Gardening and Urban Homestead

Jan 23 min read

Plan Next Year's Garden

Planning your garden for next year might feel overwhelming, but it can be a fun and rewarding process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to...

Dec 12, 20244 min read

Back to Baking: Introduction

I used to LOVE baking. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood are of baking with my Great Grandmother.

Dec 10, 20242 min read

Book Review: The Haar by David Sodergren

This has to be one of the most unique novels I have read, blending a huge amount of horror and gore with a gut wrenching horror story that h

Getting more comfortable in my kitchen. Drying flowers and herbs, experimenting with new garden to table recipes, all the while drinking home grown chamomile tea.
Pictured is my latest harvest of marigolds cleaned and laid out to dry. Chamomile tea is brewing.
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#abundance
#chammomile #teagarden #TeaAndPlants #marigold #herbdrying #gardenrecipes #homesteadlife #homemaking #tradwife #harvest #gardens #witchykitchen #witchyvibes #brazilphilodendron

Freshly cleaned glassware that I thrifted today. #blessed And some of the herbs I'm planning to store in them! #witchyvibes #witchykitchen #gardenlife #gardening #glassware #vintageglassware #homesteadlife #thriftstorefinds #thrift

Been feeling a closeness with my Great Grandmother recently. She is one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to trying to incorporate my garden veg into day to day meals. Grandma Great was famous for making a feast out of literally nothing. #depressioneraskills
She would always encourage me to just try. I might make something bad, sure, but I will have made SOMETHING. And she would have been the first to roast me if this patty pan pasta turned out bad. 🤣
But trust me when I say I would have made her proud with this one.
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#gardenrecipes #pattypan #homesteadlife #homemaking #missingyou #SlowLiving #slowlife #gardenveggies #foodphotography #whatieatinaday #eatdelicious

Patty pan squash are coming in fast now alongside he cucumbers. Im always in awe of what nature can provide all from one little seed. #gardening is #abundance
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#homesteadlife #tradwife #garden #urbanhomestead #harvest

Garden harvests got me feeling #blessed
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#abundance #gardening #harvest #homemaking #gardenlife #homesteadlife #tradwife

Abundance.
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#abundance #grateful #letseat #garden #homesteadlife #harvesting

I am not obsessed with #lemonshakeups you are.
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#lemon #lemonshakeup #notanenergydrink #homemade #beverages

Nasturtium chips in the making. Much like kale chips these leaves make a crispy, salt and savory alternative to traditional potato chips. They turned out fantastic, though don't look quite as pretty when cooked. The kids ate them up as well which is always amazing. Getting vegetables of any form in a kids diet is a struggle.
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#garden
#gardenrecipes #homesteading #newrecipe #nasturtium #nasturtiumchips #vegetablegarden #mytable #homesteadingrecipes

Fresh raspberry leaf tea. This is a first for me.

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#raspberryleaftea #homemade #homesteadlife #teablogger #teagarden #raspberry #ladytea

POV you find a stick in your yard that you love. No one sees your vision but the end result justifies the two years of yard bleaching.

#diyprojects #diyhomedecor #diyherbs #diyherbgardens #dryingherbs #witchykitchen #kitchenwitch #naturelover #naturecrafts

Getting ready to tie these up to dry.
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#rosemary #lavender #chammomile #mint #raspberryleaves #teatime #teablends #teablogger #herbdrying #herbgarden #teagarden

For some reason the one thing I struggle to grow most is floral. Literally any kind of flowers. So excuse me while I gush at the ones I've managed to keep alive.
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#gardening #homesteadlife #homemaking #cuttinggarden #flowerpower #flowersgarden #marigold #GreenThumbLife

After a long bout of heat it finally stormed today, cooling off the earth. Thunderstorms always give me the cozy vibes which means tea blend experiments.
#cozy #TeaAndPlants #teatime #tealover #homemaking #homesteadlife #teaparty

Take that you rascally rabbits!

