Homesteaders. The Arnoskys have a large operation, and have been in business for 21 years growing and selling cut flowers to upscale grocery stores through out the state.

My zinnias (which self seed every year to the point of nearly being weeds!) always sell out at the Farmer's Market...Who doesn't love bringing the bright and cheerful colors of summer into the house?

Cut flowers are a joyful addition to any home garden; even the smallest property can support these easy-to-grow plants... If you are a beginner, start with zinnias. My son planted a handful of seeds our first year (even before our soil was developed well), and they return each summer without fail! As a bonus, the more you cut a zinnia plant, the more flowers it will produce! A packet of zinnia seeds might be the best dollar you ever spend:) Another huge benefit: butterflies LOVE zinnias!

For a link to The Arnosky Family's business, click this link to Texas Specialty Cut Flowers. Prepare to be inspired!!!! :)

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Running for all the Wrong Reasons - a guest blog on Elizathon.com

It isn't every day I would put a photo of myself in a swimsuit 'out there' for the world to see! Like many American girls, I grew up with a list of insecurities regarding body image, being 'thin', and looking like the glossy images I saw in magazines... so brace yourself, here it is...gulp. Ok, so maybe I will put it at the bottom of the post, just so you have time to change your minds:)

Not too bad for 43 I guess...and only willing to let dear friend Heather snap the shot a few weeks back while we were sunning, funning, wine-ing and dining in the garden because of, well, the wine-ing part of the afternoon.


How many women (and men) around the world spend endless and unsatisfying hours at the gym or on the track or in front of a fitness video? I used to be one of them; logging mile after mile with a head full of self judgement. This is my topic for a guest blog on Elizathon.com, a blog for "real-world" runners who are out there for the RIGHT reasons: a joy for self expression through physical activity. I love Elizathon for its approach to running, Elizabeth sees running the way I see gardening: as something 'real people' can achieve!

It wasn't until I found gardening that 'exercise' became tolerable for me. I can spend hours sweating, lifting, moving, digging, bending and stretching without a second thought or moment of self-consciousness: the way it was meant to be!

Which leads to a new topic: just how much exercise IS gardening? I bet there is a website out there with a calorie counter to log various garden chores... But I gave up counting calories about the same time I gave up the gym membership and started gardening... :)

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ATTRA: A wonderful resource for Homesteading!

If you don't know about this amazing resource, now is the time to get on their website and take a look around. Click here for a link to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.

I remember when they were getting started back in the 1990's as a part of the National Center for Appropriate Technology; the wealth of information available through this organization is astounding!

Whether you seek information on organic apple production, are interested in water and soil conservation, want to know more about keeping chickens, are looking for an internship in sustainable food production, or need funding for rural energy development, THIS IS A ONE STOP SHOP for Sustainable Living!

In Celebration of Earth Day, why not take a moment to see what ATTRA has to offer, and help spread the word? Peace, Love, and Learning!

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