How We Grow, Cure & Store Garlic: From Clove to Bulb

Magical Garden Tour

Acio potting shed! In honor of Harry Potter's birthday, we are taking a magical garden tour of a home in Buffalo, NY.  If you've been on the Buffalo garden tour, this is the gem of the tour.  This muggle was in heaven seeing all of the attention to detail and whimiscal touches.  With a Harry Potter-themed potting shed and artistic accents throughout the garden, see this enchanting space HERE.

I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good...

The Big Flower Fight

Looking for an original series to binge?  Take a peek at The Big Flower Flower Fight on Netflix.  Ten teams of creative people face eight challenges to create magnificient sculptures from flowers, edibles, and plants.  Each 60 minute episode sees one team leave the competition. The eight challenges include:

Episode 1 - Enormous Insects

Episode 2- Fabulous Floral Fashion

Episode 3- Huge Hairy Beasts

Episode 4- Giant Edible Thrones

Episode 5- Magnificent Mobiles

Episode 6- Sea Creatures

Episode 7- Green Giants

Episode 8- Fairytale Finale

Happy binging!

Magical Fairy Gardens

What is a fairy garden?  According to fairygardening.com, "A Fairy Garden is a miniature garden complete with structures and actual living plants.  It is designed to give your green thumb a place to tend year-round and to lure fairies and with them, good luck, to your home.  It’s a tiny space created and tended with love.  The design and components are limited only by your imagination."

Learn more at Fairygardening.com

Want to create your own fairy garden?

You'll need to start with a vessel or planter.  This Fine Gardening article has a good tutorial on creating your own hypertufa pots.  Hypertufa is lightweight and can be created in various sizes and shapes to your specific needs.

Read article HERE

Here are some fairy garden accessories that are available on Etsy:

Adorable fairy doors from  MyFairyTaleDoors 

Miniature wood slices from The Little Hedgerow 

Complete kit from Tiny Gala 

Personalized fairy garden signs from Hello Little Cloud

Wee mushrooms from The Beaded Sock Lady 1

Sedum cuttings for miniature pots from Janit

Miniature gnome from Broken Sparrow Studio

Live moss assortment from Tin Roof Treasure

Solar powered fairy lights on Amazon

May fairies dwell in your garden!

Gardener's Hand Scrub Recipes

Two DIY hand scrub recipes to keep those gardening hands soft and clean.  These make great gifts when added to a gardening basket/terra cotta pot filled with gardening tools and seeds.

This hand scrub recipe is from the Nature Moms blog.  Use a 4 ounce jar with a locking lid and combine all of the ingredients listed below together.

Here is a simple & inexpensive recipe from Green Leaf Tips:

Step 1- Fill a small Mason jar or container 3/4 full of granulated sugar.

Step 2- Fill the remaining 1/4 full with Dawn Hand Renewal Soap.

Step 3- Let mixture soak in for a few minutes.  Using a spoon, scrape the sides and bottom to combine.

Step 4- Top off jar with more sugar and a little more soap and 2 tsp. of light olive oil.

Garden Gate Inspiration

Nothing welcomes visitors to a garden like a whimsical, unique garden gate.  It offers a first glimpse into a world waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.  Here are some examples of inviting gates:

Berkshire Botanical Garden

Cecile's Garden

Akron's own Don Drumm makes fantastical metal gates.  Here is the gate at the entrance of his galleries in Akron.  This is an amazing gallery with lots of art for the garden.  Definitely worth the short drive to Akron.

Don Drumm Studios & Gallery

437 Crouse Street, Akron, 44311

330-253-6268

Don't forget to close the gate!

Vermicomposting & Earthworms in the Garden

Earthworms provide improved soil structure and nutrients, but how do you attract them to your garden?  This Nature Living Ideas article tells you why and how and you can read it HERE.

Worms are awesome!  Ready to take the next step?  

CuyahogaRecycles.org has published an excellent guide to vermicomposting that can be viewed HERE

Here is a stylish composter:

Worm Farm Composter at Gardener's Supply

$179 (also available in gray)

The Backyard Boss website list the top 5 vermicomposters HERE

*NOTE- all of the composters listed are unavailable on Amazon, but they can be found at other retailers.  The composter shown above is on the list.  Use for reference when deciding on a model.

Where Do I Get the Worms?

There are multiple online sources, but here are a few:

Uncle Jim's Worm Farm

Gardener's Supply Company

Planet Natural on Amazon

Happy vermicomposting!