Would it surprise you to learn that scientists at the University of Idaho have done extensive research on proper potato storage? We're talking a shelf life of up to three months in a properly outfitted pantry:

Above: A Pine Wood Potato Rack extends shelf life by allowing air circulation; it's 94€ from Manufactum.

Why is air circulation important? "Since potatoes are living organisms, they 'respire' or produce carbon dioxide, so allow some air circulation around your potatoes," researchers in Idaho  recommend. And they should know; Idaho is the nation's top potato-producing state, with 14.3 billion pounds grown in 2012.

Above: The German-built potato rack will hold up to 110 pounds of potatoes. It is made of untreated pine; assembly is required.

Store potatoes in a cool dark pantry—preferable at a temperature of 45 degrees. At warmer temperatures, they will sprout sooner.

Beach plums will forever remind me of my grandmother. Every September when I was little, we would head out, baskets in hand. This year was the kind that Grandma and I would have killed for, with an explosion of ripe purple plums dotting the dunes. So, for the first time since I was young, I started down the lane, this time with my own children, to pick fruit for beach plum jam. 

To make beach plum jam, I used a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Cape Cod Table; $7.98 from Amazon. See the recipe below.

Photographs by Justine Hand for Gardenista.

Above: Ripe beach plums (Prunus maritima) grace a beach path on Cape Cod.

Native to the eastern US, these hardy deciduous shrubs love the sandy, dry soil of the dunes, making them excellent for erosion control. Those interested in hardy shrubs for seaside gardens may also be interested to know that, besides edible fruit, beach plum bushes have lovely little white flowers that bloom on silver branches in the early spring.

Above: Ripe plums are deep purple as opposed to pink. They should come off the stem easily and be fairly sweet, though a slight bitter taste is normal. 

Above: As my son Oliver demonstrates, it's easy for people of all ages to harvest fruit from these low lying shrubs. 

Above: Our haul. You need about 5 pounds of fruit (the equivalent of about two large zip lock bags) to make one batch of jam, yielding nine jars. 

Above: Once home, we washed our plums and picked out leaves and twigs.

Above: Cooking the plums and orange juice took about 20 minutes. Like I once did with my grandma, the kids and I played cards while we waited.

Above: Mashing the pulp with a colander was hard work. I recommend a food mill.

Above: Our finished jam cools in jars from my local grocery store. For extra special gifts, I also made a few in classic Weck jars from Germany (see below). Available $3.50 each at Crate and Barrel.

Above: So yummy just the way Grandma and I enjoyed it: on hot buttered toast.

Beach Plum Jam

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs of ripe beach plums
• Sugar
• Pectin of your choice
• 1 cup of orange juice
• Sterilized canning jars (follow the directions on the packaging)

Instructions:

Wash beach plums and remove any leaves and stems. In a stock pot, mix the washed fruit with 1 cup of orange juice. Over high heat, bring mixture to a simmer, then lower to medium/low and cook for 20 minutes until the skins split, stirring often. After the plums are cooked, place them in a colander or food mill to separate the skins and pits from the pulp. (Note: I did not have a food mill at my cottage, so used a colander. This proved to be a time consuming process, so in future I will go with a food mill.) 

After you have separated the pulp, you can combine it with the sugar and pectin, following the specific recipe on the box of pectin (they all vary slightly).

Place in sterilized jam jars and allow to cool. 

N.B. Interested in trying oven canning? Alexa offers tips in Risky Business: Oven Canning Jam and Michelle mastered the art in Oven Canning 101: Easy Cardamom Flavored Pears.

The recent revival of the art of canning has also brought about a new appreciation for the humble glass canning jar. Here are five classics:

The Kilner Preserve Jar is the British version of the Ball Mason jar, dating to the 1840s. Available as a set of four in two sizes: $19.95 for the 16.9-ounce jar and $24.95 for the 33-ounce jar from Williams-Sonoma. Comes with metal screw band and metal vacuum seal disk.

Above: The Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni Jars from Italy come with the signature gold lid; $8.95 to $10.95 for a set of four, depending on size, from Sur La Table.

Above: Weck Mini Mold Jars, a German staple since 1900 when Johann Weck pioneered the science of water-bath canning; $34.95 for a set of 12 from Williams-Sonoma Agrarian (includes rubber ring and metal clips).

Above: A French classic: Le Parfait Canning Jars, which come with a rubber ring and a wire-hinged locking lid for sealing: $7.95 to $17.95 from Sur La Table. Also available in a terrine size: Le Parfait Terrine Canning Jars: $6.95 to $11.95.

Above: An American classic, Ball Mason canning Jars. Ball offers the largest line of different sizes. Shown here (L) the Ball 32-Ounce Wide Mouth Mason Jar is $12.99 for a 12-pack of jars and (R) the Ball 8-Ounce Regular Mouth Mason Jar is $9.49 for a 12-pack of jars from Ace Hardware. Both come with bands and dome lids.

N.B. This is an update of a post originally published on October 11, 2012.

For more canning equipment, see 10 Easy Pieces: Canning Essentials.

Winter doesn't have to mean turning from your fresh herb garden to the dried herb section at the market. Be your own Spice Islands. Preserve your own herbs with one of the oldest methods around: drying. Here's a roundup of our favorite herb drying racks:

Above: The simple Wooden Herb Drying Rack from Italy is made from FSC-certified oiled beech. The trays, the middle two of which have screened surfaces, are spaced to provide ample air circulation for drying; $59.95 at Williams Sonoma. 

Above: With two magnetic cubes on each end, there is no need to drill holes or pound nails into the wall with the Wood Kitchen Herb Drying Rack from Less is More via Etsy; $39.

Above: The hanging circular metal Esschert Herb and Flower Drying Rack comes with six hooks to conveniently hang bunches of herbs or flowers; $19.95 at Williams Sonoma.

Above: The Tobacco Stick Herb Dryer is 54 inches long and comes with six hooks and twine for hanging; $65 for a set of two at Granny Janes Tin Works.  

Above:  Burgon and Ball's Herb Drying Rack is made of hand-forged steel and powder-coated in matte black; £10.95 at Burgon and Ball in the UK. The same B&B Herb Drying Rack is available in the US for $31.25 through Amazon.

Above: Handmade in Austria, the Pinewood Herb Dryer Rack System is €118 at Manufactum.

Above: Designed for dry storage of tree fruit, the 6-Drawer Orchard Rack with slatted trays can serve double duty as an herb drying rack; $149 at Gardener's.

Above: The traditional Shaker Herb Drying Rack is made in New Hampshire; $75 at Canterbury Shaker Village.

Above: Herb dryers can be repurposed from vintage window screens, old pot racks, or found branches adorned with hooks or twine. Here a vintage sifter crate makes an appealing Herb drying rack. Photograph via Buckets of Burlap.

