I recently received big news.  Life changing news.  I’m going to be a grandmother.  When my son called me to tell me, I was silent for about 30 seconds.  But my head was spinning, so it could have been more like 30 minutes because I came to with him saying in a concerned voice, "Mom?  MOM?  MOOOOM?!? Are you okay?"  I regained my composure, responded in soothing tones and told him that babies are never bad news.  Of course they’re not.  Unless his/her grandmother lives in a house with almost 250 pounds worth of dogs and two very spoiled cats.  ...

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Back-to-school is in full-swing at the Eller household, which puts Mom a little on edge. Some may make a comparison to a former dictator, but I wouldn’t go that far. In fact, I’ve been making a concerted effort this year to keep all the anxieties that correlate with working full time and having two kids in school at bay.

I even left work with a new attitude one random day. No driving home in my typical clenched-fisted manner; mentally assigning a task to each and every one of those precious minutes between 5:30 (mom gets home) and 8:30 (kids’ ...

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Curing garlic is one of the season’s more pungent chores. I usually place mine outside a window, and every time I pass by, I crave Italian food as the aroma of curing garlic bulbs wafts inside. Curing garlic enhances the bulbs’ storage capabilities, ensuring that some will store long enough to spice up February chili.

To cure garlic, I place bulbs in full sun on plastic nursery trays with perforated bottoms. In warmest parts of the country, you should give the bulbs light shade. The whole process takes up to two weeks. Bulbs are cured when necks are tight and ...

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Some of you have asked, "What is Lowe's Shop Class?"

Shop Class is a fun, FREE, four-week course where you will learn how to build a great woodworking project. This time, due to popular demand, we will be building a storage chest.

Each week, for four weeks, we will post a new video. Your instructor, Keith Flippen, will walk you through each step of the process. Plus, we will have printable instructions to make sure your project is a success!

This is a great way to learn a new skill! The folks who participated in the first Shop Class had ...

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Summer is a glorious gardening season, full of days drenched in life-giving sunshine. Alas, sometimes our garden gets a little too much of a good thing and the plants we love become stressed. That’s when I remind myself of the three W’s.

Water Wisely

When watering, long and slow is the best policy. Water tends to spread out faster than it sinks down into most soils. If you flood your garden beds, you’ll see runoff but the roots more than a few inches below the surface will still be parched. Long and slow watering allows time for water to sink ...

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I’ve become addicted to those 5-pound, 99-cent bags of overripe bananas at the grocery store. I’ve been pureeing bananas in smoothies, baking them in brownies, and slicing them onto cereal. Why am I so infatuated with bananas? Partly, it’s the price. But the real reason I’m sold on these discounted fruits is what they do for my garden. After I munch the fruit, I bury the peels around the base of flowering perennials. Rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous, banana peels deliver a nutrient-laden punch to plant roots.

I bury the whole peel in a shallow hole (maybe an ...

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Every year about mid-June, I scout garden centers for delphiniums. At that point, I can usually find them on discount, and snap up a few to add to the garden. Delphiniums are one of those short-lived bloomers that take a year to come into their own. The old delphinium saying goes like this: “First year grow, second year show, third year throw.” Last year my garden showcased a second-year delphinium that made every visitor gasp. Several compostings the previous year coupled with abundant June rains last year to yield a 5-foot-plus show.

When perennials shoot skyward like the delphinium or ...

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I used to spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning house.  I was certain I would receive a visitor at any moment that would pass judgment over the general filth and disarray in my home.  I’m over that.  I’m older and somewhat wiser with three large dogs and two cats living with me.  The mysterious disapproving visitor never showed up.

These days, when I read magazines that tell me how often I should vacuum in order to keep my allergies at bay and not serve pet hair with my meals, I feel a brief pang of guilt and then ...

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Harvesting basil is the sweet summertime payoff after growing it. I love to gather armfuls of this spicy herb for use indoors. If you’ve got basil growing in your plot, here are four quick tips to maximize your harvest.

Wait until the plant has reached at least ten inches high before making your first cut. For the first harvest, clip stems just above the second set of leaves (counting from the bottom). New stems will form at this juncture, giving you a bushier plant.

Basil will benefit from regular clipping about every two weeks. New leaves have the best flavor. ...

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This month I’ll be preparing my Fort Worth garden for the onslaught of a Texas summer. Time to settle things in with a little extra mulch and make sure the water systems are working.

With temperatures rising my herbs are also preparing for hot weather. As the thermometer goes up, so does the central flower stalk on my cilantro. Leaf production stops as it bolts and sets seed. It’s one of several cool climate plants in the herb garden that won’t survive the coming 100 degree plus weather. Caraway, chervil, and even catnip can show similar behavior.

This ...

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