Carly's Herbal Adventures

Repurposing vintage items adds a unique character to a landscape that modern, store-bought raised beds often lack. One of the most effective and aesthetically pleasing upcycling projects for a gardener is transforming an old bed frame into a dedicated herb bed. Whether it is a sturdy wooden frame or a decorative wrought-iron piece, a bed frame provides a ready-made perimeter that defines your garden space while keeping your favorite botanicals organized and accessible.

Ten Teaks Press, 2020 (224 pages)

If you’ve ever looked at those tiny, expensive plastic clamshells of alfalfa sprouts in the grocery store and thought, "I could do that," you’re absolutely right. In fact, you can do it better, cheaper, and with far more variety. Sprouting is essentially "micro-gardening" for people who don't have a backyard—or for anyone who wants a massive nutritional punch without the wait of a full growing season.

Have you been longing for spring as much as I have?  It isn’t the dramatic bloom of May; it’s the quiet, mud-caked realization in March that the light has changed. The sun hangs a little longer in the sky, casting a pale, buttery glow over the kitchen floor, and suddenly, the heavy wool blankets and dark cedar scents of winter feel like a suit of armor we no longer need to wear.​Welcoming spring isn't just about a date on the calendar. It’s a sensory shift. It’s the desire to scrub the corners of the house, to let the air circulate, and to bring a bit of the outside in. For me, this transition is best marked by two things: a bit of personal grooming to shed the winter skin, and a slow, intentional hunt through the local thrift shops to refresh my booth space.

Brookville, Indiana, with its historic Main Street and proximity to the scenic Whitewater River valley, has always understood the value of tangible, enduring things. It is a town where history is preserved in brick and mortar, and community is built on face-to-face connection. The day before Valentines this past week, this classic American landscape welcomed a new business that perfectly captures a modern yearning for the authentic and the analog The Green Shelf. It’s a new independent bookstore that opened its doors, but it promises more than just shelves of bestsellers. It offers new, used and classic fiction, a bit of nonfiction and plenty of lovely live plants. The shop aims to cultivate a unique atmosphere by combining the printed word with the vibrant life of potted plants, creating a hybrid retail space dedicated to growth—both intellectual and botanical. It was wonderfully cozy and fun.

Finding a wellness practice that feels both grounded and expansive can be a challenge. Many manuals on the subject are either overly clinical or so abstract they become inaccessible. Essential Kundalini Yoga strikes a rare balance, positioning itself as a practical bridge between physiological health and energetic clarity. By focusing on the "Technology of Awareness," the authors provide a system designed to recalibrate the nervous system for the modern age without needing to look back at the distant past for validation.

Infusing oils with herbs is one of the simplest yet most transformative "chef secrets" you can bring into your home kitchen. Whether it’s a vibrant green basil oil drizzled over a summer caprese or a deep, woodsy rosemary oil used to roast winter root vegetables, these infusions act as concentrated flavor carriers.

​Gardening is often categorized as either a grueling chore or a scientific endeavor involving pH levels and nitrogen ratios. In The Crafty Gardener, Becca Anderson strips away the clinical rigidity of modern horticulture and replaces it with something much more inviting: whimsy, soul, and a touch of DIY magic. This isn't your standard "how-to" manual for growing prize-winning tomatoes. Instead, it is a celebratory compendium of garden lore, seasonal recipes, and creative projects that transform a backyard plot into a sanctuary. Anderson approaches the garden as a canvas, urging readers to view their green spaces through the lens of both an artist and a folklorist.