Bren, a freelance photographer based in the Midwest. Social media #gardenchat guru who is passionate about growing, maintaining, harvesting and preserving food from a 2400 sq/ft traditional vegetable garden. Bren has various gardens through out her country property that included shade/ woodland gardens and developing herbaceous borders in full sun. Website:http://www.bggarden.com
Bren has written 406 articles so far, you can find them below.
While you are out enjoying the amazing spring weather hitting most of the Midwest this weekend be sure to think of gardening in your own space. It doesn’t matter if you have a big space or small space to garden Romaine lettuce is one the easiest veggies to grow this time of year. You can find starter plants of lettuce at most garden centers or I would encourage you to try growing them from seed. I’ve had the best results from Territorial Seed Company Romaine Mix in my garden and greenhouse where I grow lettuce year-round.
In the top image on this blog post I’ve mixed romaine lettuce I grew from seed, Gerbera Daisy from my friends at Costa Farms and Pansies from a local IGC. I love mixing it up because this is what gardening is to me!
Have fun and try growing something to bring to your dinner table this season!
I really love asking people to “Pin Me” …. doesn’t the idea of sticking it to someone make you take a second look at what is being shared on social media? I’m officially inviting you to come “pin” a group of amazing bloggers I just followed Val’s Food and or Art Blog over to Natasha In Oz where I was connected to a group of amazing photo sharing bloggers who love to use Pinterest just like me!
If you are not to Pinterest or perhaps you have not heard of this top social site for 2012 : Everyone is talking about Pinterest, the social “pinning” site used to share just about ANYTHING! It is no surprise that serious bloggers are using this site to connect and get traffic to their domains. The social site Pinterest is different from Google+, Facebook and Twitter sharing because it is ALL about the image and comments are not required to get strike up the conversation. The fact that NO WORDS are required makes this site my favorite because I’m all about the photos! Pinterest members post images of things that interest them to get the social buzz flying. Users can share any topic from any site using social netiquettes. Pinterest is giving us an opportunity to share our interests and find other people who enjoy the same. What a great way to get to know your network but to see what they are posting about beyond their normal niche.
Most of my connections know me as Bren who lives and grows in zone 5b Ohio but I’m also a huge fan of Travel, Food and Art. Pinterest has allowed me to capture all my favorite websites, events and even Twitter contacts all on their own special board I’ve created.
Click Image to Pin Me!
Don’t stop at the follow, like or repin on someone elses board. Take some time and comment on pins and ask questions. Just like any other social media site you need to engage in conversation to get good connections. Be sure to search topics that interest you and let Pinterest users know what you think of their shares. Join existing conversations and share your point of view. Not to contradict what I said in the opening paragraph, Pinterest is a photo sharing site but you have to engage to build your community.
I’m excited to add the Pinning Blogger Logo to my site to encourage others to join in the fun on Pinterest. Sharing the positive things in life giving everyone a voice is what social networking is all about for me and this is a perfect example of how it works!
If you would like to be included in my weekly feature post I just ask that you have one of these cute “I’m a Pinning Blogger” button anywhere on your blog… More Information on Natasha’s Site.
This was our dinner plate tonight and it was super easy to prepare. It started with some mango’s chunks I had in the freezer,fresh sweet peppers and onions all thrown on the grill for about 15-20 minutes. The time it took for me to do a Live Stream of the peaceful evening in the garden hidden behind my house the meal was complete.
Video Live Streamed while I waited for the pork chops to cook up!
Click on the image above for the easy recipe!
Have you tried mango and veggies in a recipe? I’d like to hear from you so please share by posting a comment on my blog.
Summer Garden 2011
Last year was one of the best garden experiences I have ever had in the past 15 plus years of learning how to grow. I’ve gone from planting to make my surroundings look better to growing to put creative food on the table. In the image above you will see some of my favorite raised beds I put together featuring eggplant,over a dozen different tomatoes, herbs, peppers, and lots of annuals.
Yellow Bell Pepper by Burpee Garden
I can’t put in words the amazing feeling you will get when you walk out to your pretty garden to harvest a pepper for next dinner. The image above is the ‘Flavor Burst‘ Pepper I grew last year from Burpee Selects.
Broccoli I Grew From Seed
I totally recommend Broccoli in the garden because it is super easy to grow in any container or raised bed and good for you! The broccoli above growing with chives, and some of my favorite zinnia’s were all grown from seed.
Tomatoes, Herbs,Eggplant and Annuals
Easy to grow and flavor I crave all year round is why you will find many different varieties of tomatoes growing in my garden and raised beds. The image above features the ‘Fourth of July’ tomato by Burpee Selects. In this raised bed you will find many different herbs on the four corners and beautiful annuals lining the border.
Click on Image Above for my Veggie Fajita Recipe
Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone! I’m sharing my Veggie Fajita recipe with you on this blog post. I had two limes that ripe today just in time for the southwest cooking theme. Click on the image above for the complete details. I also hope you will join in the recipe fun by tweeting along on #SundaySupper on Twitter all day on Sunday. Join us this week and Celebrate Spring with Sensational Sunday Supper Recipes and share what’s cooking in your kitchen. We love your recipes, tips and inspiration and love connecting with new friends. The fun starts at 3pm EST and lasts all afternoon until dinner time and sometimes beyond. All you have to do is follow the hashtag #sundaysupper on twitter or follow along on TweetChat. There is always room Around the Family Table.
You can imagine our surprise when when this super skinny box arrived last spring from Stark Bro’s. Desperate to get some apricots from our own garden we were eager to get this sapling planted! We had tried a few different apricot tree varieties but nothing seemed to survive the winter back in our Ohio zone 5 b orchard. I never saw any deer damage thanks to the poop bags we hang from the trees. This variety of fruit just never survived the winters in the orchard which is nestled in the middle of woods sheltered from the wind. Click on the image to the right to see an up close view of the skinny Wilson.
This spring Wilson as sprouted beautiful branches and healthy flowers . We are looking forward to sharing more images and hopefully a few fruits from the harvest in late summer.
I feel like the proud parent showing off baby photos … look how he has grown! Be sure to follow my Wilson updates on Twitter and stop over to Stark Bro’s site to check out the official page with information about this apricot tree.
I really love asking people to “Pin Me” …. doesn’t the idea of sticking it to someone make you take a second look at what is being shared on social media? I’m officially inviting you to come “pin” a group of amazing bloggers I just followed 