Above: Vintage ladders make perfect herb dryers. Photograph by Karen Larko.

Dried herbs can also be used for a Modern Pot Pourri.

It's a crime to complain about late summer abundances, but really, what do I do with all this oregano? My basil is gone as fast as I can grow it, my mint is destined to become one last (giant) batch of mojitos for an upcoming party, and I've already found the world's most brilliant use for rosemary. I never tire of the late-summer megacrop, zucchini (I could eat chocolate chip cookies flecked with zucchini any day). But oregano?

As a novice gardener, I didn't even really mean to grow oregano—I planted it as an afterthought—and I have no idea what to do with it. I asked my cooking-reference-on-speed-dial (my mom), what she uses oregano for. "Anything I'd use any other herb for" came her answer. This doesn't help the novice. 

So I launched a two-pronged approach: First, I'd buy myself some time by drying the herb. Second, I'd figure out some good uses for both fresh and dried versions. 

Photographs by Meredith Swinehart.

Above: I planted oregano as a groundcover, and it became one of the tallest plants in the box. And despite my Struggles with Basil and my Lavender Failure, my oregano thrived without any effort.

Above: When I finally harvested the oregano, I realized I had left it alone too long; it had already flowered. For the purest oregano flavor, cut the herb before it flowers. But the flowers are edible and flavorful themselves, so I kept them in.

Above: Younger sections of my plant hadn't flowered yet; here is the more traditional look of oregano as an herb, sans flowers.

Above: Tie the herbs in a bunch to hang dry, or lay them flat on an herb rack. Even a baking rack will do; just allow air to circulate on all sides.

Above: If you tie the herbs in a bunch, hang them in your kitchen to dry. (Time it so herbs are drying when guests come over, in lieu of flowers. They'll think your life is très charmant.)

Above: Leave the oregano alone until dry to the touch; in my case, this took three or four days.

Above: When it's dry, run your fingers down the stem and pull off the leaves and flowers; they'll come easily.

Above: After growing oregano for only two months in my window box, I am amply stocked for the winter. (So much, in fact, that I know what I'm bringing as hostess gifts for the next several months.)

But aside from giving it away, what am I going to do with all this oregano? I have several jars of the dried herb and still more fresh oregano to cut.

I asked our friends Stefanie Bittner and Leslie Bennett of Star Apple Edible Gardens what they like to do with the herb. Bittner uses fresh oregano in bouquets with garden roses and other flowers, both for the look and the fragrance. She also hangs oregano bundles (like the pictured one above) in her chicken coop; the hens appreciate the treat, and it freshens the smell of the coop.

Bennett grows oregano the same way I do—in a windowsill planter off her apartment—and uses it in fresh salad dressings. She chops the oregano and mixes it with olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, etc. She suggests trolling through recipes of Middle Eastern cooking; the herb features prominently in the cuisine. And Bennett also drops small bunches of flowered oregano into little bud vases on their own; another tip I'll be trying soon.

What do you use oregano for, fresh or dried? I'd love to hear your suggestions about what pairs well with the easy-growing herb. Let me know in the comments, below.

What to do with fresh herbs? See 101 suggestions in our Gallery of Herbs, Glorious Herbs.

What to do with a bushel of nearly-gone fruit? Thrifty American colonists added some sugar and vinegar and made a sweet and sour syrup to last the winter. What did they call it? Shrub.

Don't worry, no one's hoping to add boxwood to your G&T, but increasingly modern-day mixologists are taking a page from their forebears in tri-cornered hats and working the delightfully acidic syrup into cocktail recipes.

Whether you plan to mix your shrub with seltzer or whiskey, here's a collection of shrub recipes that have tempted us this season. 

Fresh Apple Shrub from Food 52; Photograph by Marisa McClellan.

Marisa McClellan shared her recipe for apple shrub on Food 52. She suggests that the versatile apple syrup can be used in cocktails, stirred into sparkling water or whisked into salad dressings. We'd be glad to try it in all three. 

Plum Shrub from HonestlyYUM; Photograph by HonestlyYum.

Todd from HonestlyYUM used over-ripe plums and two kinds of vinegar to make his shrub. He's convinced you'll be happy after taking a sip of the sweet and mellow syrup. Plus, he dares you, "Try saying 'Plum Shrub' three times fast without smiling." 

Peach Shrub from Brooklyn Supper; Photograph by Elizabeth Stark.

"If you were looking for the opposite of a schmancy cocktail, and you wanted something simple and down-home and good, surely then you would want a shrub," says Elizabeth from Brooklyn Supper. Head to the market this weekend to get the last of the season's peaches.

Calamansi Lime Shrub from Burnt Lumpia; Photograph by Marvin Gapultos.

Marvin set out to make a shrub inspired by his native Philippines. He used Calamansi limes and Filipino sugarcane. The result? "A shrub syrup full of bright, Calamansi aroma—think mandarin orange crossed with a lime."

Peach and Berry Summer Shrub from Oh So Beautiful Paper; Photograph by Nole Garey.

When Nole makes shrub, she doesn't stop with just one kind of fruit. She combined peaches, blueberries, and strawberries in a trifecta of summery tastes.

Cherry Balsamic Shrub from Reclaiming Provincial; Photograph by Carey Nershi.

Balsamic vinegar and cherries gives this shrub a moody hue. Carey from Reclaiming Provincial describes it as "wonderfully tart (and a gorgeous shade of red, to boot)."

Concord Grape Balsamic Shrub from Documenting our Dinner; Photograph by Brianne Looze.

Just in time for late summer, Brianne captured the flavor of Concord grapes in a balsamic vinegar-based shrub. She explains, "It takes a few days to put together, but the end result rewards you well for your trouble. The nostalgic flavor of Concord grapes is elevated by adding a bit of earthy balsamic vinegar, but the mixture retains brightness from a hefty amount of white wine vinegar as well. The shrub strikes a brilliant balance between sweet and tart." We'll take ours like she did, with whiskey. 

Blackberry Rum Shrub from Saveur; Photograph by Nicole Franzen.

Impatient food preservationists, rejoice. This shrub syrup is heated for speedy results. You'll have a crimson cocktail in no time.

Strawberry Drinking Vinegar from Five and Spice; Photograph by Emily Kuross.

Strawberry season has come and gone and we're wishing we bottled up a taste of the season with Emily's recipe. We're saving the recipe for next year and taking a page from her book, fennel garnishes from here on out.

Rhubarb Shrub from Hungry Ghost Blog; Photograph by Andrea Gentl.

Andrea used a cold process to make a rhubarb shrub this spring, allowing the fresh rhubarb and sugar to stew on the counter for 72 hours.

