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Eye on Life Magazine is a Lifestyle and Literary Magazine. Enjoy articles on gardening, kitchen cooking, poetry, vintage decor, and more.
Many gardeners don’t plant varieties of squash (along with cantaloupe and watermelon) as much as they’d like to, simply because of space considerations. Over the years innovative gardeners have developed their own systems around this garden problem by growing squash vertically. Vertical gardening is certainly nothing new but certainly worth a try if your space for gardening is limited.
Read MoreIt was a confusing proposal. On the day that he asked her to marry him, with tear filled eyes, he promised a better life, a ring, and most important of all (in his mind), the lost squash blossom necklace, that had supposedly once belonged to none other than Napoleon’s Josephine. It was hers, if only she agreed to marry him. Holding it in her hand, she did not see anything unique about the silver and turquoise necklace. It was no different than many that she’d seen in her western state childhood. Still, he seemed so sincere. So, she could not do anything but thank him, as who was she to burst his bubble of generosity?
Read MoreJust like human family trees and genealogy, the plants in different family trees exist because the members on each branch have similar characteristics. Sometimes in genealogy you can truly believe from the evidence you have — that a person belongs in a certain family line, only to find out later they are not related. Historically, the same thing has happened with plant family groupings. New discoveries in plant families are still occurring.
Read MoreThe perfume of fresh corduroy or dotted Swiss material lingers on my mind, whenever I think of genealogy, both of the human kind, and that of plants. As a child, I often sat with my Grama Daisy, who sometimes worked from home as a seamstress while taking care of her three grandchildren. Her ever-quick mind was always studying something, and it was there I got a primer education both as a genealogist and as a horticulturalist. Both endeavors require critical observation and comparison skills.
Read MoreThe thought process with Elizabethan gardens was to make sure that they held the visitor’s interest all year round. So great detail was paid to the patterns of the knotted hedges, fragrances of the plants, and the flowers in season.
Read MoreWith food safety becoming more and more of concern to many of us, along with the very high cost of food, many of us a turning back the clock and revisiting the concepts of urban gardens. However, some people don’t have enough room to grow their own, and that’s where community mini farms, rent-a-gardener, rent-a-farmer, raised bed gardens, patio container gardens, and the new square foot gardens (a spin-off of the previously well-known square foot gardens of the past) — all deserve a closer look to see if they are right for your urban garden design.
Read MoreI think right now, in our current uncertain financial times — many of us don’t have the time, patience, or the land to achieve such an edible forest. Maybe we can’t garden in a forest, but to a certain extent, we can garden like a forest, on smaller scales. Happily there are many alternatives that can keep the Allosaurus from eating our modern day food budget, and the Quetzalcoatlus from darkening our skies — and that’s what I’d like to share today.
Read MoreToday, just about everyone is looking for ways to reduce their expenses, yet almost four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon wrote in his An Essay of Gardens (1625) one answer to a substantial savings to most Americans, one that lays right in your front yard.
Read MoreThere are certain undeniable foundations to a lot of things in life. For example: A good education is a good foundation for a successful life. Certainly a good foundation is necessary to every building. Likewise, in the garden good soil makes a good garden, and so does a good lawn need a good lawn sprinkler system or lawn irrigation system.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that world-wide, honey bees are in trouble. I’ve written a good bit about honey bees elsewhere on the Internet in the past, mostly because saving the honeybee is important to me and should be to everyone else — unless you plan on starving. They are in danger and need our help. One way to help them is for each of us to do our part in providing plants and a proper environment for honey bees, by planting a honey bee garden, no matter how small or space may be.
Read MoreRoman Herb Gardens are great for a sunny courtyard. Imagine terra-cotta pots, formal raised beds, a vine covered pergola, water fountains or features, mosaic tile, and stately garden status. To my way of thinking that sounds pretty good to me.
Read MoreFor the last few weeks we’ve been quite proud of the heirloom plants that are growing in upside down containers on our front porch. It seemed like every morning we’d awake to new evidence of their growth and vitality. However, this morning, quite the opposite has occurred. For whatever reason, they are now showing signs of stress and struggle.
Read MoreCertainly all flowers did once grow wild — and all animals, too. There are certain kinds of flowers and animals which men have developed by choosing the kind of thing they wanted and leaving the rest, and so gradually getting such things as the garden rose, the different breeds of dogs, and so on.
Read MoreHere you'll find descriptions of some of the more common wild flowers of the region, and the descriptions and pictures will enable you to know them when you find them. Here are some of my favorite wild flowers in our Pacific Coast states!
Read MoreFor many of us there has never been a time when we have had more opportunity to share the joy of spring with the entire world as we do now, thanks to the Internet and digital easy-to-use cameras. If you have a garden you want to share it. Can’t pick them a bouquet, maybe circumstances prevent you from even growing your own garden — yet you see the most exquisite flower, and you wish everyone you know could see it. Well, now is your chance, just seize your camera and the world becomes one big bouquet.
Read MoreIn my opinion, as a gardener, you haven’t grown anything unless you’ve grown your own caffeine fixes. Yes, I’m talking about growing your own tea (I’ll tell you about growing your own coffee later). Growing tea is something that virtually anyone, anywhere, can grow as the plants can be grown indoors as house plants, on balconies, in just about any climate.
Read MoreIn the wild, certain colors of roses are natural, such as white, red, yellow, pink, and variations of those colors occur naturally. However, even in Roman times, roses were hybridized to achieve certain desired colors and types of blooms. Thanks to hybridizing, with the exception of the elusive blue rose, mankind and womankind has largely succeeded in achieving roses of many hues, which brings me to the subject of orange roses.
Read MoreToday, we still have the Pecan, the largest of the Hickory tree clan, that would lead our nut-bearing trees in any such contest, and with some very good reasons. More than anything, it owes its fame and longevity to the excellent food quality of its nuts, an important crop in those areas where they are still commercially produced.
Read MoreLast night I had a garden variety of nightmare. I’d lost something so rare and valuable out in my garden, that I am afraid it’s gone forever. It all started when visions of spring time apple blossoms disappeared.
Read MoreOf the desert blooms, my memories are long and clear, no matter how many years it is between visits. I am particularly fond of prickly pear cactus, ordinary yucca, Joshua Tree, and the Desert Mariposa Lily. I no longer live anywhere near the desert, but I will always have a soft spot for each of these wonderful examples of nature.
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