advance dental care: March 2011

Seeds and Plants - Which Should You Buy

One classic gardening dilemma involves the amount of time work and money involved in getting plant stock. I don't know about you, but I always want everything. If the big thing this year is fingerling eggplant, I'm there. If a chubby and adorable round zucchini is the cover model for a seed catalog, I'm checking my planting budget to work it in. If the local nursery has a big, healthy catnip

Growing Herbs from Seed

I'm planting seeds this weekend -- corralling them from the garage, office drawers and the freezer. I'm watching the mail for a few new additions, too. It's sooo exciting!

If you're starting seeds this year, give them plenty of room to sprout. This is one of my many failings. I want lots of plants and always crowd my seeds, making it harder to transplant seedlings later. Don't make the

How to Start an Herb Garden - More Tips

If this is your first season growing herbs, learning how to start an herb garden is simple. You really just need three things: good light, soil that drains well and a reliable watering schedule.

If your yard or garden is a mess, or almost nonexistent, there are also some handy cheats.

Tips for Starting an Herb Garden

You can plant a raised bed to circumvent tough soil preparation work.

Starting an Herb Garden

My last post was getting long so this is a two parter. If you missed the previous information on starting an herb garden, you can find it here: Your First Herb Garden

When you install an herb garden in your landscape, these things are important:

If you're buying plants as opposed to seeds, larger is typically better. The one exception is if the roots are so crowded that they're dangling out

Planning Your First Herb Garden

I planted my first herb garden (with mom's help) when the wooden rake handle was still taller than I was. My brother built a mock wishing well out of wood slats that year, and the base was recessed so we could plant annuals in the depression. My herbs would have worked great in that modified planter, but I could barely see over the top, so a slightly raised bed ended up being my first herb

Don't Just Plant a Garden -- Make a Memory

Your kids are watching where you spend your time, whether it looks that way or not. Between play dates and after school activities, teach them about working with their hands in the open air by showing them how to garden. Show them that food doesn't just magically appear in the grocery store.

In twenty years, what are they more likely to remember, an afternoon in front of a video screen -- or a

Home Remedies for Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are nasty, and they seem to be everywhere. I've published some herbal spray solution recipes that will help discourage bedbugs from biting. There are also some maintenance solutions that will help control light infestations.

Bed Bugs Natural Remedies

A heavy infestation of bed bugs will almost always require chemical treatment, either with an over-the-counter pesticide spray or

Stopping by a Stone Angel

Submitted on a lazy Sunday afternoon, a few of my favorite gardening quotes. If you adjusted your clocks forward last night, enjoy the extra hours of sunshine. I know I will:

"Rosemary only grows where the mistress is master." -Anonymous

"Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years." - Anonymous

"Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration." - Lou

Tarragon Mustard Recipe

This simple tarragon mustard makes a tasty dipping sauce for shrimp or fresh vegetables. It also tastes good in chicken salad and potato salad. It's a delicious accompaniment to broiled, fatty fish like salmon too.

Tarragon Mustard Recipe

3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tsp. Red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Finely chopped, fresh tarragon
3/4 C. Mayonnaise (low fat okay)
1/4 C Sour cream (fat free okay)
1/2

How to Make Tarragon Tea

Tarragon tea (French tarragon) is mild and can be relaxing and de-stressing after a difficult day. It can help you sleep. It can also relieve gas, indigestion and may help cure hiccups. It's easy to make, and if you keep a tarragon plant or two on your deck, in your garden or even indoors on a sunny windowsill, you'll have a regular supply of fresh leaves. Be sure to use tarragon fresh, once

Mustard Chicken Tarragon Recipe

The mustard and hint of sugar in this dish makes a tangy sauce that's a perfect foil for chicken breasts. This recipe is baked, so it's naturally low in calories too.

Mustard Chicken Tarragon Recipe

If you're tired of the same old chicken helper or shake and bake for dinner, this recipe will wake up your taste buds.

4 boneless chicken breasts (half breasts about 6 ounces each)
3 Tbs. Dijon

What's a Good Tarragon Substitute?

Dried tarragon doesn't have the flavor or medicinal punch of fresh, so it's always best to freeze fresh leaves at the end of summer. If you've run out of your hoarded stock of fresh frozen tarragon long about February, what should you do? If a favorite chicken or egg recipe calls for tarragon, there is a cheat that can get you through till your plants start sprouting in July.

No, don't try

Medicinal Uses for Tarragon

Tarragon is easy to grow in the garden and has a number of medical uses. The methyl chavicol (estragole) in tarragon doesn't agree with everyone, though, and you shouldn't use tarragon oil or tarragon aromatherapy if you're pregnant. Tarragon used in cooking or in a relaxing tea can promote a sense of wellbeing and help treat:
Stress
Anxiety
Hiccups
Gas
Shock
Indigestion
Loss of appetite
Tarragon

How to Grow Tarragon

Tarragon is one of a core group of go-to herbs that never lets me down. It has a unique flavor that's subtle but distinctive. With a faint hint of licorice -- less than fennel but more than basil -- it's refreshing without being overpowering. It keeps the same old fish, chicken and egg dishes from becoming too repetitive. It adds flavor notes to mustard, buttermilk, mayo and vinegar, so it

Poison Control for Dogs in the Garden

I live in a dog friendly neighborhood. When one of our canine neighbors goes outdoors, I can hear him woofing softly for everyone else to come out and play. Without fail, at least one other mutt will rise to the challenge and con his owner into letting him out where both dogs will commence to barking like crazy. If there are other dogs in their respective yards, it'll become a barkfest of epic

Herbs That Help You Sleep

Don't underestimate the value of a good night's sleep. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has just released a pretty alarming article that suggests that over a third of adults get less sleep than they should. Lack of sleep makes people . . . well, stupid. It affects cognitive skills and physical response times. If you don't want to go through life groggy, slow witted and stumble-footed,

Tomato Garden Tips and Tricks - Take it From the Tomato

A tomato isn't an herb, but I've used more than my fair share of these red juicy globes to flavor and beautify everything from soups to appetizers. If you have an herb garden, chances are that there is going to be a tomato garden on your property this summer too. I won't repeat any basic planting instructions here because you can find them on almost any gardening site. I will offer a few quick

Virtual Tour of Jefferson's Monticello

One catalog I forgot to include in my last post is for Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. They sell seeds online and have an interesting site you should take a few minutes to explore: The Jefferson Monticello

I visited Monticello a few years ago. It was overcast and drizzling, but the grounds were still beautiful. The house itself is a must see (especially the conservatory) if you're ever near