Here are 7 tips to help you with your garden now, as summer is winding down.  I follow every one of these practices in my garden. #1: Watering Tips: Remember to give your plants enough water. The water needs to reach the roots or it will lead to shallow root systems. This will prevent plants from absorbing and storing enough water to support them. For annuals, lawns and perennials, most roots are 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface.…

Horticulturist and author Ruth Rogers Clausen has a new book out, published by Timber Press, titled "Deer-Resistant Native Plants for the Northeast," co-authored with Gregory D. Tepper.  Womanswork is giving away a copy of her new book, which features 75 native plants that deer seldom browse.  She gives each plant a deer resistant rating from 7-10.  Anything below 7 is considered deer candy and is not included in the book. To enter, tell us in a Comment below, or via…

My Friend Debbie B. recently told me she made pesto with some garlic mustard she has growing on her property. My ears perked up because I have it growing on my property too, and I've always regarded it as something to dispense with, and no dilly dallying. After doing a little research online I learned The Nature Conservancy calls garlic…

Ashley Fromm, the youngest member of a four-person partnership at Root Pouch in Hillsboro, Oregon, didn’t set out to change the world when she graduated from college in 2008, but that’s exactly what she and her partners are doing. Ashley, along with her godfather, his wife and her sister, are equal stakeholders in a company that manufactures fabric growing pots made of recycled plastic bottles.  Their company is so in sync with the times that the words “landfill” and “gardening”…

I bought a potted Easter Lily for the small family gathering we had this year, and we received some potted daffodils from my brother and sister-in-law as a gift. Most often these bulbs are thrown on the compost heap or trash bin as soon as they've finished blooming, but I decided I wanted to keep mine. I asked horticulturist Ruth Clausen for her suggestions about saving these bulbs for future years. I was hoping she would tell me I can…

It's a tradition among some gardeners to keep a journal.  I like to end the season by recording my plans for next season in my Womanswork Journal. When I start thinking about next season, right about now in the middle of winter, it's fun to begin with a review of those plans and visions. For some gardening activities there's a scientific basis for keeping notes. If you like to start seeds indoors it's advantageous to keep track of when you…

I am giving my neighbor, an ecologist and avid gardener, the Womanswork Houseplant Kit for Christmas.  I wanted to make her gift pop with a paper dahlia instead of a bow.  Here's how I made it. Supplies needed: Scissors Paper - Scrapbook, Cardstock, Construction Paper, etc. Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks Step-By-Step Instructions: Step One: Cut a circular base out of paper.  You can use the same paper as the petals or a complimentary color/style.   In the example I used…

A friend sent me an email last week saying "you will love this" with a link to a website that shows how to make festive paper ornaments.  I followed the instructions and added a few steps of my own, and here is my tutorial on making these pretty paper ornaments. My friend Amie Rennolds was right-- I love this! I used gift wrap that I had purchased from Kate Blairstone. Kate is the Oregon designer who created the "Heirloom Garden"…

This year I purchased three popular tropical plants for outdoor containers: canna lilies, Colocasia and Alocasia (aka Elephant ears).  I was happy with all three, though the canna lily was the star performer for me. I love plants that come back each year, even if it means digging them up in the fall and storing them away for the winter.  These plants can be left in the ground if…

Dominique Charles is a woman with a mission. A busy professional living in Washington, DC, she first began gardening in 2014, after her friend Lauren built her a starter garden as a gift. Despite having grown up in New Orleans, and spending summers helping her grandparents - Emmitt and Thelma Muse of Greensburg, Louisiana – with their farm, where her favorite activity was picking blackberries and snapping green beans, Dominique didn’t really believe that she had a green thumb. It…