Featured
Why, Yes…Our Backyard Chickens Do Have Names
I shouldn’t find it funny, really…that one of the most common questions people ask about our chickens is “Do they have names?”. Although having chickens as pets is trendy in some circles, it’s still not the norm…so given that most peoples’ context for chickens is what they’re having…
Read More
Easy & Oh-So-Tasty Tomato Pie Recipe
“There are two things in life that money can’t buy…it’s true love and homegrown tomatoes”…that’s according to a song my Aunt KK used to quote. And I think there’s some real truth to that! Money couldn’t…and didn’t buy the true love I found in my Resident…
Read More
How to Make a Scarecrow
The one downside to having a veggie garden is…the critters that come and feast on the vegetables without an invitation! It’s so frustrating going out to find a squirrel dining on the very nice, large, green tomato we’ve been waiting to ripen and dreaming about eating ourselves. And they never say “thank…
Read More
5 Must See Videos That Encourage Outdoor Play
On the heels of last week’s post about designing natural play spaces, I thought I’d follow up with 5 videos that I think, in one way or another, will encourage you to spend more time outside with your kids. Why? Well…because outdoor play is really, really important. Read on…
Read More
Easy Mustard Pickle Recipe…Try It, You’ll Like It!
Cucumbers have always been a staple in our family vegetable garden. I love when Britt uses them in salads of any sort…and when the girls have fancy tea parties with their Mimi, they love making simple cucumber tea sandwiches. And whether we have a surplus of cukes or not, I…
Read More
Hydrangea – Quick Reference Guide
Based on the positive feedback I received from some of my fellow ground redeemers, instead of burying the Quick Reference Guide to Common Landscape Hydrangeas at the end of the post where some folks might miss it…I’m giving it a post all to itself. So if you did miss it and…
Read More
Natural Bug Spray Recipe
It’s the end of August.and I am so fed up with battling mosquitoes. I know they are God’s creation and all…and I know that they have a great purpose in our ecosystem, but they drive. me. crazy!!!!! They steal so much joy out of an otherwise lovely day! …
Read More
Back Yard Triage: 5 Landscape Design Tips to Bring Life to Your Outdoor Spaces
I know…with these hot and humid days we’re still having, you probably don’t want to be outside in your yard for very long. But now is actually the perfect time to think about your yard, because in the fall…which is just around the corner…it will be the perfect time…
Read More
How to Take Care of Your Lawn – pH Testing, Aeration & Overseeding
If you have cool season grass (e.g., fescue, ryegrass, bluegrass, etc.), now is the time that you really need to take those extra measures to ensure a beautiful lawn. And when I say extra measures, I mean those things beyond what most of us think of as the…
Read More
[VIDEO] Introducing…Our Backyard Chickens!
If you’ve been on RYGblog more than once you’ve probably gathered that we are the proud owners of a small flock of backyard chickens …7 of them. And although we do love them because of the eggs they give us every day, we also love them because we consider…
Read More
Rebirth: Our 1960s Ranch House Renovation | Transforming the Front Elevation
Curious about our 1960s ranch house renovation? Well we’ve found that our fellow ground redeemers are … because you’ve asked. We also realized that most of our posts featuring what we’ve done with our outdoor spaces have focused on our back yard … where there’s little evidence of…
Read More
Get Outside & Play! (The Importance of Outdoor Play)
Odds are, if you’ve read even just a few of our posts you’ve gleaned that one of the reasons Britt and I are doing this whole redeem your ground thing is out of our desire to get kids outside to play more…ours, yours, whomevers! A lot of that…
Read More
Tips for Watering Your Lawn
I’m going to take a break from my deeper WHY redeem your ground posts to give you some helpful information on HOW you can redeem your ground. And I mean quite literally…how to best water your lawn. Given that it’s already getting into the mid-80s here, it’s something a…
Read More
The Basics of Amending Your Soil
Last week I posted on the different types of soil…and how clay-heavy soils and sand-heavy soils provide less than ideal growing conditions for your plants. And unfortunately most of us are dealing with one end of that soil spectrum or the other…which requires us to do more than…
Read More
Inspiring Gardens
Sometimes I just want to be inspired by what I see…and not be distracted by someone blathering on about some deep thought or story. So in an attempt to not distract you, I’ll simply include a number of images of gardens that have inspired me. But because I can’t…
Read More
“Slow Down” … by Nichole Nordeman
A dear friend shared this song with me recently and I wanted to share it with you. Although I’m certain that the target audience is moms, I think any parent…mom or dad…or anyone really, could get something out of it (i.e., I’m not turning in my “man card”…
Read More
Our Chicken Coop Design – Front Elevation (Part 2 of 3)
Okay, I lied. I had hoped to finish up writing on our chicken coop design with this post, but I ran out of time and markers…seriously – my gray marker ran out. So today I’m going to focus on the front elevation and next week I’ll wrap it…
Read More
How to Make a Driftwood Candle Holder
Last summer Doug and I found a really cool piece of driftwood that had washed up on shore at my parents’ lake house. It was a really interesting piece of wood…with its unique curves and beautiful grayed, smooth texture. Given that we found it at my parents’ lake house…
Read More
Hydrangeas, Hydrangeas, Hydrangeas! All You’ll Need to Know…for the most part!
We’re big fans of hydrangeas over here at casa de Scott. I mean what’s not to love about them?! They’re easy to grow. Their flowers are huge and come in a wide array of colors…so huge and so colorful that a single flower head can be a flower…
Read More
Lipsmacking Blueberry Spice Pie Recipe
It’s blueberry season again…and with the 4th of July right around the corner I thought I’d share my tasty blueberry spice pie recipe with you. It’s a recipe a dear friend made for us a few years back that has become a Scott Family favorite ever since. And now…
Read More
Father’s Day for the Gardening Dad
Gardening isn’t just a hobby for me – it’s a passion that both stirs me and grounds me…connecting me to nature’s honest rhythms and to what was best about my childhood. This deep love for the outdoors and gardening began when I was a boy… …transplanting perennials from…
Read More
When should I prune my azaleas? NOW…and here’s why & how!
Azaleas form the backbone of my backyard. Mrs. G. G. Gerbing Azaleas to be exact…I probably have over 100 of them. Some people ding azaleas for their short blooming season. But I’m good with that…because when mine are in bloom, my yard looks quite Shangri-La’esque if I…
Read More
Deer-Resistant Plants & Deer-Deterring Tips
Awww … isn’t Bambi cute!?! Well … that is until he and the rest of his family have laid waste to your garden! That’s not so cute! If your yard seems to be a frequent stop along the Deer Garden Tour, you’re in luck … well, relatively speaking.…
Read More