Margaret Any 
I can’t help but smile when I see young plant enthusiasts posting photos of Snake Plants and calling them “trendy.” I’ve been growing these beauties in my kitchen for forty-three years. The Weeping Fig in my living room is older than my youngest grandson. When I started keeping houseplants in the early 1970s, these were … Read more
I’ll never forget the spring I learned to really watch my houseplants. I’d been caring for indoor greenery for twenty years already, but I was still treating them the same way all year round—same watering schedule, same spot by the window, same everything. Then one March, I noticed my pothos putting out three new leaves … Read more
Every February, I walk through my sunroom and feel a little pang of guilt. My houseplants—those faithful companions that brightened the darkest December days—are looking decidedly tired. Yellowing leaves here, leggy growth there, and that beautiful monstera I was so proud of? Well, it’s looking a bit sorry for itself. After fifty years of growing … Read more
They’re calling it “plant maximalism” now, as if it’s some revolutionary new idea. I had to laugh when I read that article. I’ve been cramming plants into every corner of my home for forty-five years, long before anyone put a fancy name on it. My daughters used to joke that you couldn’t set down a … Read more
When I converted my vegetable garden to no-dig methods twelve years ago, I thought I’d discovered the perfect solution to decades of back-breaking spring preparation. The concept seemed foolproof: layer cardboard and compost, plant directly, and watch everything thrive without ever turning a shovel. Reality proved more complicated. Within weeks, I faced weeds pushing through … Read more
I spent my first twenty years of gardening turning soil like my life depended on it. Every spring, out came the tiller, and I’d churn up my beds until the earth was fluffy and fine. I thought I was doing everything right. Then my back started protesting, I noticed my earthworm population declining, and a … Read more
There’s something deeply satisfying about feeding your garden with fertilizers you’ve brewed yourself—watching weeds and scraps transform into potent plant food costs almost nothing and works beautifully. I keep several batches fermenting throughout the growing season, and my plants respond with lush growth that store-bought fertilizers never quite matched. Yes, some of these concoctions smell … Read more
I spent my first ten years of gardening guessing what my soil needed, throwing amendments around like confetti and hoping something would work. Some years plants thrived, other years they limped along, and I never quite knew why. Then a fellow gardener convinced me to get a soil test, and it was like someone finally … Read more
Your plants are talking to you every single day—through their leaves, their growth rate, even the creatures living in the soil around their roots. After decades of reading these signals, I’ve learned that most garden problems aren’t really about the plants at all. They’re about what’s happening underground. Healthy soil grows healthy plants almost effortlessly, … Read more
Every garden situation presents unique soil challenges, and I’ve worked with just about all of them over the decades—from rock-hard clay that rang like concrete when struck with a shovel to sandy ground that couldn’t hold water for more than an hour. The wonderful truth is that almost any soil can be transformed into productive … Read more