How to Grow and Care for Aloe Vera

When I was seventeen years old, I visited Knott’s Berry Farm with my then-boyfriend (now-husband) and his family on a spring break trip to southern California.He’d grown up enjoying the famous boysenberry pie and chicken dinn

Never underestimate the power of a little bit of year-round greenery. It can truly do wonders for walkways – and for your mind.When I lived in Oklahoma for two years, wintertime was difficult. There were few e

The best part of living somewhere cold and snowy is that the wildflowers that bloom after winter bring me a sense of delight I can’t quite describe.Here in Alaska, it’s the wild roses, bluebel

Garlic is such a phenomenal bulb that there’s an entire California restaurant devoted to it. The original location is in San Francisco and it’s called, The Stinking Rose: A Garlic Restaurant.I’ve walked past its aromatic do

The first summer I lived in Alaska, my neighbors brought over a bouquet of enormous, lush pink flowers that I had never seen before. Set in vases against the green walls in my home, I could’ve stared at them for hours.I soon learned that peonies (Paeonia

No matter where you live, you can grow aloe vera indoors. But what if you want to plant it out in the garden?If you’re located in USDA

Growing corn is one of the most satisfying things you can do. Few things compare to the feeling of harvesting your own ears from a stalk taller than you, and then eating them that very same day.You won’t be able to wai

Some say the plants in this genus are commonly called the peace lilies because the white spathe of their flowers looks like a flag of surrender.I think the combination of columnar central spadix an

When I first moved to southern California from Montana to attend university, I was amazed by the diverse array of stunning plants: the pink sprays of bougainvillea, the purple flush of jacaranda trees, the orange-tufted, sharp-beaked birds of paradise.It’s uncanny how much this flower resem

Johnny-jump-ups are one of my favorite flowers because they pop up everywhere, placing them among the easiest blooms to grow. They’re determined to flourish.Here’s an example: One year, I grew a container of t

I love those funny jokes about spinach. You know, the ones where people poke fun at the way you can put an entire bag of spinach in a pan to saute, but you’ll only have a teaspoon of the green once it’s done cooking?Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration –

Lacking the sharpness of onion or the aromatic spice of garlic, the shallot somehow takes the best of both of those beloved alliums and blends them into one beautiful, sweet yet savory flavor.This unassuming bulb is used in a variety of cuisines around the world.