Category Archive

Plants & Gardening

These posts cover vegetables, flower gardens, houseplants, and the trails and tribulations associated with them.

Get started with apartment composting

When I was in Seattle for the Offbeat-empire-weekend-of-awesome, I commented to Ariel about how impressed I was at the public compost bins. I’m a big believer that one of the best things we can do for the earth is to compost. Then I casually mentioned that I had ordered a Bokashi composter to try out and she was all “Offbeat Home post?” Then I told Cat and she was all “Yes! Please!” Then we became adults again. I swear.

A double shot of how-tos on hanging gardens

Hanging gardens are SO SO hot right now — and why not? They’re easy, gorgeous, and fit in even the smallest homes. We’ve covered one version of a hanging garden — now you can add two more to your knowledge base.

I won the battle to grow my own food — even though I live on a boat

I’ve always loved food: I was taught to bake from a young age and can whip up a mean Sunday roast or Victoria sponge. I come from a farming family so I’ve always felt aware of where food comes from.

Unfortunately, living on a boat makes growing my own a difficult task — but we’ve finally found a solution.

Make a hanging garden and turn your outdoor space into a fairyland

I cannot tell you what a crush I have on these hanging plants. They look magical and otherworldy, like something you would find if you stumbled upon a pixie’s bedroom in the woods or happened upon the backyard of a really cute Martian.

I finally took the plunge and made them myself, using two beautiful methods.

Join the urban knitting movement and brighten your neighborhood with plant pockets

Having fallen in love with urban knitting, I wanted to follow up my previous adventures with a project my husband and I can work on together. I’m no master knitter, but the world needs more tiny gardens.

Tips from your neighborhood cat lady: the six deadliest plants for your pets

Whether you’re trying to keep your cat from killing a houseplant or you’re deerproofing your garden, most people think of plants as delicate beings in need of defense. But some plants — even common, unsuspicious looking plants — are trying to kill your pet, even if your pet doesn’t munch them.

I love my Woolly Pockets

Say you’ve got a wall that gets nice light – the bright, indirect light that plants love – but you don’t want to hang a planter since hanging planters are still stuck in the ’70s design-wise, or slide over a bookcase just to set a pot down. What do you do? Enter the Woolly Pocket.

How do I keep critters from eating my garden before I can?

Since it’s gardening season, I was hoping for some advice on humane and eco-friendly pest control in the garden.

How on earth do I keep these insane squirrels away from my pumpkins? How do I save my blueberries from the birds? How do I do this without spraying toxins or harming the animals?