Gardenig in France. Tips & Guides

“Laissez les bons temps rouler” is Cajun French for “Let the good times roll.” With the start of Mardi Gras, everyone will begin hearing that phrase quite often. Another favorite Mardi Gras tradition is the King Cake. But what is it, and why do they put plastic babies in there?

Called “the mystery plant of the herb world” by The Rodale Herb Book, “oregano” is the common name for a small multitude of plants that are mostly useless in the kitchen. Among them are many true oreganos, in the genus Origanum, and also many plants that aren’t. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is a relative of lemon verbena, not oregano. Cuban oregano (Coleus amboinicus) is a succulent that tastes and smells somewhat like oregano and makes a good houseplant. It is used like oregano in Cuban cuisine. Italian oregano thyme, a member of the genus Thymus, also has the familiar oregano scent.Among the true oreganos there are choices for great beauty, like O. vulgare ‘Aureum,’ a golden-leaved form. (My sorry plant was probably just plain O. vulgare—not even pretty like the golden kind.) Sweet marjoram, a kind of oregano known as O. majorana, is more the stuff of French cuisine, and an excellent culinary herb. Pot marjoram, O. onites, is also savory-flavored.But if you want to cook with the classic oregano taste, you want to try Greek oregano, O. heracleoticum, which is a pungent

It was the gold-leaf version of a ‘Scarlet Runner’ type of bean in the pages of Territorial Seed’s catalog that set me off down the yellow-brick road. ‘Golden Sunshine’ bean has the typical red hummingbird-friendly flowers and green pods but on a 6-foot plant (somewhat less enthusiastic than the green original).Next I met up with a gold-podded filet bean—an extra-long haricot vert type called ‘French Gold’ that isn’t vert at all but solid or. Renee’s Seeds offers this beauty, a pole type that’s new for 2010 and promises 7-to-9-inch pods for “especially choice eating.” Sold.Romano-type, or Italian-style beans are my favorites, typically, so when I happened on ‘Gold of Bacau’ bean a

I want to introduce some oddball varieties I like to grow (like ‘Chinese Red Noodle’ and ‘Scarlet Runner,’ both shown above), and tell you what I’m planning to do with that Hefty-bagful of the more typical green bean types that I just harvested. (No, not 10 Pyrex baking dishes full of Grandma’s Green Bean Casserole with cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and butter-soaked Saltine crumbs and melted cheddar, though I am definitely tempted.)Do you grow beans like ‘Royalty Purple Pod’ that are easy to spot on the vine when harvesting, but cook up green? Or slender filet beans, the haricot verts or filet beans of French cooker

Each of her 150 recipes is delightfully prefaced with what amounts to its provenance: a juicy and sometimes hilarious back story that Clark tells in as simple yet deft a fashion as the style of the dish that follows. I sat right down to chapters like “Better Fried” and “It Tastes Like Chicken” and “My Mother’s Sandwich Theory of Life,” the perfect mix of a good read and a good meal.For me—a flavor-fearing kid who rinsed most of her entrees off at the sink conveniently positioned halfway between the Garland range and the family dinner table—Clark’s childhood tales are positively hair-raising: Summer vacations were spent touring France with her psychiatrist parents, gourmands determined to eat at every Michelin-starred restaurant there. Worse yet (or to Clark, more thrilling): Th

I SAY THANK YOU to the University of Chicago Press for investing in “Weeds of North America” (above) by Richard Dickinson and France Royer. The Canadian authors have created a massive work (800 pages paperbound) covering 500 of the continent’s pest plants, including aquatics. Key ID tips include not just flower and foliage photos, but also images of seeds and seedlings.This serious reference volume illuminates other reasons to consider the plants as pests, beyond the space they steal from natives. Such traits include toxicity to livestock (like milk thistle) or transmitting a disease to a valuable crop (like barberry does w

A LEADING EXPERT ON LYME disease ecology sets the record straight in this short but relevation-loaded podcast, explaining how mice even more than deer are major players in the chain of transmission. Don’t miss this one, from a scientist at the Institute from Ecosystems Studies in nearby Millbrook, New York.EPA Fails to Ban Bee-Killing PesticideTHE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY declined a petition to ban clothianidin, a synthetic nicotine that is acutely lethal to bees, despite sharp declines in bee populations (and a recent ruling in France to ban a similar chemical).Welcome to Amphibian Number 7,000IN PERU, the discovery of Centrolene sabini (a kind of glass frog) marked 7,000 known amphibian species on the planet, where most of the news about these creatures is more that of decline.  And if you’re

I WAITED TO SHOW YOU the art of French photographer Laurent Laveder until the full moon this morning, which seemed the right timing to admire the work of a man who likes to make magic with it. Laveder has been doing astrophotography since the last appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1986, including playful images like the one above.

One of the best resources ever for those wishing to know their weeds is the book “Weeds of North America,” published in 2014 by University of Chicago Press, and co-authored by Richard Dickinson, with France Royer. Since its release, it is always at the ready here—with information about 500 species, plus photos of most every one at every life phase from seed to seedling to full plant and leaf and flower detail. There will be no mistaking weed from wildflower or garden plant again. Toronto-based Richard Dickinson has taught plant taxonomy for more than 25 years, and he joined me to talk about every gardener’s favorite—or is it unfavorite?—subject, weeds. I learned how they get so good at being weedy, and what their environmental impact is beyond taking space awa

I love clafoutis (kla-foo-tee), a humble French concoction that’s like a Huffy-Puffy or Dutch Baby or German pancake–whatever you call it, that’s my favorite Christmas-morning food. But the clafoutis is sweeter and has fruit inside. If you have 3 cups of fruit and some kitchen basics like milk and eggs and flour, you can make this dessert very last-minute, even just as you sit down to eat the main course, another selling factor. Easy, yet quite impressive.Though clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, as it was in the recipe Martha shared in her must-have 1995 cookbook, “The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day” (affiliate link), I’ve come to regard her batter as the universal solvent for all things fruit.With it, I have since made clafoutis from peaches, plums, pears, various berries, cherries, and mixes of fresh fruit and dried (such as by adding a handful of dried cranberries or cherries to pears

It’s a soup you can make and enjoy now, or freeze, depending on how many willing yellow onions you can get your hands on, and on whether you can resist eating it all right away. With my first bowlful, I didn’t even manage to wait long enough to melt the cheese on top of the recommended toast. It just smelled too inviting as-is (or was), and then, suddenly, gone.If you haven’t met David Lebovitz, the story, in brief: In 1999, he left Chez Panisse and a career in the restaurant business. He moved from San Francisco to Paris—where he jokingly says Belgian endive is so inexpensive as to be the French version of “trash” lettuce, and reports there are more than 1,260 bakeries. Packing up little more than his best skillet, cookbooks and trusty laptop, David turned to writing, and his 2011 memoir, “The Sweet Life in Paris” (Amazon affiliate link), became a “New York Times” bestseller.His website has likewise been a giant hit (and has an e-newsletter I enjoy); he is lately (as of 2021ish) moving more over to delivering his latest writing via a Substack newsletter.No wonder he is so perennially popular. Besides having a way with food, he is a delicious storyteller, too, always layering in the essential ingr

AUTHOR MARTA MCDOWELL, a gardener and landscape designer in contemporary New Jersey, has an enduring passion for digging into history, particularly into noted authors and their gardens—what she calls the “connection between the pen and the trowel.” She’s written books from that vantage point on Emily Dickinson, Beatrix Potter and Laura Ingalls Wilder, and now her latest is on the prolific author Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of the century-old children’s classic “The Secret Garden” that’s still in print.

Looking to grow your own beans but are short on space? Check out our guide to the Best Types of Beans You Can Grow Vertically! From pole beans to runner beans, we’ve got you covered with tips on how to maximize your yield and enjoy fresh, home-grown beans in a limited space.

Keeping your room fresh with natural elements elevates mood and senses. Here are the best Houseplants that are Literally Fragrant Air Fresheners that will help to keep your home naturally perfumed all the time!

If you've already finished the stellar second season of FX's The Bear, you might be feeling a little disappointed that you won't be able to listen to Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) and his team yell «Yes, chef!» and «Behind!» at each other anymore. But before you get too deep into that post-binge-watch slump, we have some good news: There's a new viral recipe from the show (remember the spaghetti from last year) that can give you a taste of what you're missing—and you're about to see tutorials for it nonstop.

Create your own relaxing backyard fireside retreat by learning how to string outdoor solar lights with this cheap hack!

