Laura Bennett

Fresh blueberries picked from your own garden are in a completely different league from store-bought. They are sweeter, more flavorful, and you can eat them warm from the bush, which is honestly one of the greatest simple pleasures in life. And the best part? Blueberry bushes are beautiful — they have delicate white spring flowers, … Read more

I used to spend forty minutes every evening hand-watering my raised beds with a hose, trying to remember which bed I had already soaked and which one I had skipped. On vacation weeks I would come home to wilted tomatoes and crispy lettuce. The day I installed drip irrigation was the day gardening stopped feeling … Read more

Rosemary is one of the most useful herbs in any kitchen — it adds incredible flavor to roasted meats, potatoes, bread, and Mediterranean dishes. And the best part is that you can grow unlimited rosemary plants for free by taking cuttings from an existing plant. Propagating rosemary from cuttings is surprisingly easy and has a … Read more

Mint is the herb that every gardener loves and every gardener fears in equal measure. It tastes incredible, smells amazing, grows effortlessly — and will absolutely take over your entire garden if you let it. Those innocent-looking little mint plants send underground runners in every direction, popping up between your tomatoes, through your flower bed, … Read more

Every spring I watch gardeners reach for chemical pesticides at the first sign of a nibbled leaf, and every time I want to gently take the bottle from their hands and say: there is a better way. I have been gardening without synthetic chemicals for years, and my garden is healthier, more productive, and more … Read more

The first flower bed I ever planted looked amazing for exactly two weeks. I had filled it with tulips and daffodils, and when they bloomed together in April it was stunning. Then they all faded at the same time, and I spent the next five months staring at a bed of wilting leaves and bare … Read more

You do not have to live in California or Florida to grow lemons. A lemon tree in a pot can thrive anywhere — you just bring it indoors when temperatures drop. The Meyer lemon in particular is perfectly suited to container life: it stays compact, produces abundantly, and the scent of lemon blossoms in your … Read more

A cottage garden is the kind of garden that looks like it has been there forever — overflowing with flowers, slightly wild, impossibly romantic, and full of happy surprises around every corner. It is the antidote to rigid, perfectly manicured landscaping, and I genuinely believe it is the most joyful style of garden you can … Read more

My first garden was ten feet wide and six feet deep, and I was determined to grow everything. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peas, squash — I crammed it all in shoulder to shoulder. By July the whole thing was a tangled mess. Cucumbers sprawled into the tomatoes, bean vines strangled the pea plants, and I could … Read more

Basil is the herb that every cook needs and every gardener should grow. A single basil plant can produce enough fresh leaves for weekly pasta, salads, and homemade pesto all summer long — and it is one of the simplest herbs to grow whether you have a full garden, a sunny windowsill, or just a … Read more