#gardening

#gardening

"Back then, we had no idea that it was in the realm of possibility that we would ever be able to get married or civil partnered. When both of us were growing up, homosexuality was illegal."

Peppers are one of the simplest summer veggies to grow at home. Since these warm-season vegetables are fast-growing, versatile, and come in many different varieties, you can add them to almost every summertime meal from salads and sandwiches and pizza.

Grafting is the method through which two different plants from the same species or genus are joined together to grow as one. The resulting plant benefits from the qualities of the two different original plants.

A beer trap is another brilliant way to protect your plants. It may not completely rid your garden of these pests, but it does have benefits. For one, the beer trap traps and drowns slugs. The other is that, in the process, you are enticing them away from crops you want to protect.

The industrious buzz of bees tackling the dregs of cherry blossom was lawnmower-loud, accompanied by back off peeps from blackbirds nesting in the ivy.

Pearl Fryar, who died April 4 at 86, was a Picasso of the garden, a self-taught artist who turned the soil into his canvas and wielded hedge trimmers in lieu of a brush.

Citrus fruits are delicious, fragrant, and packed with vitamins and nutrients, making them versatile for snacking, salads, juicing, cooking, baking, and seasoning.

This crafty upcycling project converts K-Cups into bubbling fountains that are magnetic to these charming creatures. You'll need a solar pump kit, a straw, a plastic shoebox, glue, scissors, skewers, and a soldering iron to put the project together.

"We do gear it toward people who would like to put something in soil, whether that's somebody with a garden or a yard or even with a houseplant. But I can tell you that a lot of people have told me that they don't garden. They may not even have plants, but they listen to the show, and they love it because for them, it's kind of an oasis of positive energy."

The basic idea is that you can use banana peels as fertilizer for your garden simply by soaking them in water for a while and then using the 'tea' to water your garden or houseplants.

Many public libraries, as well as some universities and conservation groups, have seed libraries available for anyone who wants to use them. Libraries will require you to have a valid card, while schools and conservation groups may have different requirements depending on where you are.

Add a cheerful touch to your home with this Faux Peony Bundle from Pottery Barn. You don't need gardening skills, just set it out and enjoy. Each bundle has five blooms in bright spring colors, perfect for indoor spaces. Farmers' Market Herb Live Wreath & Garland Add a pop of color and flair to your front door a fresh look with this decorative wreath from Williams Sonoma.

Cicero, the Roman Stoic, once wrote to his friend Varro, pending a visit to his home: "If you have a garden in your library, we shall have all we want." This same desire for good books and natural beauty is at the heart of Byung-Chul Han's In Praise of the Earth, in which he reflects on gardening as a form of philosophical meditation.

Onions may not be the prettiest vegetable to grow, but they're certainly one of the most useful. Figuring which items you eat most often is the first thing to consider before planting a vegetable garden, and as a fundamental part of soups, sauces, and salads, who couldn't use more of these easy-to-grow alliums? The only tricky part is that location really matters, as different varieties of onions require different day lengths in order to thrive.

Above: This dinner-party-friendly kitchen went wild over on Instagram for a full tour, see Kitchen of the Week: Off-Cut Cabinets Create a Rainbow of Wood in Edinburgh. Photograph by Richard Gaston. Shoppe Object is going on this weekend in NYC; head here for all the details. This Canadian cabin is the surprise star of the month, thanks to Heated Rivalry. Kudos. "Your kitchen objects are filled with feelings": Eager to read this book on "love, loss, and kitchen objects." Ooh, time to paint your stair risers? Our friends at Dosa are part of "The Host, the Guest," an exhibit at Atla in LA; head here for info.

Lots of pressure at this time of year, isn't there? All those pink cheeks and sweaty brows puffing their way around the park in dusted-down trainers; all those Botivo mocktails (delicious, for what it's worth) as we strive to self-improve during one of the most grisly months of the year. I've never really been one for resolutions, nor time-measured sobriety (amazing how having small children deflates one's desire to drink enough to conjure a hangover).

Humans may have invented telescopes that can glimpse outer space, but squirrels gather nuts when they sense winter coming on, and more nuts indicate a harsher season ahead. Such is the ancient wisdom packed into the pages of The Old Farmer's Almanac, which has been in print since 1792 - when George Washington was still President and almost 100 years before Edison patented the light bulb - and today remains the best-selling and longest continuously published periodical in America.

Monty Don has shared dramatic photos of his Herefordshire garden underwater after a storm dumped a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours. The presenter of Gardeners' World reflected on life on a flood plain and the challenges of extreme weather. Despite the disruption, he emphasised gratitude that the flooding affected only his garden and fields, not homes or businesses.

But if your social media feeds are anything like mine an endless stream of fad workouts, meal plans and extravagant skincare routines it's more likely to whip you into an anxious frenzy than leave you feeling calm and relaxed. Whether you have social media anxiety, insomnia or are just terrified by the idea of brain rot, you need a way to de-stress that doesn't involve a screen, especially when many of us stare at one all day for work or school.

I'm glad we're starting to look at historical figures through the lens of neurodivergence (Documentary explores whether JMW Turner may have been neurodivergent, 10 November). But why give JMW Turner the benefit of 21st-century advances in neuroscience and not afford the same courtesy to his mother, Mary, who was believed to have had a psychiatric disorder and would fly into a dangerous temper? This language could have come straight from the admission papers that got her committed to a mental asylum. Jill Metcalfe Bottens, Switzerland

Most of us probably have an auntie or neighbor who deeply loves their garden, and it's easy to view this as a pastime for retired folks, or for those super wholesome types. But, if you ask your neighbor what the appeal is, you may be surprised to learn it's doing something for him that even the busiest and most serious among us could use more of.