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#rabbits #gardenlife #urbanhomestead #chaosgardening

Look what's growing...

#rose #flowergarden #homemaking #homesteadlife #lookwhatsgrowing #hergarden

First flower off of my favorite rose bush. Look at that color!

#rose #homesteadlife #cuttinggarden #flowerphotography #flowergarden #firerose #gardenlife

She's waking up, and she's gorgeous!

#summerhygge #rose #homesteadlife #cuttinggarden #gorgeous

Second bouquet out of my porch cutting garden. #snapdragons are making their debut. Enjoying having so much life, beauty and abundance just outside my door. Now if I can get the garden gnomes to stop uprooting my bush bean seeds. 😒
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#cuttinggarden #bouquet #flowergarden #smallhome #urbanhomestead #SlowLiving #beautiful #daisy #bluebutton #hygge #summervibes #summerhygge

Spring office vibes. Around here we hide our lack of cable management with plants and flowers. #howwouldtheyknow 🤫
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#springsummer #springstyle #officespace #deskplants #skullplanter #moneybowl #neonpothos #daisy #workingfromhome #workingmoms #SlowLiving #slowlife #itsthelittlethings #urbanhomestead #PlantLove #cottagecore

#plantshopping #succulents hunting for #lithops #happyplace

April showers bring May flowers!! First small bouquet from our flower garden and I am in LOVE. I didn't pick a wide variety of color but complimenting color and care. Cannot begin to explain the joy fresh cut flowers on my desk brings. #itsthelittlethingsinlife
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#itsthelittlethings #freshflowerbouquet #freshflowers #cuttinggarden #SlowLiving #slowlife #homesteadlife #urbanhomestead #selfsufficiency #selflove #selfcare #flowerphotography #flowerpower #happyhippyheart

Blueberry muffin and ice cold lemonade. Breakfast of champions. Got the garden ready for planting and now I'll settle in with my sweet treats and have a harry potter marathon until the weekend. I've earned it. Lol
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#slowlife #SlowLiving #blueberrymuffins #homesteadlife #homemade #lemonade #cozy #summervibes #sweettooth #chillin #blueberries #muffin #bakersgonnabake #grandmacore #grandmaaesthetic

Nothing quite say summer to me like a lemon shakeup.Thisyear i finally figured out a recipe that tastes like the real deal and it's giving me all the carnival night vibes my little heart can ask for. 🍋🎡🎢🎠🎪
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#newrecipe #carnival #townfair #lemonshakeup #goodvibes #SlowLiving #slowlife #homemaker #homemaking #homesteadlife #whenlifegivesyoulemons🍋

I have been talking about these peach trees since February. Finally having them in the ground marks a really important moment for me. Recently I've been pulled in the direction of more self reliance and growing my own food.
I mentioned the trees to my coworkers who immediately asked how long it would take to bear fruit. They were flabbergasted that I would plant a tree that may very well take two years to bear fruit.
The experience was trippy. Before I knew it, I had stepped outside my peer group. I was confused. Two years of care for years and years of fruit I could share with friends and family, preserve, and bake with. The prospect of that, especially with the rising cost of food, just makes sense to me.
It speaks volumes of our need it now culture. Delayed gratification isn't a thing anymore when the world is at your fingertips.
So call me crazy but I'm over the moon about these little peach trees. And though I enjoy gardening already, that first bite of the first ripe and juicy peach will make all the work so, so worth it.

