A Growing Garden

Storing your fruits and vegies, a winter delight

2011-10-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Finally, I feel like I am getting back into 'the swing of things', so to speak. Another article, done!

For the Growing Garden readers out there that may be new to gardening, and worrying about what to do with an excess of fruit and vegetables this harvest, this one is for you.

>>Read How to store garden produce for the winter to find a beginnner's guide for storing your extra "garden goodies". Check it out! VTU4MYQR2J45

Dew drops of Fall

2011-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

A poem of Fall, Dew Drops.

Living droplets of clear blue sky,

Placed gently by nature’s hand.

Just like a painted dish of Mother’s pearls

Caught by the glaze of a cameras lens...

Continue reading>>

A small collection of late Summer flowers

2011-10-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

Faces from the garden, photographed.

2011-01-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

5 green tips to watering your garden and yard.

2011-01-17T14:40:00.000-08:00

Water is one of our most precious resources, as we are all very aware… As we watch temperatures rise, and less precipitation fall, year after year, many of us are taking to greener methods of watering our gardens and lawns. There is no more, just throwing out a sprinkler at any time of the day you like. Many areas suffer from depleted water resources, watering regulations and restrictions, and a future that looks devastatingly dry.

Simply, we need to consider the way we are doing things, change our ways! For some, this is an easy transition, for others not so much. There are so many ways to easily make these changes though, coming down to something as simple as putting out a bucket in your yard as a rain barrel. Honestly, other than the time it takes to find a large bucket, it takes five minutes. We all have five minutes!

In this enclosed link to, Tips for watering the vegetable garden, you can find a more in depth look at this topic.

Tips for watering the vegetable garden- by Jessica A. Tucker

Have some green gardening tips of your own? please feel to share them in the comments.

Ramblings of a rabbit

2011-01-13T13:09:00.000-08:00

The summer has always been my favorite time of the year, mainly because of the availability of a large variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs. I have so many childhood memories that lie within the rows of a cherry orchard, a stand of apple trees, or stealing the peas from my mother‘s vegetable garden. Then there was the huge, juicy nectarines that would cool even the hottest of summer afternoons...

Growing up in an area of the world with a lengthy growing season and a desirable climate, fruit farms and ground crops used to be found lining the roads, filling the fields and trailing up terraced mountainsides. Today, vineyards and housing developments take the place of many of these areas. Today, much of the fruit and vegetables that arrive in our grocery stores and markets are imported, from other countries. Of course, there are certain necessary fruits and veggies that can only be grown in specific areas. Importing these products makes sense.

Coming from an area as I have though, I find it rather disappointing to be buying imported produce knowing plain well, that most of it grows very well right here. Sure, it is really not that big of a deal. Why does it matter where the stuff’s grown? A potato is a potato, a tomato is a tomato, why does it matter? Well, for me it does. When so many live in areas where produce is not readily available and has to be imported in, it does not make any sense for those in areas that can grow their own, to be as well.

This is what has lead me to working with nature and towards a more localized, greener future for myself. I like knowing where my food comes from.

Grass free landscaping, the future for yard design.

2011-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Hot temperatures, changing climates, water shortages, water usage regulations in many areas and simply, the necessity to preserve water, are all significant reasons grass free landscape designs are becoming growingly popular and will be beneficial in the future of yard and landscape design. This does not mean that we have to sacrifice a beautiful yard or a breathtaking landscape though. There are so many options that exist today to replace the use of grass that has become notorious for a need of constant water and regular maintenance, while not having to give up the functionality or comfort of the space...

Continue to full article~

The Stillness of Winter, a poem

2011-01-11T08:57:00.001-08:00

Still

Branches bent low with weight

Water hangs frozen to clear

Cracks running deep through the center

Drifts of white billowed and blown

Silent and still the winter nights.

Sun shining into the world as a crystal ball

Sparkling and glowing in the universe

High above the white builds

Minuscule flakes join to make

A feathery blanket over all that is

Still.

For more similar poems and poetic ramblings, take a peek at Poems of Time.

What will your garden grow?

2011-01-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

Not quite sure what to plant in your new vegetable garden this spring?

The following article, How to choose which vegetables to grow in your garden, will hopefully answer some of your questions.

… if you are going to spend the time, money and energy growing a vegetable garden, you may first want to make sure that what you are growing will go to use. If you do not plan on using the fresh vegetables or preserving them for the winter, why grow them? Before planning what to plant, consider what fresh produce is used in your kitchen on a regular basis, what you might use more if you had it, and what you may want to can, freeze or dry, and preserve for those cold months of the year…

Take me to the article!

From a meadow, grew a garden

2011-01-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

I remember being a young child, just beginning to learn about and see all the miracles that occur everyday in nature, coming across a rocky meadow one day, hidden among some trees at the back of my yard. Just past the chicken coup, it was very much on the borderline of “too far from the house”, as our parents would recite to us on a daily basis.

Adventurous and daring as children often are, I had to see what was hidden behind those trees. Breaking through the wall of evergreen boughs that scratched my bare arms and face, I entered into the bare area amidst the trees. At first all I saw was a rocky barren hillside. As I stood there for a moment, miniscule flecks of colors began to pop out from behind rocks and from under sticks. This meadow was not barren ground at all, but a luscious garden of miniature flowers.

If I had been any older or further away from the ground, I wonder now if I would have even noticed the clearing and the beautiful garden of tiny flowers at all?

This is where my passion and love for all things nature began, in a little meadow hidden away amid the forest. From this meadow, grew a garden.

A morning ramble from the garden

2011-01-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Taking a moment to look at the world from another angle or different level, so to speak, every once and awhile can often present a completely different look at life. Sometimes we each need to step back, or sit down, take a breath, and cherish all that exists around us...

An ant races, ready for attack,

At the base of my bare foot.

“Kill it!” I would have thought

Not so long ago,

Only because of the threat I saw,

The threat, this tiny ant might hold.

Scurrying into the shadow of my enormous foot

He really is no match at all

For the place my foot might put him

If I ever chose,

But today, I let him go...

Continue to Simply Alive, a nature poem.

Cold climate gardening

2011-01-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

To kick off the New Year, our first official post for A Growing Garden. An article.

“…When in a cold climate with a moderately lengthy growing season, a successful vegetable garden is very much, more than, possible. By simply pay attention to how other plants in your climate grow and adapting your planting strategies to the natural timing of the climate will make a significant difference to the output of your vegetable garden…”

Continue reading, How to grow vegetables in a cold climate.

Planting the seeds. Growing a garden.

2011-01-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the online premier of A Growing Garden. With the start of a fresh new year, I have decided to create another online venue to showcase my garden related knowledge, articles, photography, art, and anything else interesting that may come across the garden path in the New Year.

I hope to use this New Year, in part, to share with you all, my ideas about gardening, landscape design, to even issues such as, the preservation and protection of Canada's precious natural habitats. As our planet is a growing and changing place, gardening for a sustainable future will be another topic of great concern for 2011 blog year. Other topics of discussion will involve the different methods of planting, growing and harvesting vegetables, fruits, berries, and anything else that can be grown under the sun…

Make sure to check back for updates and changes in the New Year, as this will be a Growing Garden.
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The best of wishes to all in the upcoming New Year.