Grow your own American ginseng from seeds (or rootlets). Learn where to buy seed, how to choose the best spots for planting, how to identify baby ginseng plants, and more! American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a valuable native plant that’s been used in herbal medicine throughout history. Because of its monetary value (mature roots sell…
The stunning puma pepper is not only scorching hot at 300,000-400,000 Scoville units, but also pretty enough that you could use it as an ornamental plant in the front garden bed! About Puma Hot Peppers: Dark deep purple foliage and flushing on the fruits make this dramatic plant stand out among pepper varieties. Like other…
Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata) is a stellar pollinator plant in the mint family which attracts all kinds of native bees and butterflies to your garden. As a bonus, the plant has use as an edible herbal too! At a Glance: How to Grow Like other bee balms, spotted bee balm is super easy to…
Learn how to grow Orange Hat – a dwarf tomato that’s perfectly sized for growing in pots and in small spaces! Why is this plant interesting? Orange Hat is a super-small dwarf bush tomato: so small, it will happily produce an astonishing amount of small, delicious tomatoes in a six-inch pot on a windowsill! This…
Poppies are easy to grow – these delicate looking plants are much hardier than they seem, taking on cold weather, poor soil, and scarce watering without so much as a blink! Aside from being beautiful and hardy, poppies are also beloved by the bees. Big, open-petaled poppies especially! And as a bonus? Poppies are one…
Learn how to grow, harvest, and store homegrown asparagus from seed! Growing Details for Asparagus: Seed-Starting Start asparagus seeds indoors 2-3 months before your estimated final frost date. The seeds should be soaked in water for 24 hours first before sowing. To sow the seeds, fill a pot with soil- we use 4″ plastic pots-…
Bachelor’s Buttons (cornflowers) are easy to grow edible flowers that attract pollinators and birds to your garden. Learn how to start these charming garden favorites from seed, plus how to harvest, dry, and use the pretty flower petals. Bachelor’s Button in Your Garden Hardy, drought-tolerant, and refreshingly unfussy, Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus) is a tall…
Learn how to grow, harvest, dry, and use calendula – an herbal flower that’s easy to grow in your garden and has tons of useful benefits! Calendula’s nickname is pot marigold, but it’s important to note that calendula (Calendula officinalis) is not the same plant as common garden marigolds (Tagetes spp). Check out our article:…
Dragon tongue wax beans, sometimes called Dragon’s tongue beans, are large, deliciously tender, stringless, and flavorful! Able to get up to 7″ long without getting all tough and leathery, these beans have dramatic purple striping on yellow pods that stands out among the greenery. This is a bean that’s hard to miss, come harvest-time! This…
Learn how to grow and enjoy Chinese Red Noodle Beans, a variety of yard long bean that produces plentifully and performs well in hot weather! Let them get a bit unruly and overgrown though, and you might just find yourself having a fright- the overgrown beans that grow close to the ground can sometimes look…
Learn how to grow your own peanuts at home – it’s fun and easy! This guide covers the basics of growing peanuts from start to finish: preparing the soil, planting, caring for, harvesting, and curing. About Peanuts Peanuts! Lovely, lovely peanuts. Where would we be without peanut butter, or peanut brittle, or all those other…
Growing pansies and violas from seed isn’t difficult to do and will reward you with masses of uniquely colored flowers to enjoy! Pansies and violas, the sweet little darlings of the garden! These small, cold-hardy flowers are always met with delight when they first show up in garden centers in early spring, all bright blooms…