UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN LIVING UNDER A MOSS-COVERED ROCK IN YOUR PERFECTLY MANICURED, ABUNDANTLY PRODUCTIVE GARDEN, YOU KNOW THAT BACKYARD CHICKENS ARE A “THING.” IT SEEMS LATELY EVERYONE IS BUILDING A CUTE LITTLE COOP IN THEIR BACKYARD TO HOUSE EVERYTHING FROM A SUBURBAN-FRIENDLY TRIO TO A DOZEN HENS OR MORE. AND YOU CAN’T BEAT FRESH EGGS.  […]

Which plant is literally on fire in our Coastal Maine garden right now? Hibiscus ‘Midnight Marvel.’ I admittedly ordered this hardy hibiscus on a whim when we needed to add some more late season color to our new planting beds. It is not a strictly tropical plant (in fact it is hardy to zone 4), […]

I am adding a bunch of berries to my garden, but my berry planting intentions stretch beyond the ordinary strawberry, blueberry, raspberry mix. There are three less common and different things I am interested in – Elderflower (and elderberries), Gooseberry, and blackberry plants, and I am excited about each for a variety of reasons. Fall […]

Coco Chanel is an icon of fashion design being both a symbol of modernism (at least for her time) and classic design.  So, when Susan Cohan challenged me to a garden design mood board throw-down with Coco Chanel as the inspiration, I happily accepted. For this garden, I was inspired by the classic taste of […]

Do you decorate your front porch for the fall or halloween?  Does the autumn decorating spill into the garden?  If you are looking for some super creepy diy halloween inspiration – why not take a cue from classic movies? Like Children of the Corn?  I’ve been researching haunted houses in the area because my daughter […]

I know that visitors to this site and the readers of PITH + VIGOR magazine are a book-loving bunch.   I am too.  As a writer and publisher, I think it is in my DNA to collect and hoard books.  But I do recognize, that not all books are equal.  And, not everyone wants to fill […]

Is your garden an arbitrary stupid goal? The correct answer is yes. I’m looking for a new book to read over the upcoming holiday break.  I want something that lives up to my last read – Tamara Shopsin’s Arbitrary Stupid Goal. Any suggestions? I was drawn to Arbitrary Stupid Goal when Austin Kleon mentioned it […]

If there were a nationwide contest for fall holiday decor,  New England would be the outright-no-questions-asked winner.  This part of the country goes mum-crazy right about now – we plant chrysanthemums like and while its a lovely display of colors that goes rather nicely with all our vibrant trees….I often find myself trying to re-invent […]

I am planning my Christmas dinner.  I happen to have a duck in the freezer and since this Christmas will be a small affair of my husband and my two little people, we are thinking of making one of our favorite dishes.  Cassoulet (filled with delicious meats and the best part – soul nourishing cassoulet […]