Plants
Forget what you’ve heard about bush medicine being a “just look it up and go” kind of skill. In reality, learning to safely identify Australian medicinal plants is as much about slow, methodical practice—and a few humbling mistakes—as it is about any guidebook. I’ve been out
Lifestyle
Nothing matches the thrill of stepping outside, foraging for a wild bush herb, and turning a handful of leaves into your own bottle of potent, healing medicine. I remember the first time I tried it—fumbling with stalks of lemon myrtle in my grandmother’s kitchen, sticky with sap and
Lifestyle
Multiplying Creeping Jenny: Ignore the “Easy” Advice and Try This Instead Let’s get honest—most guides on propagating Creeping Jenny read like a quick recipe card: snip, stick in water or soil, and voila! But if you’ve ever wound up babysitting a half-rotted stem or watched your “easy”
Houseplants
Picture this: It’s early morning, and you’re standing ankle-deep in muck. Your boots are soaked, dragonflies buzz your hat, and somewhere nearby a red-winged blackbird lets out its “conk-la-reeeee!” from a wobbling cattail stalk. This isn’t some abstract ecosystem—this is right now. And with every step
Long before “spa water” made its debut on wellness blogs—before influencers lined up their perfectly sliced citrus—I found myself standing in a sweltering kitchen, glass pitcher in hand, desperate for something cold that wasn’t just…water. The fancy recipes I stumbled across online all seemed to require
Plants
Minimalist Plant Decor: The Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide for a Calm, Clutter-Free Space If you’ve ever stared at your living room and felt that uneasy tension—too much stuff, not enough calm—or lined up three “trendy” houseplants only to end up with a vibe that’s more scattered than
Plants
The Storyteller’s Companion Planting Calendar: Your Year-Round Guide Rooted in Real Gardens Introduction: Why Timing Trumps Tradition Back in spring 2017, I found myself kneeling in patchy, half-frozen soil, clutching three seed packets—peas, carrots, radishes. My neighbor Sally peeked over the fence with a smirk. “You’re not
Plants Care
Mistakes Everyone Makes About EMF-Absorbing Plants (But No One Admits Out Loud) Let’s get real for a minute. The first time someone suggested I put a cactus next to my Wi-Fi router "to soak up all that bad energy," I stared at them, then at the cactus,
Root stimulation hormones have a reputation for being a gardener’s secret weapon—but it’s only after running real-world side-by-side experiments that you learn their true value. Years ago, I set out to quantify just how much of a difference these products could make, using over a dozen batches
Plants Care
No one ever forgets their first quarantine lesson. Mine came in 2011—the year I scored a nearly flawless variegated pothos straight off the back of a delivery truck. It looked perfect at checkout, but by week two, I was plucking tiny thrips out of crevices with tweezers under my
Plants
Let’s get honest about Jatropha (coral plant) care indoors—because while the basics are everywhere, nobody warns you about the little traps that trip up even dedicated plant lovers. I learned most of these lessons the hard way, so save yourself some grief: here’s what everyone gets wrong
DIY
The first time I pruned a leggy plant, I hovered over my pothos with kitchen scissors so dull they could barely slice through a green bean. My heart thudded in my ears. “What if I chop too much?” I muttered. My partner, passing by, peered at the plant and shrugged: