Vegetable Gardening 101
By Sandra Nelson
With the days all seeming to melt together, it’s hard to realize that today is already May 7th. In another week or so it will be time to begin planting the bulk of my vegetable garden — the warm season plants like tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini, and some seeds like …
Victory Gardens -- Pandemic Style
By Sandra Nelson Being in shelter-in-place throughout April has given me lots of extra time to read online news articles. I’ve noticed two problems dominating our daily lives: 1) The vast majority of American parents seem to be overwhelmed by homeschooling and online learning; and 2) Backyard vegetable gardens are being acknowledged as …
Color In The Garden
By Sandra Nelson
While line, shape, form and texture tend to be the subtle elements shaping the viewer’s perception of a garden design, color is the one that jumps out and grabs you. It draws you in or pushes you away; it fires your emotions and stokes your energy level or it brings much …
Designing Beds That Delight
By Sandra Nelson I don’t know how you are handling stress these days, but I find myself drawn more and more to my yard. When I feel anxiety building, I stroll through the yard, stopping every few seconds to discover the changes from the day before and to soak in the calming power of …
Reduce Stress -- Take A Nature Break
By Sandra Nelson With grocery store shelves emptying, schools closing, layoffs increasing, hospitals warning of patient overload, large public gatherings being banned and repeated pleas for extended periods of self-quarantine, the world is becoming a scary place. Every newscast, every online article and even our Facebook posts revolve around the pandemic and its sweeping …
Connect To The Past With Heirloom Plants
By Sandra Nelson
My grandmother was famous in our neighborhood for her rambunctiously beautiful flower gardens. To my knowledge, she never purchased a commercially produced seed or plant. Instead, each fall she carefully collected and saved seeds from her favorite flowers, dug summer bulbs and took some cuttings to grow on …
Bring Nature In -- Let Stress Out
By Sandra Nelson This article was originally published December 2018. I have been feeling incredibly stressed lately. Unfortunately, when I am stressed, I just shut down which, of course, increases my stress level and renders me virtually useless. My “To Do” list gets longer and my “Done” list stays blank.The only way I …
Life-long Gardening -- Adaptations That Work
By Sandra Nelson While wandering around the Chicago Botanic Garden last summer, I stumbled upon (no pun intended) an area dedicated to Accessible Gardening — gardening for people with special needs or physical limitations. Feeling my aches and pains more and more every day, the prospect of discovering ways to make strenuous gardening tasks …
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