May Day :: Make This Your Year to Garden + Awesome News

Happy May Day! I'm thrilled to announce a new garden partnership that I hope will get everyone out in their yards and loving their gardens. As an apartment dweller, I'm always jealous of my friends that have yards while simultaneously befuddled at their lack of interest in making the plantings AWESOME. Too many of you buy a house and stick with the existing landscape & plants - let's switch it up! For the next several weeks, I've aligned myself with Swanson's Nursery in Crown Hill in order to highlight their plant offerings and take advantage of their expertise. I've been shopping at Swanson's for about 14 years now, and they are my most trusted source for both healthy plants and growing information. [Like this brilliant harvesting & pruning tip, here.]

When I first moved into my apartment 14 years ago (yup - same apartment I'm in now!) I was coming from a house fire wherein I lost everything. As in, like……EVERYTHING. Through very generous donations & support from the Red Cross, I managed to cobble together a home. What happens, however, when you're given things versus choosing them is you end up with a lot of hodge podge. I was very grateful for every piece someone gave me (a desk, a dining table, a cheap rug) but my apartment didn't feel like "me". Luckily, the apartment came with an wide balcony and I started dabbling in plants. Back then, I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I wanted a space that smelled amazing and brought me comfort and peace. Swanson's helped me with that and while the house came together slowly, the garden came together quickly and was a cozy place of respite.

All of that is to say, I have a very warm place in my heart for Swanson's and NOW we are working together. Win-win, I say! Feeling blessed.

I'll be posting some pictures and growing information in the coming weeks and branching out a bit from edibles, which is exciting! I definitely don't need help on how best to grow tomatoes, but put a lilac bush or a maple tree in my hands and I'll stare blankly. Keep me posted if you want to learn anything in particular and stay tuned for an update on how to transform your yard! I'm stoked & ready to get growing.