By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Creating a living, herbal wreath is a great way of welcoming spring and a unique way of getting a jump-start on the growing season.

To begin the process, first acquire the needed supplies.

These include a wire wreath form, spagnham moss, an all-purpose soil with a slow-release fertilizer, fishing line, scissors, a pencil, and assorted potted herbs.

To begin this process, place the wire wreath form on a flat surface with the open side of the wreath facing upward. Begin to line the wreath form with spagnham moss making sure to have a layer of it that falls over the edge of the wreath. This layer will later be pulled up and over the soil to form an envelope.

Once the spagnham moss layer has been laid down, place Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

The other day I was looking through some articles posted on a certain search engine and came upon one that shocked me.

I suppose shocked is not the word but more like oh my gosh.

It was a projection of what we can expect to pay for common items we use everyday in 2015.

These items included bread, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables along with meat. Milk was projected to be $4.00 a gallon while ordinary loaf bread was expected to be around $3.00 a loaf. Fruits and vegetables were anticipated to be slightly higher while meat had a moderate increase depending on the species.

I wonder how in the world are we, as a society, going to handle this increase and then I remembered something. This valuable imperative is part of Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

The gardening season is quickly approaching and many gardeners are planning their garden without taking a soil test.

This can sometimes work out fine if the garden is established, had no problems in the past year and/or was given an annual dose of fertilizer.

If the garden space is going to be new this year or the garden space showed problems, then a soil test is in order.

Home gardeners can do the soil test themselves.

The test requires Read the rest of this entry »

By Reggie Solomon

• Urban Garden Casual welcomes our newest sponsor Identity Links which makes garden promotional products.  We sure wish more companies gave away garden goodies than free pens.

• Check out Fern over at Life on the Balcony to see beautiful photos of her balcony garden.

• With the gardening season beginning, we wanted to encourage you to share your urban garden pics on our Flickr page.  We love seeing your frequent updates to the photo pool on our right-hand menu.

Happy urban gardening!

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Soapwort was used and grown by the early pioneers as a source of soap and detergent.

Today, soapwort is grown as a novelty of times long ago and as a soap source for those allergic to modern-day products.

But how does one grow their own soap?

Soapwort or Saponaria officinalis is a perennial that produces pale pink to white flowers on dark green foliage. It takes 85 days to mature from seed and can be found blooming in midsummer to fall.

This plant grows one to two feet in height and looks great in the flowerbed, rock garden or in a container.

To plant soapwort; prepare the garden soil only when Read the rest of this entry »