After my post regarding tools, I talked to the nice folks at Ethel Gloves, and they would like to give one lucky reader a pair of their beautifully crafted gloves (a value of $20).  The winner even gets to choose the color.  Personally, I like Jubilee shown above, but that's because I'm a blue girl. I enjoy the Ethels I received at the Chicago Garden Bloggers Spring Fling very much.  They aren't for pruning roses (for that I would need the rose gloves), but with their great fit and elastic around the wrist, I use them for everything else.  In other words, I get them very dirty and throw them in the washer.  Out they come, sparkling clean and ready for work again. So, put on your thinking caps.  Tell me your best glove story.  Did they save you from needing a manicure, or did they keep your fingers from...

I have, and if you follow me on GoodReads.com, you might have already read my mini-reviews of these two books, but, in case you missed them . . . . Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of Sharon Lovejoy's work.  For the past twenty years, I've read everything she's written, smiled at her drawings, and implemented much of what she teaches.  I've built sunflower houses, played with my children during Hollyhock Days, and we've shared many other adventures in the garden. I'm also proud to be working with her and seven other wonderful writers on the Lowe's Garden Grow Along blog this spring. When she asked me to review her new book, Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars: Grandma's Bag of Tricks, I nearly clapped my hands in delight.  Its arrival in the mail made me stop what I was doing to plop down in a chair and...

Dang it!  My hand weeder is again missing. After all the work I put it through yesterday, it is probably hiding under a pile of rose canes.  Debris piles are all over the garden right now so it wouldn't surprise me.  If I don't find it soon, I'll be forced to buy another.  Then, one day, I'll find this one as I cleaning and clearing away. It's important to have good tools.  In fact, it is one of Carol's five keys to garden happiness, and I agree. Whether your passion is cooking, baking, crafting or gardening (all things I enjoy), good tools make your job easier and more enjoyable.  I've found I only need a few garden tools to make me happy. A good pair of loppers is one of the essentials.  I like the 28- inch Fiskars Power-Lever Loppers because they have gears which make them more powerful and...

Dear Carol and Mary Ann and all of our gardening friends, I planned to have this letter up before now, but my Internet went down sometime last night. Now, it appears to be again working.  Who knows? I didn't plant any other veggie seeds this weekend, but instead, cleaned up and cleared out the garden to make room for them.  I cut back several roses, and my arms bear witness to their scratches.  I still have quite a few roses to prune, but it won't take long now. HH broke ground on the potager.  He worked both Saturday and Sunday digging the sub-base, which we will cover with landscape fabric to discourage the Bermuda grass.  We will also line the beds with landscape fabric for this same purpose.  Carol asked how high the walls of the beds will be.  I haven't decided, but they will be high enough for me...