Susan Patterson 
Are you tired of your outdoor living space? Are you ready for something new but don’t have a massive budget to blow? No worries, there are many easy and inexpensive ways that you can breathe new life into your landscape. Transformation is just a few dollars away. With these ideas, you can create a brand new, inviting outdoor oasis!
It happens in neighborhoods all over the country, and perhaps in yours. With the first tiny sign that spring is around the corner, people get busy cleaning up their lawnmower blades, shopping for weed and feed, and chomping at the bit to win the “best lawn” award for their community. If having a lush and healthy lawn is important to you – and perhaps winning the best lawn award is something you aspire to do – the following rules for a great lawn might just propel you to the top of the class.
As the summer season heats up, gardeners sometimes struggle to keep plants healthy and producing. To make matters worse, water restrictions often follow periods of drought and heat, causing gardens to suffer further. If you happen to live in an area, like me, that is particularly hot and dry all summer long; these water-saving gardening techniques are for you.
When you think of side hustles, ways to make a little extra money, you may conjure up images of things like selling clothes you don’t wear, walking dogs, babysitting, or even baking and selling cookies. But, have you ever considered taking your love of plants, gardening, and homesteading (even urban homesteading) and using it to turn a quick profit?
For as long as humans have been able to warm water, they have enjoyed herbal teas. Herbal teas are not really true teas like green, black, and oolong tea, which are all brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Herbal teas can be made from any part of a plant, including the roots, leaves, flowers, seeds, berries, or bark, and they can sometimes contain thousands of different compounds, each with distinctive healing capabilities.
Are you busy at work, busy with kids, busy with school, and just plain busy all the time? If so, you are not alone. Millions of Americans suffer from over-business, which leads to…you got it. Stress. There is nothing fun about being busy and feeling stressed about being busy. Quite simply, this is a recipe for disaster. Although it is important to slow down, on those days when you just can’t seem to catch a break, two easy-to-grow plants come to the rescue.
Do you live in the city – perhaps a dense urban area surrounded by tall buildings, cars and people…lots of people? Have you tossed your dream of self-sufficiency out the window because of your geographic location? If so, I have great news for you. It is possible to be self-sufficient in the city; seriously, there are several steps that you can take to become more self-reliant – even if you live in the the heart of a concrete jungle.
Yes, I get it; pests can be a problem. In just a few hours, pests gone wild can destroy your beautiful cabbage crop, annihilate your cucumbers, and leave your lettuce looking like it went through a war. All of this is heartbreaking, and I have had it happen to me more than once. There is a solution to this problem, and it is not to pour a vat of toxic chemicals into your garden either. Once I got the formula down – the best method to repel nasty pests – my garden has never been so beautiful. If I can do it, so can you.
With warmer weather here, people all over are gearing up for poolside gatherings, beach vacations, and some good ol’ fashioned sun-soaking. The sun just seems to make us feel good, and rightly so. The sun is necessary for all human life. Without the warming rays of this massive star, life on this planet would cease to exist. Every type of living creature, including mankind, needs sunlight in order to live. Humans have been exposed to the sun since the beginning of time.
Periods are no fun, hands down. No woman is going to argue this point. The lead-up to the period can be even worse for some. Breast tenderness, moodiness, bloating, headaches, and other symptoms can last for a week or more before your actual period begins.
If you are a gardener, it is likely that you, like me, love to touch, smell, taste, and even listen to plants. It’s not weird! When we garden, we like to gaze at plants, run our hands over the leaves and petals, and bring our noses down to take in the beautiful scent. Something about this brings me great pleasure – to know that I have planted and cared for such a beautiful thing and then to have the joy of partaking of it with all of my senses!
Sign up for gardening advice
delivered straight to your inbox!
