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Continue reading →: Why Fall Is Actually The Best Time To Plant (Stop Waiting For Spring!)Every single year, right around March or April, garden centers turn into absolute circuses. We all get that sudden itch to start digging, rush out to buy flats of perennials, and spend our weekends sweating under the hot sun trying to establish a brand-new garden. But what happens a few…
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Continue reading →: The Joy of Sharing Your Garden With a PetA garden can be a peaceful place all by itself. Add a four-legged companion, though, and somehow the experience changes. I learned this firsthand during the time Phoenix, my husky I used to own, shared my garden with me. Whether I was tending plants, checking what was blooming, pulling weeds…
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Continue reading →: From Roadside Tragedy to Our Garden — Saying Goodbye to Our Rescue HuskyOn a cold, rainy afternoon last October, my family was driving home from a graduation celebration when they saw something that stopped them in their tracks. They made a U-turn. On the side of a busy main road stood a Husky — hovering over another dog who had been struck…
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Continue reading →: Gardening For The Joy It BringsThere are plenty of practical reasons to garden. We grow vegetables to put fresh food on the table. We grow herbs for cooking and teas. We plant flowers for beauty and pollinators. We grow fruit, improve our landscapes, create habitats, and sometimes even increase the value of our homes. But…
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Continue reading →: Not All Bugs Are Bad: A Gardener’s GuideOne of the biggest mistakes new gardeners make is assuming every insect they see is harmful. But a healthy garden is full of life. The trick is learning which visitors are helping and which ones are causing trouble. Let’s walk you through some of the most common beneficial insects, some…
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Continue reading →: Should You Throw Out Old Mulch? (Spoiler Alert: Please Don’t!)Fall cleanup is almost here. You walk out to your flower beds, look down at last year’s mulch, and a familiar question pops into your head: What on earth am I supposed to do with this old mulch? Should I scoop it all out, haul it away, and buy a…
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Continue reading →: 5 Herbs Everyone Should Grow for Health & TeaIf you had just a few herbs growing at home…you could make your own teas, support your health, and connect with your garden in a whole different way. Today, I’m sharing 5 herbs that I believe everyone should grow—especially if you enjoy tea and natural wellness. If you’ve been here…
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Continue reading →: Why Gardening Matters More As We Get Older (And Why I’ll Never Stop)I attended an event recently, and a group of people asked me something that really made me pause… They said— ‘Why are you so into gardening at this stage of your life?’‘Isn’t it messy… tiring… too much on your body?’ And I realized… a lot of people don’t understand what…
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Continue reading →: What’s Eating My Plants? Common Garden Pests ExplainedHave you ever walked out into your garden and noticed holes in your leaves… missing flowers… or plants that looked perfectly fine yesterday but suddenly don’t today? Well, you’re not alone. Today we’re going to discuss some of the most common garden pests, how to spot them, and what you…
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Continue reading →: What My Garden is Teaching MeA garden has a way of teaching us lessons. We didn’t know we needed to learn. Some lessons arrive quietly – in the waiting for a seed to sprout, in tending a plant day after day, or in discovering that something we thought was finished, has found a way to…
Hello,
I’m Valerie
Welcome to Blooms, Herbs & Beyond, where I share what I’m growing, what I’m learning, and the little discoveries that make gardening so rewarding. From herbs and flowers to garden lessons, seasonal finds, and stories from my own backyard, I hope this space feels like a friendly stroll through the garden.
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