Best plants for home garden

It’s January, and time to begin thinking about the best plants for home gardens for the coming year. Here on the West Coast, some areas have a smattering of snow on the ground. The top few inches are frozen this year, and temperatures are hovering close to freezing. The outdoor plants are most likely dormant, regardless of the area or climate zone you live in.

best plants for home garden



Tree pruning

This is a good time to prune shade trees and deciduous shrubs. Thinning a dense canopy on a tree will increase air and sunlight, resulting in fewer disease problems and more vigorous growth. It’s much simpler to see what needs trimming away when the branches are bare. Not sure how to do it yourself? Download this fact sheet for a clear description of different types of tree pruning.

Since there are few outdoor chores to do, this is a good time to begin planning the best plants for the home garden. One of my favorite tasks in January is gathering seed catalogs and reading about new seed choices.


Choose your seed company

If you don’t receive seed catalogs in the mail, you’re missing out on a lot of enjoyment. Curl up in front of the fireplace or in your most comfortable chair with a stack of gardening books and new seed catalogs and start dreaming and planning.

Here are some of my favorite seed companies that offer catalogs. Some of these only have online catalogs, but I always get a lot of enjoyment in leafing through a real paper one.

Seed Savers Exchange has both digital and paper catalogs for their heirloom and open-pollinated seeds.

West Coast Seeds (Online, but you can often pick one up at your local nursery if you’re in the West. They have very detailed information on the plants, and offer organic and heirloom varieties.)

Seeds.ca  (a comprehensive list of seed companies available in Canada)

Johnny’s Selected Seeds  Another top seed company with an e-newsletter.

Annie’s Heirloom Seeds will mail a catalog only to US growers.

Burpee, You can sign up for the Burpee newsletter

Select Seeds and Plants offers a great selection of antique flowers.

Seeds of Change  A good source of certified organic seeds.

Veseys Seeds  You can sign up for an informative newsletter from Veseys.

Many of the seed companies, I’ve included also offer garden tools, propagation supplies, and online detailed growing guides.

It’s time to start exploring, feed your gardening dreams and have fun!


Herbs for Health and Healing best plants for home garden

Harvest the Healing Power of Medicinal Plants with Home Grown Herbs and Simple Remedies for Common Ailments.

Just published on Amazon’s Kindle program, my new book introduces you to the time-tested healing power of common herbs. Writing this has been evolving labor of love for me – hours of fascinating research, distilling, writing, and re-writing.

I started on this journey, to find alternative ways to reduce my husband’s high blood pressure, to treat eczema and rashes, and to rid my body of recurring infections. Along the way, I decided to focus more strongly on how we can grow common herbs and use them to make simple remedies to alleviate ailments.

In this introductory book, Herbs for Health and Healing, you’ll find a short background of historical herbal lore, the benefits of using medicinal herbs, how to grow and prepare your own herbal remedies, and much more.

People just like you and I are turning to more natural and less invasive methods to solve health issues and achieve a vibrant lifestyle.

Did you know pharmaceuticals kill more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association)? Most commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals have extensive lists of side effects that can cause further health problems. Often they lead to another prescription – an escalating challenge to our health.

You owe it to your body to learn how to become healthier in a safer and more natural way.

You’ll Discover:

  • How all cultures have relied on herbal remedies for centuries to treat disease, enhance health and enliven the body.
  • The most common ailments were time-tested herbal remedies can be a healthy and effective option
  • Advantages and risks of herbal remedies – both sides of the equation
  • A complete description of 21 familiar herbs you can grow at home, their healing properties, the best way to prepare them, and the ailments they can alleviate.
  • Detailed directions to prepare different types of herbal remedies for optimum potency and benefit

Why rely solely on artificial drugs (yes, they definitely have their place) when Mother Nature has given us all-natural, economic and safer alternatives?

Herbs for Health and Healing will lead you on  best plants for home garden your journey to growing and using medicinal herbs for enhancing your health and healing.