Our dependable, venerable, 20-year-old Kenmore clothes washer suddenly quit mid-cycle. It threw a breaker in the process, leaving us with a tub full of water and soggy clothes. But I scored a "win" when an easy DIY repair fixed my washing machine!

Yes, I love to pull weeds. And I’m not afraid to admit it. Some of you will judge me. I can hear it already. “You love to pull weeds? You must be insane. That’s what Roundup is for.” Well, there’s no better way to remove weeds from a garden than to pull the weeds out, roots and all. I will save the discussion of using poisons in the yard where kids and pets play for another story. Even if you agree…

I’ve been asked many times about my favorite houseplants and where my love of houseplants began. It all began in my childhood while growing up in a rural area. My three brothers and I were immersed in nature. So, nature was our playground and trees were our jungle gym. I also worked in the vegetable garden with my mom and dad, which was huge because the garden was feeding six people. The combination of a…

I knew my job as Garden Editor at Mother Earth News was about to end. The magazine had been sold, and the offices were moving out of state. I had no idea I was about to learn gardening lessons that would teach me a lot about life. What should I do now? I was driving the last stretch of road before I reached my rural home when it came to me. “I can’t compete with all the how-to garden magazines out…

No one is born an expert—in foraging for wild foods or anything else. We learn by doing, and along the way we make mistakes. Here are five life lessons Ellen Zachos learned from foraging for wild foods.

Garden failure is a harsh reality. But every garden failure offers a chance to learn, to grow, and to become a better gardener.