Welcome! Learn More About This Site Gardening Blog

Welcome to Vines Over Matter, a gardening blog to help you relax & learn about our plant friends and their friends.

I hope Vines Over Matter grows like these little radishes did. They surprised me and somehow went to seed in their first year!

Hello! What do we have here?

It’s wonderful to have you here at our very first posting! Whether you are tinkering with the idea of finding a pot or bag of potting soil or corner of a yard and putting your first seed in the ground, or have been doing this for a very long time, I hope we bring information that’s new to you often. Also I hope it helps you enjoy your experience a little more!

There are many practical reasons to garden, but you keep doing it, and love it much more when you can approach it with patience, tried solutions and sometimes just rolling with what comes. Being prepared helps. I hope I can help you reduce some stress that certain garden surprises can evoke in us, and find interest in new plants and approaches that you may not have seen before.

Some important types of posts you’ll find here will be about:

Garden journal and organization
Sustainability
Specific plant tips
Pests and natural deterrents
Seasonal garden plans
Companion plants
Seed Collection
Maintenance of plants, soil and beds
Harvests
Pollinators and other beneficial creatures

Just starting out?

I feel that if you’re new to gardens, it’s important to start with a garden size that you’re comfortable with and not too big at first, because you can ALWAYS add to it once you get the hang of it. Also, a garden is ANY size: a pot on your windowsill, a potting soil bag on your balcony with some herbs planted in the holes, a yard with some flowers in front, a raised bed in back, or 2000 feet to feed your family for a year. What suits YOU?

Next, remember that patience and finding joy in the little things in your garden is key. Some plants will surprise and impress you quickly, and some will struggle, not always from your inexperience at first either. There will always be lessons and every patch of earth and season is different to different plants. You learn and the next endeavor will be better for it. A first home grown tomato or basil leaf can be so exciting! Don’t forget to enjoy yourself and keep a sense of humor when things get interesting.

Already have a green thumb?

Lastly, If you are an experienced gardener, I’m not going to pretend to be an absolute authority here, but I love my garden and researching about plants every day, and I am committed to using very reliable resources for new information. I will be regularly sharing sites that I find to be scientific and invaluable, written by scientists and other garden experts. I hope that when I share what I learn that some real treasures will get passed down to you regularly.