Search our Cocktail Recipes for other festive drink ideas.

We're believers that there should be something growing in every room in a house, bedrooms included. But when bedrooms are occupied by the teen set, sometimes just keeping a path cleared from door to bed is challenge enough. Encouraging your teenager to grow something beyond mold on forgotten sandwich crusts? It's not as daunting as it sounds. With a little coaxing and some savvy plant selection, we think it's possible to fill a teenager's bedroom with easy-to-care-for plants that might just encourage a lifetime of green thumb-ery.

Photographs by Katie Newburn for Gardenista.

Above: Bits of green plunked into a vase is as simple as houseplants get. Take a clipping from a tree in your backyard (we snagged these from the pear trees at Michelle's house). Leafy clippings have impressive staying power and some will even grow. A branch of ivy can survive in water for years. In the market for the world's most beautiful hydroponic vase? Look no further.

Above: Staghorn ferns like moist climates and generally require a lot of maneuvering to keep them properly watered. But instead of fussing over yours, give it a permanent home in your teenager's shower. We found a Staghorn at local Mill Valley, CA shop Green Jeans Garden Supply. The fern ($49.95) is growing in a coconut shell planter and suspended from a wire hook. (Stay tuned for a DIY.) Hanging from the shower head, it gets water and adds a cheery burst of green. 

Above: Tiny potted succulents are cute and easy to care for: they like to be ignored. These specimens were plucked from larger plants and repotted in smaller vessels. Like the aged look of these terra cotta pots? Make your own instant antiques. Need a refresher on keeping indoor succulents alive? Head here. 

Above: Tillandsia need only the occasional water bath to stay alive. Keeping them next to a bathroom sink makes giving them a quick dip easy to remember and might discourage the accumulation of too much else. Air Plant Bulbosa Tillandsia are $5.99 each at Twisted Acres.

Above: Any style conscious teenager will want to hop on the fiddle leaf fig train. See The Fig and I: Tips for Caring for a Fiddle Leaf Fig to get started.

Above: For a different kind of bedside look, a maidenhair fern will thrive in a spot that doesn't get much light. A Maidenhair Fern in a 4-inch pot is $12 from Pernell Gerver.

Need more ideas for stylish houseplants? We identified a whole bunch right here. 

Remodelista began as a group of design-obsessed friends with a mission to create a new resource, a digital guide devoted to demystifying the home design experience. Now, with our first foray into print, we've distilled all that we've learned along the way into Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home. Illustrated with original photography by the talented Brooklyn-based New Zealander Matthew Williams and including a lovely introduction by one of our design idols, Julianne Moore (plus an exclusive on her newly remodeled NYC kitchen). Read on for pre-ordering information.

Published  by Artisan Books, Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home will be in shops nationwide November 5; scroll down for pre-ordering information. We hope you find the book to be both useful and beautiful, to quote William Morris.

Here's a chapter-by-chapter guide to what you'll find inside:

• 12 Houses We Love: A big picture tour ranging from a salt-sprayed Cape Cod cottage to an art-filled Brooklyn rental apartment to a historic London town house transformed by a powdery Farrow & Ball palette.
• A User's Guide to Kitchens: Detailed dissections of seven great-looking, high-functioning designs, from the urban galley to the grand Californian.
• A User's Guide to Bathrooms: Standout bathrooms explained, from a patchwork powder room in London to a Scandinavian romantic master suite in the Hamptons.
• Design Ideas: Thirty-five of our favorite fast, simple, minimum-assembly-required projects.
• The Remodelista 100: A roundup of our top utilitarian household products, including tried-and-true standbys as well as newly minted classics.
• Remodeling Reality: A definitive guide to the remodeling process, with advice and insights from members of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory.
• Resources We Swear By: The 278 shops we turn to for appliances, lighting, tablewares, textiles, wallpaper, and more.
• Featured Architects, Designers, and Builders: A guide to all the architects, designers, and builders who contributed to the book.

Curious to see a few spreads? Here's a first glimpse; photos by Matthew Williams.

Above: Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home will be in bookstores November 5 (that's designer Michaela Scherrer's dining room sanctuary on the cover).

Above: Stephanie Brechbuehler and Robert Highsmith of Brooklyn architecture firm Workstead used inexpensive hardware store and lumberyard supplies to turn their asbestos-shingled Upstate New York cottage into a Shaker-simple retreat.

Above: Here's the Workstead living room centered by a coffee table made from a wooden cot frame. (See page 274 for how to create your own.)

Above: Robert and Stephanie's home is filled with vintage objects that somehow look modern; we provide sourcing information and DIY tips in our Steal This Look section.

Above: In our kitchen chapter, we dissect nine household hubs, from galley to grand Californian.

Above: In our bathroom chapter, we explore and explain powder rooms, sprawling master sanctuaries, and all points in between.

 Above: Design Ideas covers easy, inspired, hands-on projects (next to no hammering required). The chapter includes a look at new uses for familiar objects and a section on dealing with modern clutter.

Above: The Remodelista 100 presents enduring, life-enhancing, and often extremely affordable everyday essentials plus capsule histories, all written in the intelligent and witty prose of Ancient Industries' Megan Wilson.

Above: We corralled our collective knowledge on remodeling into a step-by-step, information-packed guide that answers questions like "How to Begin?" and "Is It Worth It?".

Above: Happier at home: that's our aim with this book. Thank you to our back cover champions, Diane Keaton, for calling the book "the first complete resource for the style-minded home remodeler" and to Rita Konig, for praising the book's "great decorating intel."

Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home will be available in bookstores in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand on November 5, 2013. (If you live in Europe or Asia, you can order the book from your local Amazon site or Book Depository.)

US: Retailers include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Powell’s Books, and specialty stores. To find your closest independent bookstore, visit IndieBound.

Canada: Retailers include Indigo (Canada), Amazon Canada, McNally Robinson, independent bookstores, and specialty stores.

UK: Retailers include Waterstones, Book Depository, and Amazon UK.

Australia:  Retailers include Booktopia, Book Depository, independent bookstores, and specialty stores.

New Zealand: To find a stockist nearest you, visit BookReps New Zealand.

I know we've officially turned a corner when my morning walk begins with me buttoning up a lightweight jacket. At any moment, leaves will begin to turn and there will be a crunch underfoot. My neighbors will fill their stoops with pumpkins and the neighborhood will be overrun with rotund pots of mums and asters. But there's another fall flower I've spotted around the neighborhood that warrants a closer look. Perennial fall-blooming anemones pick up where summer flowers leave off, filling the garden with an extra month of spring-like blooms even as the temperature dips.

