Grow Herbs That Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden

You may already know that hummingbirds are attracted to the color red (orange too), especially when red blossoms have a deep, trumpet or tubular shape.

Herbs That Attract Hummingbirds

Herbs have gourmet fragrance hummingbirds love too. If you enjoy having fast fliers around your patio, deck or garden, make them welcome with a few strong scents and colors they'll appreciate. Hummingbirds aren't

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Lemon Sugar Recipe

Let's talk about sugar for a minute. White granulated sugar tastes plenty sweet, but it doesn't have much flavor. That's one reason flavored sugars are so popular. Pair a favorite flavoring with sugar and you have an ingredient that adds depth to your dishes without extra last-minute effort. It's more than a time saver, too.

Culinary garnishes like flavored sugars, oils and vinegars give you an

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How to Grow St. John's Wort

St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a perennial (zones 4-9) native to Europe but naturalized (and quite a pest) in places as far flung as Canada, South Africa, California, Colorado, Arizona and Australia. It likes sun (but will tolerate partial shade) and thrives in poor soil. Plants grow to about three feet and produce lots of bright, yellow flowers in summer. If you hold the small leaves

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How to Grow Clary Sage

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) is a unique member of the mint family related to common sage. It's a biennial (It flowers and sets seed the second year and then dies back like an annual -- so it has a two year life cycle). It can tolerate some cold, but is only hardy to Zone 6 and possibly protected areas of Zone 5.

Growing Clary Sage

Growing to a height of about three feet, clary sage likes rich

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Pardon My Attitude

I've never been the most optimistic person in the room. If there's a sale, I'm pretty sure the items I want most will be out of stock by the time I make it to the checkout counter. If I sneeze, I start inventorying my stock of herbal teas, and if I'm getting low on gas, like as not it's on a holiday weekend when gas prizes head into the stratosphere. On a good day, I'd claim to be a realist. On a

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How to Make Sage Tea

Sage tea will calm your frazzled nerves, provide relief to aching gums, help heal a sore throat -- and it even offers a reliable reprieve from hot flashes. Making the tea is easy:

Sage Tea Recipe

Pour eight ounces of boiling water over ten large, fresh, sage leaves (or a heaping teaspoon of dried sage). Steep for five minutes and strain.

Sage tea may taste astringent (this is a polite word

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Growing Sage - Sage Advice about a Very Useful Herb

courtesy of Beatlemac @ Stock.xchng
Sage is an old friend. I've grown it for years and know it can take some abuse. This makes it a good plant for a beginner. Common sage ((Salvia officinalis) is a sturdy perennial that will overwinter in the snow, suffer through a blustery spring, withstand 100 degree F days with good grace (if a little temporary wilting) and still come through it all looking

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How to Make a Quick Vanilla Sugar Substitute

You should really try making vanilla sugar with genuine, aromatic vanilla beans, but if you're in a hurry and need some vanilla instilled sugar for a recipe, you can perform some wizardry with vanilla extract. Here how:

Vanilla Sugar Substitute Recipe

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Sprinkle extract on sugar and stir thoroughly.

Spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and air

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Plant Keeping Mistakes Happen

If you've ever planted a potato upside down, cooked a seedling in the sun or neglected a houseplant so completely it looked like a wilted spinach salad, welcome to the wonderful world of plant keeping.

Finding an amazing new plant is like falling in love, there's some initial euphoria before reality sets in -- with its compromise and more than a little trial and error. If you've made a bad call

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