I just love the smell of June. You walk outside and feel the warmth of the sun on your shoulders, while the scent of the world growing fills the air. This is the month (at least in New England) when we start to see our gardens bloom. Each morning, I’m excited to go out and see the progress. I don’t even mind the weeds that are popping up—at least not yet.  READ MORE 

Move over, teddy bears—plushy stuffed toys are taking a stroll through the vegetable patch. In a delightful twist, characters inspired by cabbages, avocados, and other garden favorites are cropping up in toy stores and online shops.  READ MORE 

I still remember the first time I knelt down to plant a packet of wildflower seeds in my garden. I scattered them like a child tossing confetti, then promptly buried them under a careful layer of soil—only to learn later that many of those tiny seeds had wanted nothing more than a little light and a gentle press into the earth.  READ MORE 

We put in a strawberry patch this year. Nothing huge, you understand: maybe 4 feet by 20, a nice strip along the fence on the upper side of the barn. Thirty strawberry plants. Ever-bearers, the kind that are supposed to start spitting out strawberries in June and to continue, irrepressibly, through September.  READ MORE 

Which shall it be? The frozen lettuce just happened, while the too-many tomatoes is yet to occur (but is as sure a certainty as President Clinton is to ... well, why don't you fill in that blank that way if you're prudish you'll have to get mad at yourself).  READ MORE 

Raspberries are one of those fruits that truly deserve a place in your garden—and on your plate. With their vibrant red color, delicate texture, and sweet-tart flavor, raspberries are a delight to eat. But beyond their mouthwatering taste, these little berries pack a nutritional punch, offering a wealth of health benefits that make them more than just a tasty treat.  READ MORE 

The catalogues are spread around, and we are planning the garden. This year there isn't much space for new plants, and last year I didn't sow all the seeds I'd ordered.  READ MORE 

June—such a wonderful gardening month, especially for a vegetable gardener. (I’m more the veggie than the flower type.) You and your garden are bursting with energy, and Spring crops are a-comin’ in. It’s my favorite month of the year.  READ MORE 

I love the month of June. Finally, my morning treks outside, shortly after the sun rises, no longer require a coat. I can walk around and embrace the new day without feeling the chill that used to make me want to rush back indoors. I have three dogs, and they do not like to be rushed!  READ MORE 

As a devoted New Englander on a never-ending quest for the ultimate lobster roll, I’ve long debated the virtues of butter versus mayonnaise. Let me put it plainly: I am—and always will be—a butter enthusiast.   READ MORE 

Mushrooms have been part of the human diet for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations. The Chinese have cultivated mushrooms for medicinal and culinary purposes for over a thousand years, while the Egyptians believed mushrooms were the food of the gods, fit only for royalty.   READ MORE 

Growing up in Sacramento, I was surrounded by orange trees. They lined our streets, filled our parks, and, of course, flourished in backyard gardens. As a kid, I simply assumed that everyone had access to fresh oranges all year long.   READ MORE 

Oh, the agony. To be so close to the object of your desire and, yet, so far away. Feathery toes almost touching, but never able to mingle in the same warm bed of soil. Love, cleaved. Destined to reach, forever.  READ MORE 

We moved north where the colder climate must have been jarring to the constitution of my young parents who grew up in the sunny climate of the sweltering South where Spring comes early, and Summers are long, humid, and heavy. But that is what parents do. Dad followed a career lead to provide for the family and grow their dreams as well.  READ MORE 

“In the year 2000, do you think we’ll still be alive?” Fourteen-year-old me was chatting with my girlfriends in 1972 about a date so far in the future it seemed incomprehensible. I’d be so old—42! Obviously, I was alive in 2000, and it wasn’t as futuristic as a young me expected.  READ MORE 

Organic gardening may not earn me any medals or book me a talk-show appearance, but it sure has its perks. For one, I know exactly where my fruits and vegetables come from—straight from my backyard, still warm from the sun. My grocery bill shrinks every year, and my food is free from pesticides that harm honeybees or cause birth defects in cute lab mice.  READ MORE 

If I close my eyes, I can see him clearly. He's wearing one of those Fruit of the Loom A-shirts with tiny holes, plaid shorts, dark socks, and a too-small baseball cap advertising a motor oil company. The sun is high in the sky, burning his unprotected skin. He’s sweating, beads of perspiration starting from his thinning brown scalp, cascading down, wiped away by occasional rubs of his right forearm.  READ MORE 

In May 2022, my three brothers, sister, and I were summoned from London to our father’s bedside in Dominica, where he had retired 20 years earlier. Diagnosed with gastric cancer, we planned to spend precious time with him and care for him during his final days.  READ MORE 

“I’m just saying, I don’t believe in the almanac. You’re saying they plan the dates in the almanac based on the planets. The planets are in space; they're not down here on earth telling us when to plant our vegetables,” I explain to my dad as we plant our garden.   READ MORE 

I never considered myself a plant person. Those #plantmamas on social media seemed a bit off, trading their marbles for expensive dirt, or so I thought. But life has a funny way of sneaking up on you, and after moving to the eastern foothills of Tennessee, I found myself slowly—ever so subtly—drawn to the greener things in life.  READ MORE 

Living in Northern California means embracing the fluidity of seasons, where both people and plants learn to go with the flow. Growing up gardening in Massachusetts, I had no idea I’d later come to love the unpredictable nature of California’s weather.   READ MORE 

Vinyl garden hoses. I have three of them, and they’re transforming my backyard into Jurassic Park. These hoses are like gigantic snakes—innocently coiled until I try to unravel one for some simple watering. Then it twists, refuses to lay flat, and I almost trip. How did that darn thing wrap itself around my ankle?  READ MORE 

Every now and then, a story comes along that hums with quiet wisdom, stirs the soil of the heart, and reminds us that healing often begins with something as simple—and profound—as digging in the dirt. Soil & Soul: A Gardener’s Global Journey to Healing is that story.  READ MORE 

When my dad—chef, storyteller, and picnic enthusiast extraordinaire—declared, “A meal always tastes better outside,” he wasn’t just talking about the food. He was talking about the experience. The laughter. The way a breeze carries the scent of fried chicken and cinnamon-spiced peaches through the air.   READ MORE 

Summer in California meant more than just long days, golden sunsets, and backyard feasts—it meant picnic season. And no picnic was complete without a proper spread of cold fried chicken, three bean salad, fresh cucumber and tomato salad, and a cinnamon peach pie that disappeared before I could even get a second slice.  READ MORE 

Summers in California meant one thing—picnics. Not just any picnics, but grand, sprawling, shade-under-the-oak-tree affairs. And at the heart of these Summer feasts, nestled between baskets of homemade cornbread, bright bowls of garden-fresh salads, and jugs of ice-cold sweet tea, was the crown jewel: my dad’s Southern fried chicken.  READ MORE 

If you ever found yourself at one of our family’s Summer picnics, you’d quickly realize that my dad, a professional chef and an avid gardener, had a deep and abiding love for beans. It wasn’t just about the taste—though he certainly appreciated their versatility—it was about their power.  READ MORE 

When faced with a Summer meal featuring crispy, golden-brown southern fried chicken—seasoned to perfection with a chorus of spices—one might wonder, “What salad could possibly hold its own next to this showstopper?”  READ MORE 

It’s funny—growing up in the Sacramento Valley, I thought peaches came from there. At the simplest level, I wasn’t wrong. Sacramento peaches were, and still are, some of the best in the world. Juicy, golden, and sun-ripened to perfection, they were a Summer staple.   READ MORE