What, if anything, new are you planting this year? What gardening experiment has you excited for this growing season? Tell me in the comments so I can find my tribe of hyped up garden enthusiasts! 💚
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#peachtrees #peachtree #dwarffruittrees #growingseason #planting #homesteadlife #delayedgratification #gardenlife #gardening #gardens #foodforest #GreenThumbLife #slowlife #SlowLiving #cozy #plantcommunity #selfsufficiency #personalgrowth #victorygarden #growyourownfood🌱 #growyourown

THE WAIT IS OVER.
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#spring #gardenlife #plantstarts

The world has become more and more overwhelming to me. I find more often the things I used to like no longer fit into my life. For about a year I felt a pull towards something else. The vinyl figures I used to hunt for, the character purses I collected all of it just seemed to grow more and more overwhelming.
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Shopping became a pass time. And I'd have nothing to show for it except an empty bank account and no explanation for where it all went. And slowly but surely my values began to shift.
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I came back to plantcare. A hobby that gave back the work I put in. And from there a vegetable garden. Then food preservation. I began decluttering o make space for my canning supplies and uncovered my old sewing machine and crochet hooks.
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There it was. What I had been missing. I no longer want o consume, at least not at the rate I was going before. I want to create. Bake a pie, crochet an alligator for my newborn niece, care for peach trees so they will give enough fruit for us to share. All the vintage skills. Old world ways that I was too busy to learn from my ancestors. Which brings be to this owl.
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My great grandmother could make a meal out of anything. A skill she likely had to learn through the depression. But it was a running joke in our family. She would have pickles ketchup and maple syrup in the fridge and bring the most delicious meal out piping hot, and I'm still not convinced it wasn't magic. This owl was one of her collection. Owls given to all of us grand and great grand children to watch over us.
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I keep her owl on my kitchen windowsile hoping that she will impart her wisdom and guide me in the kitchen. I wish I had, had more time with her. Took the time to learn skills she had gained through a long life. But as I learn by making old family recipes, the owl will watch over me. And burnt cookies will forever trigger the most fond memories.
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#memories #ancestors #vintageskills #greatgrandma #owl #nostalgia #life #cooking #burntcookies #mourn #missyou #missingyou #homemaking #homemaker #childhoodmemories

My two oldest plants side by side. "Grandaddy" Golden Pothos and Snake plant. These gentlemen are absolute survivors of my worst plant care moments. I used to kill anything and everything and it took several years to grow my knowledge of plants and plant care to what it is now.
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So while I wait for the last frost date to finally come, I want to shout out the real MVPs in my plant collection. Thank you both for teaching how not to kill all everything on contact.
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#goldenpothos #pothos #plantcommunity #plants #GreenThumbLife #blackthumb #snakeplant #oldestplant #homesteadlife #cozy #urbanhomestead #gardening #whimsygoth #plantcollector #plantcareisselfcare #plantcollection

A little late night baking by candlelight. A chocolate aroma spreads through our small cottage home, blanketing the dreams of sleeping children in sugar and warmth. I have been so excited for spring the past few weeks. But it's nights like these, nights that force you to slow down, remind me of why winter is my second favorite season.

#baking #brownies #cozy #hygge #SlowLiving #slowlife #tradwife #homemaking #homemaker #candlelight #candlelightbaking #nighttimebaking #bakersgonnabake #cozyhome #bakebrownies #homesteadlife #urbanhomestead #livingwithintention #fromscratch

#PlantParadise #PlantLove #GreenhouseWanderlust #GreenhouseDreams #gardening #paradise

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“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

a small wooden table laid out with a modest but luxurious afternoon tea, the table is nea

Bio

Hey there, plant lovers! I'm Alyssa Kessinger, your go-to source for all things houseplants, home and whimsical content.
With a passion for horticulture and a love for all things green, I've dedicated myself to learning the ins and outs of plant care, styling, and the benefits they bring to our lives. Whether you're a seasoned plant parent or just starting your green journey, I'm here to be your gardening confidante and guide you along the way.
Let's get our hands dirty, grow together, and create a little slice of paradise right in our own homes. Contact me to share your plant stories and questions. I'm truly thankful for each and every one of you, and I can't wait to connect with you soon!
With love and green thumbs, Alyssa Kessinger

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Feel free to reach out with any inquiries, questions, or stories you'd like to share. I'm here to assist you with all things related to plants and gardening. Looking forward to connecting with you soon!