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Budget-Friendly Potted Christmas Trees: Nature Inspired Decorations

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Budget-Friendly Potted Christmas Trees: Nature Inspired Decorations

Are you tired of cut or artificial trees? A container tree will live on and serve as reminder of the Christmas spirit year-round!

It’s not perfect, but it was inspired by Mother Nature and will, like the spirit of Christmas, live on long after the festivities are over. From the time I was a small child, I’ve loved Christmas trees. Like many young children, I had romantic notions of the Victorian Christmas tree-an imposing fir decorated with lit candles, handmade ornaments, and small toys. The problem was that I hated…

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Five Ways to Help Save Monarch Butterflies: Essential Actions

Are you dismayed by recent news reports about the endanger monarch? Don't despair! Pant nativess!

If you’re taking the time to read this post, you’re probably already keenly aware of the challenges that are facing monarch butterflies. The grim news this week is that U.S. Fish and Wildlife has proposed adding this colorful butterfly to the endangered species list, which means that its survival is threatened. Of all the butterflies out there, the monarch seems to capture our imaginations the…

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Essential Fall Garden Tips for Sustainable Growth

Now that a hard frost has fallen on much of the county, gardeners may think that their season is over for this year.  However, the late fall is crucial for maintaining a healthy and sustainable garden next year. So leave the leaves, harvest your herbs, and fertlize when necessary! Lawn care-leave the leaves-or compost them “Leave the leaves” is the battle cry for some organic gardeners this…

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Planning a Reset

What are your gardening questions! I want to hear from you!

Hello, fellow gardeners and outdoor enthusiasts! I have been writing this blog for a few years, and some of you have contacted me to tell me that you enjoy reading it or to make comments about specific points in the blog.  Now, I’m asking you for some concrete information. I’d like to do a reset, and focus this blog on specific topics or questions. My focus will be on gardening herbs and…

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A Beach Walk on a Winter's Day: The Beautiful, the Bleak and the Ugly

Take a walk on a winter beach and see the good, the bac, and the ugly.

This bale of wire, which washed up on the beach at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge, presented serious dangers to birds and fish, who could easily become entangled. Hiking has become a traditional New Year’s Day activity, and I originally intended to do a walk at First Landing State Park with the Appalachian Trail Club. This was tabled, however, when I had the sudden impulse to hike solo down the beach…

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For holiday meals: Respect tradition, provide your own twist

Bored with traditioanl holiday foods? Try something new.

Do you respect local food traditions and want to create a sense of place and tradition with holiday meals? So do I, but the problem is that, while I love locally grown foods, I’m not a huge fan of some of the traditional cooking methods. I suspected that I wasn’t the only one, so I talked to some local homemakers to find ways that they’ve adapted traditional recipes to their own taste. In a…

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This Christmas: Shop Small, Shop Locally, Shop Homemade-And Give Used a Try

This Christmas, think small and shop locally!

I’ve always been a fool for scents, and these lovely, scented items were all made here in Virginia Beach. This Christmas, think outside the box-and I mean literally outside of the packing box. Yeah, I admit that I do appreciate the convenience of the kind of one-stop online shopping that some larger sites offer, and I sometimes indulge in this convenience. Still, I think that Christmas should…

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A walk through an autumn garden: 5 things to do at Norfolk Botanical Garden

Are you looking for ideas for a fall outing or hoping to see a holiday light show? Check Norfolk Botanical Garden.

I can’t imagine a lovelier place for a fall outing than Norfolk Botanical Garden. The garden, with its varied landscaping and many theme gardens, is arguably at its peak in the spring when the azaleas are blooming. Still, it’s surprising how many colorful blooms you’ll see on its 175 acres. Of course, the biggest attraction this season is the Dominion Energy Garden of Lights, a walk throughh a…

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How do you make and use herbal tinctures?

My friend Jessi Basso is a bundle of energy and a source of information about a lot of cool things, including organic gardening, tea making, and crafts. She grows some of the prettiest flowers that I’ve ever seen and, among her many hobbies is the preparation of healing tinctures. I’d always been fascinated by the very word “tincture,” which to me held some romantic and almost mysterious…

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A beautiful day, a wilderness beach, and a walk to help the black bears

Friday, October 27 was a balmy fall day, and the morning sun reflecting off of the ocean, was so bright that it dazzled me as I walked across the high sand dune line onto the wilderness beach at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in southern Virginia Beach. I was on a mission to help the black bears. The next day, out the Smoky Mountains, wildlife advocates lined up in Townsend, Tennessee for the same…

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Happy Fall! Celebrate the Season With Fruit, Flowers, and Herbs

It's fall-get out and pick some native grapes, and harvest your herbs!

Happy Fall, You Guys! Here in Southeastern Virginia, the remnants of Hurricane Ian passed through yesterday bringing some much-needed rain that put an end to a long dry period. It also brought some wind that I could have done without. In additon to blowing branches and leaves around, the wind also damaged a wreath that I’d just hung on my gate and flattened some plants, including a Black-Eyed…

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The Garden in August: It's Pollinator Season as Migration Begins

The Garden in August: It’s Pollinator Season as Migration Begins

Last spring, I wrote about the ornamental cherry trees and other early bloomers at Red Wing Park here in Virginia Beach. On one recent day, I took advantage of the mild late Summer weather to return to Red Wing Park to visit the pollinator garden, which is in full bloom now. This Pollinator Garden, which includes zinnias, Stokes Aster, and other blooming plants to attract bees, butterflies, and…

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Summertime fare: Heirloom tomatos, peppers, basil, and-kale?

Got the summertime blues? Try this soup and salad combination.

This cute little guy is called Mr. Stripey. It’s one of the many varieties of heirloom tomatoes that are available at farm stands this summer. This is the point at which my enthusiasm for summer starts to wane a little. Last month, I wrote about the pesky aphids that were invading my milkweed. Now, it’s just the hot weather doldrums that are bothering me, and, I suspect, a lot of people. I…

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Want Butterflies? Plant Pollinator Plants, but Beware of Aphids!

The butterfly population is sruggling, but you can help by planting a few easy-to-grow plants!

Both parsley and dill serve as host plants for the swallotail butterfly, but they sem to prefer dill. Everyone loves butteflies, and watching these whimsical little creatures flitting in our flower gardens is like viewing a scene from a fairytale. Although they look like magical creatures darting from flower to flower, these butterflies are actually hard at work pollinating our flowers and…

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Butterfly Days: Part 2: Feline Kidney Disease Hasn't Defeated Her Yet

A shout-out to my vet on his retirement!

This morning when I reached for my walking shoes, I received a big surprise. I had a toy mouse inside the toe of one shoe. My cat, Butterfly, left it there as a present. Some people wake up to find roses, or even diamonds, on their breakfast trays, but I was estactic to receive this tiny, cuddly little mouse. Buttyerfly’s battled feline kidney disease for at least two years now, but she’s…

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Natives For Small Spaces: To Beautify, Inspire, and Pollinate

Natives For Small Spaces: To Beautify, Inspire, and Pollinate

In this blog, I’ll share some tips and plants for growing natives in small spaces. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Southern Branch Nursery in Chesapeake, where owner Eric Gunderson specializes in landscaping with native plants. In addition to landscaping, he owns a nursery with a large variety of local plants from which to choose, and I was overwhelmed by the number of flowering…