7 February 2018 - Freeze Your Lilies

Lilies of the Valley Bloom Indoors

"Garden shops sometimes offer a few potted pips of lilies of the valley for forcing into bloom indoors at this time of year. If you have a well established bed of these flowers, you can get a similar jump on the blooming season by using your own pips as soon as the ground thaws."

Look at our Homemaker Heroine!

She got that green thumb.

Me?

I got rocks.

My gardening style is more of a Mad Max, desert utopia, it's all dead kind of theme.

I do well with plants that don't need a lot of attention such as a cactus.

Our Almanac today suggests that encouraging blooming is to make sure the pips have enough time in prolonged freezing temperatures.

Like some other plants, these lilies need a good winter rest. And here I thought that freezing was bad for flowers. Really what do I know?

So if you had a mild winter, it is better to bag the pips and digging them up and keep them in the freezer for a few weeks before planting.

Try explaining that to your family.

"No kids! We can't have Bagel Bites. I have to keep my plants in there?"

This is why people always thought their moms be crazy.

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15 February 2018 - The Mustard Mix

This History of Mustard "The delights of mustard as a food accompaniment apparently had been known only a few years before the appearance of the advertisement described in today's historical note." TODAY IN HISTORY On February 15 1768, one Benjamin Jackson advertised in a Philadelphia newspaper that he was "the only mustard manufacturer on the continent. I brought to art with me into the country." Mr. Jackson came to America from London, England. He sold his product labeled in glass bottles. Benjamin Jackson, from the book Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage, was a chocolate and mustard maker. He introduced mustard into his chocolate shop where he also sold other spices and flours. Now the mustard he sold was not like the mustard we have today. He sold bottles labeled "Flour of Mustard" which means that you had to follow the directions on the bottle to mix the powder with hot water to create your condiment. Mustard...

19 March 2018 - Why Woodn't You

Try Putting Up Wallboard? Why Not? "In the spring one tends to think about the sprucing up the home." In the 70's wood paneling was all the rage. Wallboard or as it commonly called today - Decorative Paneling. There are some seriously cute panelings out there today. Typically, when you think of wall paneling, you think of wooden paneling. I have some in my living room and it is very dated. It's so dark that is great for movie nights but mostly it just feels like a room that is sucking the light from your house. I found an article from Houzz that has some modern looks for us in the year 2018. So if you decide to go the way of decorative paneling, please steer clear of the basic stuff, and go for a nice chic modern look!

5 February 2018 - The Christmas Star

Store Poinsettia Soon Did you get one of these flowers for Christmas? If so and you haven't thrown it away or killed it, it is soon time to do something else with it. This Almanac entry is about taking care of that red plant. I don't garden. Let me clarify I can garden. I choose not to. Once upon a time I had a vegetable garden and it was amazing. The best tomatoes, organic produce, crazy long green beans, and some fresh basil. Now when a weed came and destroyed everything and all my hard work was gone I just put my gloves and shovel down exclaiming "I QUIT!" .... If you care to keep your plant around for next Christmas you can follow these instructions here. .... URBAN LEGENDS Now there is a myth that the plant is toxic. There is an urban legend that states a child died from eating the leaves of the plant. In truth the poinsettia isn't toxic enough to kill a person. Eating it can cause an ...

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