Radishes are one of those first treats to come from the spring garden. There is nothing like pulling out a colorful root veggie, giving it a little dust and polish, and biting into it before it has a chance to see the kitchen. Did you know you can also enjoy fresh radishes in the fall, as well? In this article, I’m going to explain the difference between spring and winter radishes, and share some tips on growing radishes from seed for a spring crop and for a fall crop. Timing your radish seeding is simply a matter of counting forwards or backwards to frost-free and frost dates.

Some of the best tasting tomatoes grow from vines. These semi-determinate to indeterminate fruits have no stopping point at the ends of the stems. This leads to tangled drooping stems if they are not supported. One successful way to make sure the fruit is above the soil is by using the Florida weave trellis. The Florida weave is a common field technique for trellising tomatoes. This method keeps vines upright, and fruit away from ground contact.

Do you think it’s even possible to have too many lavender plants?A fragrant favorite in flower be

It seems strange, I know, to talk of growing winter crops for the polytunnel or glasshouse, smack-bang in the middle of a very sultry Irish summer. But the simple truth is that the secret to making the best, and most productive use, of these valuable covered growing spaces throughout the year has always been to plan and propagate very far ahead.

Are you a celery fan? Done right, it’s satisfyingly flavorful with a pleasing texture that leaves you wanting more.But it can be difficult for the home gardener to achie

Summer has arrived with a host of new trends to embrace and explore. With so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to pin down which trends are best suited for your home. Big statements and patterns work well for some, while more subtle timeless options are more in line with others—luckily, our zodiac signs can provide some insight.

Have you ever visited a botanical garden on a warm spring day and marveled at tulips in a rainbow of colors, with shapes ranging from cups to stars, contrasting striations, and ruffled edges?Now’s your chance to bring a taste of that awes

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thyme is a lo

The majestic iris is a favorite among gardeners and flower enthusiasts due to its striking colors and intricate petals. If you want to know – When Do Irises Bloom, then keep on reading!

Early Girl tomato arrived in the United States from France as the result of one man’s mission to introduce a flavorful, short-season tomato variety to American gardeners. Since its introduction in 1975, Early Girl has remained one of the most popular tomato varieties among home gardeners, and for good reason. Prized for its early season production, Early Girl tomato plants are easy to grow and highly productive, yielding flavorful medium-sized fruits as early as 55 days after planting. 

Dotting the landscape near rural farmhouses and alongside suburban homes, the hydrangea plant is a snap to grow—as long as you know how and when to plant hydrangeas, and which types of hydrangeas to use in your area. Knowing when to plant gives your hydrangeas a strong start and helps them establish a robust root system. And healthy plants produce the finest show of flowers. Below you’ll learn the two best options for when to plant hydrangeas as well as get tips on choosing the right site, how to plant, and after planting care.

We might have heard about all those commonly available Fruits That Starts With O, but there are a few delicious delights that stand out from the rest, and we’re excited to introduce you to them! So, without further ado, let’s dive into our fruity expedition.

Frances Palmer is a well-known ceramist and gardener, author of the 2020 book “Life in the Studio” (affiliate link) and creator of a popular Instagram account, too. She shared her dahlia how-to growing advice—plus some of her favorite varieties, and her go-to sources.Plus: Enter for a chance to win her book, “Life in the Studio: Inspiration and Lessons on Creativity,” by commenting in the box near the bottom of the page.Read along as you listen to the May 8, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and bro

The Viticella group of Clematis has to be regarded as amongst the best of climbing plants

Clematis Viticella Madame Julia Correvon

I seem to have all my April seeds finally sown in the greenhouses and I’ve also pricked out everything that I can. I’m sure in a couple of weeks time there will be loads more to do. The greenhouses are filling up very nicely and the weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer so all is good in the world.

French lavender is a beautiful and fragrant plant that is commonly grown for its ornamental value and its essential oil. It is a hardy plant that is relatively easy to grow, making it a popular choice for gardeners all over the world.

If you haven’t got a willow tree for your backyard, now is the time!

Take a look at these fabulous Flowers that start with F and polish your general knowledge about these beautiful blossoms!

Bellflowers (campanulas) are one of the plants we most associate with old cottage gardens. The blue, pink, or white bells were traditionally grown with roses, hollyhocks, pinks, and foxgloves in summer borders. This chocolate-box image led bellflowers to fall out of fashion, but being such great border plants, they are deservedly enjoying a resurge in popularity.