Last July I was out in the vegetable garden, when a neighbor gardener approached and asked, “What are you doing?” I responded, “Smashing Mexican bean beetle larvae.” My neighbor gave me a puzzled look, followed by a smirking smile, as if I was committing a gardening no-no. I just had to ask, “You’re not having … Read more
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. “The marigold abroad her leaves doth spread, because the sun and her power is the same,” wrote poet Henry Constable in a 1592 sonnet. The marigold has long been associated with the sun. African marigolds (Tagetes erecta), … Read more
One of the first tricks I ever discovered in the kitchen garden, a trick that has brought me endless joy over the years, is something I like to call marigold magic. That is, saving marigold seeds so that one marigold plant becomes hundreds, then thousands. I first found out about marigold magic back in 2008 … Read more