Brava

May 2014

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26 BRAVA MAGAZINE | MAY 2014 THRIVE DWELL BUY LOCAL: Head to the farmers' market and hunt for veggie seedlings. Local farmers sell varieties tested in their own fields and know which plants perform well in our climate. QUICK TIPS GET GROWING GROW WHAT YOU NEED: If you eat salads often, grow lettuce, spinach and radishes. If your kids love pasta, grow basil for pesto and tomatoes for sauce. If you treat yourself to a fresh bouquet each week plant flowers to fill your home. KEEP IT EASY: Focus on vegetables that are tougher to kill like basil, kale, garlic, lettuce, radish and bush beans. For flowers, consult with local greenhouses to find out which ones are low maintenance and have long bloom times. SAVE THE DATE KICK OFF A VIBRANT SEASON GROW LIKE A PRO Megan Cain, owner of the Creative Vegetable Gardener, will teach you how to reap a harvest worthy of a farmers' market, whether in your backyard plot or on a sunny windowsill. May 3. 10 a.m. American Family DreamBank, Madison. Amfam.com/dreambank. LEAF MULCH SALES Bag a bounty of locally made mulch to use in your yard to reduce weeds, cut down on watering, add nutrients to the soil, regulate soil temperature and more. Mulch in the sale is collected by the City of Madison and recycles local leaves. May 3, 17, 22 and 23. Times vary. Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison. olbrich.org. DREAM BIG Learn to feed your body and soul at a workshop on creative gardening. Megan Cain's photo-illustrated session will help you take your garden to the next level. May 29. 6:30 p.m. American Family Dream- Bank, Madison. Amfam.com/dreambank. MIX IT UP Lay the seeds for added interest (and a bigger bounty) in your garden this season with this simple strategy: Mix flowers in with veggies. Flowers attract beneficial insects and add color to the mostly green palette of a vegetable garden. Your best bet includes summer blooming flowers like Lady in Red salvia, State Fair zinnia and Prairie Sun rudbeckia, which will bloom until frost. Then as the garden turns brown in late summer these flowers will keep going strong. In general, flowers look especially pretty mixed with kale, cabbage, lettuces and basil. –Megan Cain GARDENING

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