Sometimes called Japanese anemones or windflowers, fall-blooming anemone is an all-encompassing name for three different species: Anemone hupehensis, Anemone hybrida, and Anemone tomentosa. All of the species reward patience. They might take a year or two to establish, but the payoff is stately foliage and much-needed color in the waning fall garden. The large plants can grow to be anywhere from 2 to 5 feet tall, and after they've established, they'll fill in spaces quickly.  Don't worry about invasiveness; these plants are too pretty to be annoying. Extended bloom times can mean flowers for as long as two months.

Photographs by Erin Boyle.

Above: Along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, light pink anemones climb up and over a wrought iron fence.

Above: From their dark green leaves and graceful fuzzy stems to their round buds and vibrant blossoms, every part of fall-blooming anemones deserves attention.

Above: Anemones thrive in spaces with full or partial sun. In warmer climates, plant anemones in a space where they'll have a respite from the brightest afternoon light.

Above: Don't let the delicate blossoms fool you. Once established, fall-blooming anemones are surprisingly resilient and can withstand cutting all season long. Make room for fall-blooming anemones in your garden, and you'll have flowers in fresh bouquets into November.

Above: Anemone foliage, which emerges in the early spring and often lasts well past the first frost, is attractive sans flowers, too. 

Above: My Brooklyn neighbors planted their fall container garden with ferns and deep pink anemones. At just 16 inches tall, Anemone hupehensis 'Pretty Lady Emily' (available seasonally from White Flower Farm) is slightly smaller than other fall-blooming anemone varieties and a nice choice for containers and borders. 

Above: White varieties such as Anemone Honorine Jobert (available seasonally from White Flower Farm) add texture and height to the fall garden. 

Above: If you're taken with these beauties, add fall-blooming anemones to your spring shopping list. They'll thrive best if planted in the springtime and given ample time for roots to establish without disturbance.

See our other Plant of the Week for a closer look at 70 more our favorite indoor and outdoor plants.

In Chicago, where I grew up, tulips were pretty much the only thing that kept us going through the winter. You can survive snow, and you can survive ice, and you can even survive the razor winds that blow in from the lake to rub your face raw, if you know that one day you will look out a window and see a clump of tulips, with swan necks improbably supporting the weight of their fat flowers. 

But it can be daunting, in the autumn, to figure out how precisely to make tulips happen. Which varieties to plant? What about crocuses? In the mild climate of Northern California where I live now, should I plant daffodils instead? And how do I gracefully make room in the garden for flowers that bloom briefly before saddling me with sad, withering foliage that I'm not supposed to cut back for weeks?

For advice, I phoned bulb grower Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens in Michigan. He grows and sells hundreds of hardy and rare, vintage varieties of tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, bluebells, and other bulbs.

"I don't know where to start," I said to him.

"Start small," he suggested.

Here's how:

Photographs by Michelle Slatalla except where noted.

Here are 10 steps Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens recommends for any gardener to use to plan a spring bulb garden: 

1. Check your USDA hardiness zone by entering your zip code at USDA Plant Hardiness Map; purchase bulbs that are rated for your zone. You can search for bulbs for your zone with the Heirloom Bulb Finder at Old House Gardens. 

2. Go outdoors and assess your own personal micro-climate: does your garden have sunny spots and well-drained soil? That's where most bulbs grow best.

3. While you're looking at your garden, imagine clumps of bulbs, planted in clusters of five or more of a single variety; that's how they look best.

4. Start small: aim to fill a few holes with bulbs rather than trying to make the whole garden look like a field in Holland.

5. If you want to use a fence as a visual backdrop, plant bulbs in narrow, curving clusters that run parallel to the fence. "This is a trick I learned from Gertrude Jekyll," says Kunst. "Rather than planting a big, round circle that's three feet wide, make a gentle curve that's about 18 inches wide. The bulbs will be in your line of vision when they bloom, and after they go over, other plants behind and in front will hide the yellow foliage."

6. When deciding where to place bulbs, take size guidelines with a grain of salt. Heights of the same variety of bulb can vary from one year to the next, and in different growing zones. "It's OK to mix up heights," says Kunst. "It looks less garden-y if you try to put all the tall ones in the back and all the short ones in the front."

7. You can plant bulbs close together in one big hole, but don't let them touch. "They look more naturalistic if you plant them close together," says Kunst.

8. Tulips in most parts of the US will not return as well as other bulbs year after year; older varieties of tulips will return more reliably than new ones. "Tulips like super sandy soil and summers that are quite dry," says Kunst. "If you plant them in a spot that's going to be watered regularly over the summer, dig them up and store them until fall."

9. Good companion plants to take center stage as bulbs finish blooming: day lilies and peonies and self-sowing annuals such as larkspur ("it has nice ferny leaves to distract the eyes from bulbs' dying foliage," says Kunst). 

10. To make room to plant bulbs, pull out or trim back existing plantings. "The best gardeners have a ruthless streak," says Kunst. "If you're not willing to throw things away—or give them away—then you eventually are going to be overwhelmed by all that stuff that keeps burgeoning in the garden."

Above: Following Kunst's guidelines, I learned most tulips don't like my warm climate.

Above: Daffodil Erlicheer; photograph by Richard Jolley via Flickr.

So instead I ordered bulbs of two unusual scented daffodils—Admiration (10 bulbs for $28) and Erlicheer (10 for $28)—to my back garden. They're both old-fashioned flowers introduced in the early 20th century and both have clusters of flowers on a single stem.

Above: Pearl Double Tuberose; photograph by Olaf via Flickr.

After drawing a quick sketch of my back garden, I saw a few more empty spots I can fill, so I also ordered scented Pearl Double Tuberose, a Victorian favorite discovered in 1870 (10 bulbs for $32) and perfumed Antique Freesia for spring planting (10 bulbs for $40). From the sketch, I discovered I'll have a big hole in the garden behind an oakleaf hydrangea; I ordered some tall Formosa Lilies (which grow as tall as 7 feet); five for $54.

Above: I also wanted  to order some shorter-stemmed, scented Early Pearl daffodils (25 bulbs for $66) to plant in clumps in the front garden, at the edge of the path that connects the driveway to the front door. 

"Do I need to draw a garden plan for the path?" I asked Kunst.

"Most gardeners don't—we fly by the seat of the pants," says Kunst. "And it works out fine."

Wondering what else to plant in the spring bulb garden? See our posts Squirrel-Proof Crocus and 5 Quick Fixes: The Rarified Daffodil.

There's more to life than tulips and daffodils. When planning next year's bulb garden, find a spot to tuck in a clump or two of our five hardworking favorites:

In what growing zone is your garden? (If you don't know, enter your zip code at USDA Hardiness Zone Map to find out.)

Above: Allium Globemaster; photograph by Hans Runge via Flickr.

