For a moment, let's consider those who came before us. Who or what compelled you to place your first seed in the warm earth? Was it a parent or grandparent? Did you once visit a famous garden like Montrose in North Carolina or Stourhead in Wiltshire, England? Did you read one of Christopher Lloyd's many books like the amazing Chistopher Lloyd's Garden Flowers: Perennials, Bulbs, Grasses, Ferns, or how about his friend, Beth Chatto's, mind blowing Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden: Drought-Resistant Planting Through the Year. By the way, you know you've made it when your name is part of the book's title. Are you more politically minded? Are you concerned about an upcoming food crisis, or is the preservation of the environment (water or land) your first consideration? Perhaps, you grew up in a house where preserving food was just part of the landscape per se. Did you lose your...

Have you ever held a fresh egg in your hand? An egg so new it still has a fine coating of white upon its shell? An egg which is still warm from beneath the hen's feathers? Well, as the Wolf Brand chili commercial used to say, "It's been too long." Nature's wonders abound on a farm, even on a small acreage like mine where the only livestock are a mixed flock of beautiful chickens, including many hens and two roosters. If we only knew how good fresh food tastes, wouldn't we ask for it instead of the packaged stuff? Are our lives so busy we don't have time to enjoy nature's wonders, which for me, are the work of God? It's something to ponder. How did we all get so busy? Why are our kids in so many activities? Are we leading the lives we wanted? Several of you have...

I know. I know. It's the same thing every year on every website, but truly, I want to make sure my gardener friends get something they've always wanted under their Christmas tree. Gardeners deserve good tools. With good tools, I can work faster and more efficiently. At the top of my list is CobraHead's Brook and Hunter digging fork. Last fall, I dug Bermuda grass out of a new bed with only this wonderful tool. It took one afternoon, and I removed every piece of grass. If I'd used a gas motor cultivator, broken, rooting pieces of Bermuda would abound. Further, tied up with a bow, this fork would look mighty sexy, and if you bought it for your favorite gardener, who knows what you might receive in return. Other tools I love are those from Bulldog Tools in England. Earlier in the year, they sent me some of their...

About this time of year when the kids have gone back to school, and the days are growing shorter, I get a hankerin' to visit Europe, specifically Italy (I'm Catholic after all), France and England. I have nothing against other European countries. These are just first on the list, and not specifically in that order. Today, I got far enough to do a bit of searching on the Internet about eating. For me, food and travel, are even more intertwined than the average traveler. I must eat gluten and dairy free so I often take food with me as I go. I now find the United States pretty easy to navigate food-wise because people are more aware of food intolerances and allergies than they were only a few years ago. Some places like Portland, Seattle and NYC are even easier, and in general, larger cities are easier than smaller ones....