Gardening Tips & Techniques

One of my favorite Spring-flowering trees is Magnolia Jane. It’s easy to grow, reliably hardy even through tough Winters, and puts on quite a show almost year-round. Here’s why you absolutely need at least one Magnolia Jane in your garden. Of course, this was before I started blogging. If I had, I would have filmed … Read more

I recently got an email from an Epic Gardening reader with a familiar question. When I first started gardening and didn’t know how to start seeds, I had the same question: Sally, that’s a great question! Knowing the answer will help you learn more about gardening and starting seeds in general, because it depends on … Read more

If you’re like me, you love blackberry everything – jam, cobbler, pie, glaze, you name it. But fresh blackberries are only available for a short time, and they can be pricey if you don’t buy them from a trustworthy local farmer. It costs a lot because blackberries are one of the easiest fruits to grow, … Read more

Pruning is an essential aspect of caring for roses. Roses need to be pruned regularly to keep them neat and disease-free, unlike shrubs like hydrangea and forsythia that don’t need as much care. This also helps them produce more flowers. If you’re new to growing roses, you may have heard that pruning is an important … Read more

Brown Recluse spiders are light brown in color and are the most common house spiders. Their cephalothorax, which is the front part of their bodies where the legs connect, is shaped like a dark brown violin. You should never get too close to a brown recluse to see its eyes, but if you do, you’ll … Read more

As someone with both American and Irish roots, you have a rich cultural heritage to celebrate. Your family likely has traditions and values from both sides of the Atlantic that have shaped who you are. I wanted to share some fun ways to honor your dual background. Exploring Your Family History Start by doing some … Read more

You might think of pea sprouts and pea shoots as vegetable twins, but they are very different from one another. First off, pea sprouts are the babies of the family, just starting their green lives. Think of them as the infants in the pea world. Pea shoots? They’re more like the lively toddlers, a bit … Read more

There are many things to think about when putting up new shed siding, such as how much work it will take and how much the different materials cost and how long they last. It can be hard to decide when there are so many options available. Shed siding keeps out moisture, pests, and extreme temperatures … Read more