God, I love a showy spring bulb. And Allium Globemaster, a great big purple lollipop that stands 4 feet high in the middle of the garden and screams, "Look at me!" fits the bill nicely. Hardy in growing zones 5-10; six bulbs for $49 from White Flower Farm.

Above: Allium bulgaricum Nectaroscordum; photograph by Nicole Franzen.

Clusters of tiny bells dangle from the 3-foot-tall stems of Allium bulgaricum Nectaroscordum, punctuating the flower beds rather dramatically in May and June. They will grow in zones 4-9; 25 bulbs for $13 from Brent and Becky's Bulbs.

Above: Formosa lily, hardy in growing zones 6-10WC; photograph by Dave W. Wilson via Flickr.

A native of Taiwan, Formosa Lily arrived in the US in the late 1800s; it looks "like a tall slender Easter lily," according to the catalog copy from Old House Gardens, which offers five bulbs for $54.

And it smells divine. With multiple flowers on 7-foot-high stems, this lily should distract the eye from the more frazzled perennials of late summer. This fall I'm planting a clump behind a 4-foot-high oakleaf hydrangea. Will report back.

Above: Ixia Pink; photograph by Karl Gercens via Flickr.

One of Jeanne's favorite bulbs is Ixia Pink which, at 16 inches high, blends well when interplanted with purple and white spring-flowering plants; hardy in growing zones 7-10, it's $10.95 (for 30 bulbs) from Home Depot.

Above: Camassia in the grass at Cottesbrooke Hall in the UK; photograph by Kendra Wilson. 

As at home in a meadow as in a formal garden bed, Camassia Sacajawea is one of the few bulbs that will tolerate poorly drained or heavy soil; hardy in growing zones 5-9WC, 25 bulbs are $73.75 from Brent and Becky's Bulbs.

Yes, of course, we still love tulips. See DIY: A Modern Tulip Garden.

In the colonial era, enterprising New Englanders quickly discovered that the wax produced by boiling the prolific gray berries along the coast produced a clean, aromatic flame, and thus the bayberry candle was born. Though it was eventually replaced by mass produced waxes and commercial scents, the romance of the humble bayberry taper endures. So it was that one day last week, this native Cape Codder found herself giving this antique technique a try.

Photographs by Justine Hand for Gardenista.

Above: A common sign of September on Cape Cod, the branches of a female bayberry bush are covered with ripe berries, identified by their blue-gray hue.

Above: A native to the coast of New England, bayberries love the dry, sandy soil near the beach. Here, just as colonial girls would have done, my daughter, Solvi, helps me harvest berries by the shore. 

Above: Getting there...

About 2 pounds into it, I started to realized why colonial women quickly abandoned this practice. It takes a ton of berries, about 6 to 8 pounds, to make one pound of wax. Thus, being a modern woman with access to online ordering, I decided to cut some colonial corners and combine our bayberry wax with beeswax, which I did not attempt to make myself. Phew! Solvi and I were able to harvest about 4 pounds of bayberries before our fingers gave out. Which I think is pretty good.

Above: A detail of our berries shows their lovely, heathery hue. 

Above: Boiling the berries two pounds at a time. The characteristic pale green wax begins to melt and float to the top. (Because I was not actually relying on this paltry sum of wax to light my home, I found it pretty satisfying to watch the little bubbles of wax emerge.) After the wax cools and hardens, you can pick it right off the top of the water.

Above: Yet another step: In order to get all the plant bits out, after you extract the cooled wax from the water, you will need to place it in a pan, melt it again, and then strain it as shown here.

Above: The lovely results: Solvi holds our yield from about 2 pounds of berries. Time to boil and cool and strain another batch. 

Above: Besides the bayberry wax, here's what else you'll need: melting can, beeswax, a wick (available at Brushy Mountain Bee Farm; $9.95 per roll) and something round, like a pencil, to use for dipping.

Above: The first dip! Using a large soup can, I melted my bayberry wax with 1 pound of beeswax, available at Brushy Mountain Bee Farm; $5.85 per pound.

Above: The candles begin to take shape. Alternating between several pairs at a time allows the wax to harden in between dips.

Above: A lovely shade of green. (The dips that form at the end, can be snipped off with your fingers.)

Above: I made a simple drying rack using a couple sets of chopsticks set under a cutting board at the counter's edge.

Above: This part was really fun. While the first candles dried, I started on a second set.

Above: Wrapped in a little hemp from John Derian ($10) and some gold and cotton ribbon from Angela Liguori ($9 for 5 yards), my handmade candle are ready for gifting.

Hand-Dipped Bayberry Candles

Materials:

• 2 lbs of wax (pure bayberry or a mix of bayberry and beeswax)
• Candle wick
• Cheesecloth
• Aluminum foil
• Ramekin
• Pencil or a chopstick for dipping
• Tall candle-melting pan or large soup can
• Parchment paper (optional)

Instructions:

Extracting the wax: If you want to cure the 2 pounds of bayberry wax yourself, you need to collect from 12 to 16 pounds of berries. One recipe said, "About one moving box full" (!). I wanted to experience the whole colonial-style process. But even so, I wound up combining pure bayberry wax with beeswax. Next time I might opt to buy the bayberry wax. Available at Betterbee; $14.95 per pound.

After you have collected your berries, pick over the batch to remove most of the leaves and stems. Place the mixture in a large stock pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, you will start to see the wax float to the top of the pan. After all the wax appears to be released, turn off the heat and let the wax cool.

After it has cooled and hardened, you can pick it right off the top. At this point the wax will have a lot of plant bits in it. To get pure wax, reheat this raw material until it melts, and then pour the hot liquid through a cheesecloth into a vessel. (I used a ramekin I lined with aluminum foil so I could easily remove the wax after it cooled.)

Melting the wax: Place your soup or melting can into a bath of water within another pan. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. While the water is warming, break your wax into pieces and place it in your soup can. Keep adding smaller pieces of wax until the melted wax reaches to nearly the top of the can. You can turn off the heat at this point, but turn it back on low if the wax gets too hard.

Dipping the candles: In order to make two candles at a time, measure a piece of wick that is 2.5 times the depth of the pan. Wrap the center of the wick around a pencil several times, so that you have an equal length of wick on either side of the pencil. The wrapping ensures that you have enough space in between the two tapers so they won't touch as they thicken. I taped my wick to the pencil to secure the spacing.

Dip the wick in the hot wax until it just touches the bottom of the can, and then slowly draw it out. Allow the wax to cool before making your next dip. (I alternated making several pairs of candles at a time.) Note that your wick will come out curved the first couple of dips. Once the wax hardens a bit, you can simply straighten it with your fingers. You can also even out your candles by rolling them on a piece of parchment paper.

Repeat this process until your candle is the desired width. Allow to dry overnight, trim the wicks, and then enjoy!

