Author name: Marylena

We all receive gifts from time to time, usually around the holidays or birthdays. But sometimes we get gifts at random times, like when friends come to our house for dinner with a scrumptious homemade cocktail mix that leaves us regretting life the next morning or with a mouthwatering chocolate bar from a country where […]

This morning, my nature-loving little boy invited me to come see a grasshopper he caught. This was a big deal because it had taken him a couple days to achieve this task, one he usually finds quite easy. Although I wanted to share in his triumph, I had to respond with “I’m sorry honey, I’m

My vegetable garden and I weren’t on talking terms this summer. Coming and going, I’d give it the side glance, occasionally noticing something bright to pick. Usually though, my son found the ripe fruits ready for picking. Indignantly, the plants thrived little less than usual as a result of the compost I’d laid heavily in

Earlier this spring, I told myself I wouldn’t start any new projects outside because I wanted to spend time with my family and develop my website. Somehow I just couldn’t fight the urge to create more vegetable beds so my son could have his own garden and I would have room for squash and pumpkins.

One of my favorite children’s books is “The Turnip,” an old Russian folktale illustrated by Pierr Morgan. An enormous turnip grows in the field and Dedoushka, a portly farmer, can’t pull it up from the ground. He solicits help from the whole family including the pets. I love imitating the voices of Baboushka, Mashenka,and Keska, the

1. Use the handle of garden tool to push a hole three inches deep in rich, loose, soil. 2. Plant individual cloves, pointy side up. Larger cloves from locally sourced bulbs are best. ​ 3. Fill holes with rich compost. 4. Collect dry fallen leaves and shred with a mower. 5. Cover compost with a