N.B. Looking for more recipes from colonial Cape Cod? Try my authentic Beach Plum Jam.

We're not so naive to think cut dahlias will stick around forever, but we're ready to do what it takes to keep them alive just a little bit longer. What if you dissolve an aspirin in the water? Or drop a copper penny into the bottom of a vase? Can it be that easy?

In the interest of science, we bought a bouquet so we could test five additives people commonly put in water to try to make fresh flowers last longer:

• Vinegar and sugar mixture. The common wisdom is that vinegar will mitigate bacteria, and sugar will act as food.
• Conventional flower food.
• Bleach. The idea is that a teaspoonful will kill bacteria.
• Aspirin: To increase the acidity of the water
• A penny: The copper allegedly acts as an antibacterial agent.

Here's what we learned:

Photographs by Erin Boyle.

Above: Fresh dahlias, straight from the florist.

To begin, we followed best-practice cut flower procedure and coddled our charge with tried and true cut flower care basics:

• Trim flowers once they're home; a 90-degree angle is best.
• Use a clean vase, because the worst enemy of fresh flowers is bacteria. 
• Keep flowers out of direct sunlight; the cooler and darker the room, the longer your flowers will last.

Above: We ran three sets of trials to try to get the most accurate results, to see if any additive made a cut flower last longer than a dahlia in plain water.

Above: In each trial, we tested sugar and vinegar, bleach, a copper penny, an aspirin tablet, and flower food, courtesy of the corner bodega.

Above: We crushed the aspirin tablet before stirring it into water. 

Above: Marked and measured, I ran each trial for five days. (By that time, all of these fresh-cut dahlias were ready for the compost pile.)

Results:

• Vinegar and Sugar: Flowers strong through Day 3. By Day 5, flowers were curled on the edges and ready for compost, but still relatively intact. Similar results to plain water.
• Conventional Flower Food: Flowers lasted through Day 3, strong stem through Day 5. In one trial, the flower curled completely by Day 2.
• Bleach: Strong stem through Day 5. In one trial the flower stayed healthy through Day 4, in another it was shriveled by Day 2. Most inconsistent results.
• Aspirin: Flower held strong through Day 3 across all three trials, but flopped by Day 5. In each case, the stem turned gray. 
• Copper: Lasted well through Day 3 in each trial. Stem still strong by Day 5, but flower curled. Similar results to plain water.
• Water: Flower strong through Day 3, shriveled by Day 4 or 5.
  

Conclusion: 

We didn't see the drastic differences that we thought we might. In our first trial, the bleach and flower food seemed to have actively negative effects on the flowers, but two more trials didn't prove the same. All things considered, we found fairly consistent results in all three trials, which has us thinking we might just stick to plain water in the future.

But one additive we'll likely avoid? Aspirin. It turned the stems an icky gray color that was worse than a slightly droopy flower. 

What about you? Do you have a tried and true method? Do you bother with flower food, or let nature run its course?

See our Floral Arrangements Posts for more flowery inspiration.

Located in a Georgian townhouse in Clerkenwell, with interiors designed by Jump Studio, the Modern Pantry encompasses several dining areas, a cafe and food shop, and more. The light, airy interior features walls painted dove gray, white painted tables and chairs, and copper pendant lights by Piet Hein Eek. Chef Anna Hansen (a New Zealander) previously worked at Providores and has built a devoted following in London. For more information, go to The Modern Pantry.

N.B. This post is an update; the original ran on June 4, 2010.

Move to the country and make jam: it's a bit of a cliché but I did it, before realizing that I was useless at making jam. Besides, there are many top quality jars to be had at village fetes. In this season of gluts and gluttony, however, it seems criminal to ignore the heaps of green tomatoes being given away at my local farm shop.

I cannot hope to improve on the efforts of the village matrons so I go to the source: The Women's Institute. Almost 100 years old, the WI was set up to organize rural women in producing food for the war effort, during WWI. It has always been associated with no-nonsense cooking (ditto flower arranging and any other domestic accomplishment you can imagine). For my re-entry into the world of canning, I need a firm hand. The instructions are simple enough:

Photographs by Kendra Wilson.

Above: My hoard from the Ashley Farm Shop. Although sun is predicted for some time next week, the falling light levels mean that these attractive specimens do not have much hope of progressing from green to red.

Above: In the vegetable garden behind the shop, tomatoes are sprawling everywhere, rained on, stepped on and looking sorry. I do everyone a favor and fill my bag. Does this count as foraging?

Above: I find some apples in my backyard and rummage around for the other ingredients. The only things which are not lurking in the cupboard are red chillies. This recipe is still looking quite simple.

Above: But oh, the chopping. This does take considerable time as I do not use a machine: instead I have a knife and then a mezzaluna. A friend who lives in Italy says that Italian cooks don't bother with machines either: they mezzaluna everything. This makes me feel more accomplished.

The chutney is divided into two batches. The instructions from the WI are quite casual about the cooking part: Boil until you have the right consistency. My other unassailable source is Good Housekeeping Preserves (used copies are available for £35.29 and up at Amazon UK), which says that after reaching boiling point, cook on very low for as long as three hours. Fortunately my kitchen is my office and I have things to do.

Above: The way to tell that chutney is ready is by drawing a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan. When the ingredients take a while to reconvene then it is time to start bottling.

An advantage in chutney-making is that the glass jars do not need to be sterilized—the vinegar in the ingredients works hard at that—but they do need to be spotlessly clean.

Green Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs green tomatoes
• 1 lb raisins
• 2 lbs soft brown sugar
• 2 lbs small onions or shallots
• 2 tbsps ground ginger
• 3-4 cooking apples
• 6 red chillies

Instructions:

Finely chop tomatoes, apples and onions. Boil all ingredients until the "right" consistency. Remove chillies before bottling.

I made 14 jars of varying sizes and the chutney required the full three hours of cooking time. I'm happy to report that the result tastes unusually good.

Not tired of the kitchen yet? Try your hand at Justine's Beach Plum Jam or one of the 10 Tempting Shrub Recipes in our Garden-to-Table Recipes.

We urban dwellers know that the city can get to you—the ceaseless noise, the millions of things going on all at once, each demanding your immediate attention. It's enough to make someone feel frantic, scattered, and exhausted. When that happens to me, I find that the most reliable antidote is to head to the country.  

And there is no better time to go than in those September days when the sky is a brilliant blue and you feel the first tiny hint of cool autumn. I recently found a restorative experience is Stonecrop Gardens, just outside the town of Cold Spring in upstate New York. 

Photographs by Jeanne Rostaing.

When my friend Charlene and I, frazzled by city life and more than ready for fall, arrived there recently we immediately felt soothed and welcomed as we made our way into the gardens by way of a cool, shady boardwalk. Surrounded by the intense green leaves of a gigantic stand of Gunnara manicata, we passed a placid pond beside an elegant conservatory.  We went through the glass house and suddenly we were completely transported into a place its own founder dubbed the "most labor-intensive garden on the continent."  

Just inside is the potting shed where visitors pay a $5 entrance fee and receive a map for a self-guided tour. The map lists an impressive 29 features in the 12-acre garden; just a hint of how many disparate areas the gardeners must care for.

The stone troughs and raised beds that surround the potting shed contain an impressive collection of tiny alpine plants which reflect the passion of Stonecrop's creator, Francis Cabot, a financier and self-taught horticulturist. Cabot and his wife Anne, who specialized in growing vegetables and flowers, began creating the garden in the 1950s on the grounds of what was then their home. They opened it to the public in 1992.  

The Cabots also created Les Quatre Vents, a highly regarded private garden in Quebec along the St. Lawrence River. From 1973 to 1976 Cabot was the chairman of the New York Botanical Garden. But the couple is probably best known for their 1989 creation of the Garden Conservancy. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving America's best privately owned gardens. Last year it presented more than 300 of them to the public on special visiting days.  

Taking the map in hand, Charlene and I began to  explore. We lingered in the cool, lush "Fern Vista" and then happened upon a container garden of succulents in a courtyard tucked behind a garage. Through an archway we found ourselves in the midst of the glorious "Enclosed Flower Garden." This is a perennial garden to die for. Mature, bursting with color, this unique place is arranged in a series of square and rectangular beds where plants, organized by color and shape, seem to be competing to grow tallest, fullest and brightest.  

A vegetable garden anchors the center of the space and is watched over by "Miss Gertrude Jekyll," a towering burlap scarecrow. The fence around the garden is nearly concealed by espaliered shrubs and a cacophony of vines: honeysuckle, climbing hydrangeas, and clematis.  

We passed by the "Pit House," a sunken greenhouse where dwarf bulbs and cool weather perennials such as hellebores and cyclamens are grown during the winter. Beyond that is the "Rock Ledge," a naturally occurring ridge that has been supplemented with boulders and smaller rocks and planted with alpine plants and dwarf conifers.  

Charlene peeled off to explore the Hillside Garden with its shrubs carefully chosen to resist drought and wind. I scrambled down the rocky slope (love those sturdy walking shoes), pausing to take note of some lovely small pools filled with aquatic plants. I went on to the nearby "Wisteria Pavilion," where I joined a friendly looking metal frog seated on a bench.  

Leaving the pavilion and the frog, I crossed a manmade lake on an amazing natural bridge. Charlene and I met in the "Systematic Order Beds" where 40 beds contain plants from more than 80 different families and are a source of seeds for the garden. We watched butterflies and an army of bees loudly buzz their approval of the nectar in enormous stands of sunflowers, bears breeches, and goatsbeard. 

Stonecrop Gardens is amazing for the breadth of its collections on a relatively small site and for the impressive care and maintenance of its plants. To see Stonecrop in exuberant bloom in summer is to belie the fact that it is located in growing zone 5 where winter temperatures can fall to minus 20 degrees. At the end of October the garden will close until spring. The gardeners will move pots of non-hardy plants into the conservatory.  

If you can, treat yourself to Stonecrop before it closes. Be sure to allow plenty of time.  We spent more than two hours there and didn't see everything on offer. You will also want to stop by the historic town of Cold Spring for lunch, a walk to the Hudson River and shopping in the boutiques and antique emporiums along Main street.

Metro North runs trains from Manhattan's Grand Central Station to Cold Spring every day. Stonecrop is open Monday through Saturday and is about a 20 minute cab ride from the Cold Spring train station.  We got good service from Alleys Way Car Service.

For further reading about other garden visits near New York City, see our posts on Caramoor, Wave Hill, Untemeyer Gardens, and Lyndhurst.

Patience is a virtue, so I'm told. I hope one day to have the fortitude to stand over a hot stove all day making pickles. Until then, I prefer to cheat a bit and put up quick pickles instead. Without processing in a water bath, these aren't pickles to add to your pantry shelf for enjoying this winter. My friend Carrie calls them Instant Gratification Dilly Beans, and their short lifespan doesn't make them any less delicious than their water bathed cousins.

Quick pickled dilly beans take only about ten minutes to put together: washing, trimming, and boiling included. Here's how:

Above: I chose yellow, green, and purple string beans from the farmers' market, just because I like the variety of color. A warning: purple beans won't stay purple for long after you add your hot brine. Enjoy the colors while they're fresh!

Above: I like to blend my own pickling spice from allspice berries, fennel, mustard seeds, and black pepper. Juniper berries, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise are other ingredients that you can experiment with to make your pickles taste good. 

Above: After washing and trimming my beans, I added them to a quart-sized Weck Jar and added fresh dill, peppers, and peeled garlic.

Above: If you want spicier pickles, cut a hot pepper down the middle so that the spicy seeds will make direct contact with the brine. When your brine is combined, pour the hot liquid over your vegetables and let the magic begin.

Quick Pickled Dilly Beans

Recipe adapted from A Cook Grows in Brooklyn

• 1/2 pound (or enough to fit in a quart jar) green beans, washed and trimmed
• 3-4 stalks fresh dill
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 tablespoons combined pickling spices. Equal parts fennel seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and allspice works well
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2-3 hot peppers 
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

Combine water, vinegar, spices, sugar and salt into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside. Fill a quart jar with washed and trimmed beans. Add garlic, hot peppers, and dill. Cover the beans completely with brine. Cover and refrigerate. The beans will taste delicious just a few hours after they're made, but letting them sit in the brine for several days will allow the flavors to really meld. Beans should stay fresh up to two weeks in the refrigerator. But, you'll finish them before then.

Would you like us to send you a new recipe every Friday? Subscribe to our Gardenista Daily email. For more of our favorite dinners, see our complete list of Garden-to-Table Recipes.

This week's harvest moon has us thinking about ways to store up the last of the season's bounty. Last week, we explored ways to keep vegetables fresh longer and Sarah reminded us of a trick she learned from the design of a Refrigerator-Free Kitchen. In that prototype kitchen, the designer created a special vessel for storing carrots in sand. 

Sand in the kitchen? It's not as outlandish as it sounds.

Keeping root vegetables in sand is a trick that farmers have often relied on to extend the freshness of fall crops into the winter. Farmers can keep whole bushels of carrots, beets, and parsnips in oversized wooden crates filled with moist sand or sawdust and left in a cool, dark place.

Lucky for folks with smaller grow operations, we found a smaller-scale model for more modest harvests.

Above: The Root Storage Bin is made from a wire frame and jute liner; $34.95 from Gardener's Supply.

Above: To keep carrots and beets fresh, alternate layers of vegetables with moist sand or sawdust. Use the same bin for storing potatoes, turnips, or winter squash, but leave out the sand.

Interested in more Modern Root Cellar innovations? See 5 Favorites: Canning Jars; The Well-Stocked Pantry: Potato Storage 101, and 5 Favorites: Modern Root Cellars.

Growing up in a small New England town, I yearned for what most of my peers did: escape. As a teenager, sometimes I needed a place to go to daydream about having a different life, in a city. On those days, I went to Norris Reservation, a hidden 130-acre sanctuary of wise old trees along the North River, about 30 miles south of Boston.

It wasn't until I was an adult—and living somewhere else—that I fully understood what an unusual place Norris Reservation was, with its dense forest, salt marsh, mill pond, and wetlands. The other day, on a trip East, I returned to my old escape ground and was lucky to catch a glimpse of shimmering green summer leaves before autumn caught up with them.

Photographs by Stacey Lindsay.

Above: In 1970, Eleanor Norris dedicated 99 acres of her land in Norwell, MA in honor of her late husband, the businessman Albert Frederick Norris (founder of the Norris Noiseless Pedal Co.), who wished to have it preserved as a wildlife sanctuary. In 1992, neighbor Richard McMullen gave 16 acres of adjacent land to be added to the reservation; in 2000, Betsy and Ralph Gordon followed suit  by bequeathing another 12 acres of adjacent property. Together, these New England residents provided a sanctuary that attracts locals and tourists during every season.

Above: Open to the public from sunrise to sundown, Norris Reservation has two miles of scenic trails suitable for hiking and biking.

Above: The trails cross several bridges over bodies of water. Here, a brook gurgles beneath the first overpass.

Above: My preferred sitting spot, overlooking the reservation's mill pond and surrounding wetland. Many folk stay here for hours, reading a book or fishing for trout.

Above: What the reservation may lack in mileage, it makes up for in variety. You have the option of choosing from several routes along the well-maintained trails, each one winding along the interior and exterior of the reservation and looping back to another.

Above: Leave it to the gods of New England summer humidity to produce a forest  lush and electric in color.

Above: Deep in the reservation, along the south end, is Gordon Trail and Gordon Pond, two significant land donations made by the Gordon Family, members of the Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts and owners of historic property that borders the reservation.

Above: A view from the boardwalk puts you at nearly eye level with small locals: turtles, frogs, and other pond wildlife.

Above: Throughout trails, thick oak and pine roots weave above and below the earth's surface, acting as visible veins of the grounds. Having grown so familiar with the turf, I used to run with my head down so I could dodge the large roots and avoid "hurting" the old trees. The dense layer of fallen pine needles gently crunch beneath your feet. 

Above: Whether you choose to run vigorously or amble along, the ultimate prize of the trek is the views of the tidal North River. Thick, grassy marshes outline its banks.

Above: During the colonial America, the North River was center ground for shipbuilding in New England. This historic boathouse sits along the water's edge, providing the perfect halfway point to rest and take in the views.

Above: High tide along the coast. Currents can often become strong along this particular bend of the river.

Above: A map of Norris Reservation.

Love to explore on foot? If so, visit our other Hike of the Week posts for treks throughout the world. And if you have a favorite trail, please let us know in the comment section below.

I have a friend who is the Imelda Marcos of gardening gloves. She has a pair for every occasion: pruning, planting, hot-days, and cold. Truth be told, I can't be bothered with storing or selecting from a glove collection. Is there a gardening glove that can do it all? Here are ten all-purpose garden gloves that are durable, protective, and can help you get a grip on your hands-on gardening activities.

Like shoes, gloves are subject to individual preference when it comes to material (leather or synthetic), fit (open or closed cuffs; elastic or Velcro), and coverage (above the wrist or not). Our selections cross a range of options.  Do you have a gardening glove you love? Please share in the comments below.

Above:  Designed especially for women's hands, the Pallina Glove is made of washable goatskin leather and boar hide. Kevlar thread stitching and double-reinforced padded palms add to their durability. Pallina Gloves are available in different size and length options and are priced at from $40 to $45. 

Above: The seamless Atlas Nitrile Gardening Gloves with a breathable knit back; available in four colors and in a range of sizes. They are $5.95 at Fire Escape Farms.

Above: The rugged Women's Gauntlet Gardening Gloves have a puncture-proof but pliable goatskin body with padded palms and a nearly 3-inch gauntlet to protect wrists and keep out debris; $39.50 at Duluth Trading Company.

Above: Made from fabric that comes from recycled bottles, The West County Work Glove is a multi-purpose gardening glove suitable for most tasks. West County is a glove company, and the people who work there are experts in the field. The gloves are reinforced everywhere that comes into contact with tools or soil. This glove has a padded synthetic palm and stretch mesh back, and a built-in terry cloth brow wipe. Available in bright colors so your gloves don't disappear into the landscape if you lay them down; $24 at West County Gardener. Need a harder working glove? Consider the heavy-duty West County Landscape Glove for $32.

Above: Handmade in Bend, Oregon, the Deerskin Work & Garden Gloves are made of supple leather that conforms to the shape of your hands with use; $44.95 at Kaufmann Mercantile.

Above: The machine-washable knit West County Garden Grip Gloves are coated with double-dipped nitrile for a waterproof and abrasion resistant finish. Available in three colors and sizes; $14 at Terrain.

Above: A classic used by gardeners at Buckingham Palace, the Gold Leaf Dry Touch Garden Gloves are made with supple and durable deerskin leather that is treated for water resistance. The gloves are designed to start with a very snug fit that then stretches and molds to the contours of your hands. Available for $38.95 at Gardener's Supply. The Gold Leaf Dry Touch Garden Gloves (UK) are also available in the UK for £18.99 through the Royal Horticulture Society (which endorses this glove).  

Above: For those who prefer an adjustable cuff closure, Gold Leaf Soft Touch Garden Gloves are made with deerskin leather palms and fingers with a nylon and lycra back for flexibility. Close fitting, they are designed to stretch and mold to your hands; $42.95 at Gardener's Supply.  The Gold Leaf Soft Touch Garden Gloves (UK) are available in the UK for £20.99 through the Royal Horticulture Society.

Above: Sophie Conran Gardening Gloves are available in a short length for everyday gardening and a long length that offers extra protection when pruning and cutting; £14.95 at Burgon and Ball.

Above: The all-purpose West County Classic Garden Gloves feature reinforced stress points, a protective palm, and silicon grip dots. The Synthetic material is machine washable. Available in four sizes and three colors for $28 at Terrain.

Put your gloves to work with one of our 10 Favorite Garden Pruners.