Yes, I am a gardener and yes, I love tulips. Currently boasting over 8 million tulips throughout their massive farm, Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge, New Jersey is in full throttle, hosting u-pick tulips and tulip viewing sessions. It seems to be a trend because throughout my country, (USA), tulip farms are cropping up everywhere. I have visited Holland Ridge Farms and it is absolutely beautiful. However, I was not satisfied with just viewing American replicas of tulip farms. I wanted to see and experience the most beautiful tulip farms in The Netherlands. I was able to convince my husband to take a European trip to The Netherlands and Belgium. Mostly to visit the famous Keukenhof Farm/Tulip Festival but, I have to admit, to also try all the delicious Belgian waffles, chocolates, and beers! I'd like to share with you some interesting tidbits of knowledge I acquired while in Europe and also delight your eyes with beautiful pictures of this lovely farm, including a plethora of unusual varieties of tulips. (Some of the links within this post are affiliate links on which I receive a small compensation from the sale of certain items with no extra cost to you.) (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Interesting Tidbits of Information About the Tulip Tulip season officially begins on the third Saturday in January in The Netherlands, aptly called National Tulip Day. On this day people participate in a free flower picking experience. Then flowers are shipped throughout the world. This year the Tulip Festival in Keukenhof runs from March 21 through May 21, 2024. A diplomat from a northern European country encountered someone from the court of the ruler of Turkey. The man from Turkey was wearing a turban adorned with a picture of a tulip. They could not speak a common language. The European pointed to the symbol on the turban and asked what it was in his language. The Turkish person thought he meant the turban and replied turban. The European believed that he meant the picture of the tulip was called turban. As the terminology evolved, the Turkish word turban became tulip in western European languages. In the Netherlands tulips became so popular and rare that people put a very high value on them and they became an alternative currency. Eventually tulips depressed the value of the Dutch money. This craze for tulips was called tulip mania. The aristocrats in the Netherlands planted masses of tulips surrounding their homes to mask their body odor. You see, the Pope had said it was a sin to view the naked body. The people interpreted that to mean they were never to undress and hence, not to bathe! There were some very smelly people back in the day! Botanists created variations of the tulip that were considered very rare and thus a status symbol by the wealthy. One or a few bulbs of some of the varieties could cost more than a house in Amsterdam! Eventually people figured out they were extremely overvalued and that they could grow their own. As a result, the tulip economy crashed. Shop Etsy for Tulips Keukenhof Gardens Keukenhof Gardens are located in the small town of Lisse approximately 30 miles southwest of Amsterdam. You can take a bus trip from Amsterdam to the town and visit the gardens in one day. It's open for 8 weeks from mid March through mid May. Over 7 million flower bulbs donated from 100 growers, are planted annually. Forty gardeners take care of the gardens. These bulbs bloom in succession, so regardless of when you visit the gardens during this 8 week period, you will be dazzled by glorious blooms. After the tulips have bloomed, they are dug out of the ground and fed to livestock as per the request of the donors of the bulbs. The park is huge. It covers around 32 hectares which is equivalent to 79+ acres! In addition to rows of flowering tulips in fields, the massive park is beautifully landscaped with flowers, trees, paths, rock formations, lakes, a windmill and sculptures fully integrated into the topography. In addition to the outdoor gardens, there are enclosed buildings. One building features a massive array of orchids and other tropical flowers. The flowers are on display as small vignettes with themes varying from a London town with the iconic red phone box to an Alice in Wonderland theme. Another building consists of hundreds of varieties of tulips on display. There is also a working windmill on the premises...great for pictures and selfies. Feast your eyes on some lovely sculptures, flowers, and settings from Keukenhof Gardens below. Varieties of Tulips I have never seen so many different varieties of tulips. Below is a grouping of tulips with their respected names. I hope you enjoy these pictures. Which one is your favorite? Exploring the Enchanting Beauty of Keukenhof Tulip Festival If you have never been to The Netherlands or Belgium, I highly recommend visiting these countries. All of the small towns are filled with beautiful flowers, lovely architecture, interesting history, and intriguing canals. This was truly a holiday of a lifetime. If you go, I recommend that you check out not only Keukenhof Gardens, but also Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague, the North Sea area a short tram ride outside of The Hague, Delft, and Utrecht in The Netherlands and Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels in Belgium. You will not be disappointed! I hope you enjoyed this post. Please share it with friends and family. Happy Gardening, Nina bestgardeningforbeginners@gmail.com www.bestgardeningforbeginners.com

To me, everyday is Earth Day. I have loved the beauty of nature all my life. As a young girl I remember taking long walks with my Dad through fields of wild blueberries and pear orchards. As a family we visited many parks throughout the east coast while traveling to Florida to visit my aunt. While in Florida we experienced ocean creatures as we strolled through the shallow waters of Matheson Hammock Park Marina. Back then it was not a marina but a cove in which we would go swimming amongst tiny creatures of the sea. At one point I thought of becoming a marine biologist, but life lead me in a different direction. The Beauty of Nature/Earth Day Nature fascinates me not only as beauty on earth, but as beauty in the sky. I enjoy the white puffy clouds, and wispy cirrus clouds along with heavy cumulus clouds filled with lightening and thunder. Actually I was once given an opportunity to be a weather forecaster for a TV station out of Philadelphia. But again, life lead me down a different path. Gardening has always been in my blood. I had wonderful mentors, including my grandfather from Italy, my parents, and my aunt in Miami. I cannot imagine living in a world without the beauty of nature surrounding me. So yes, Earth Day is extremely important to me and I believe every day is and should be celebrated as Earth Day. An Opinion From Craig Foster of the New York Times I'd like to share an opinion from Craig Foster of the New York Times explaining his idea of Earth Day. He has an interesting take on what we can do to help our earth. Instead of "saving our planet" he feels we should all challenge ourselves to "reconnect with the wild". By reconnecting with the wild we can learn how to reverse the effects of our practices on earth which have caused significant declines in both flora and fauna species. I hope you take the time to read this very interesting article.....and as a side bar, please watch Mr. Foster's film, "My Octopus Teacher", which won the Academy Award for best documentary feature in 2021. OPINION GUEST ESSAY An Octopus Took My Camera, and the Images Changed the Way I See the World April 22, 2024 Credit...Maddie Fischer By Craig Foster I was gifted with a new way of seeing the day I got mugged underwater. I had been filming creatures living in the Great African Sea Forest off the coast of South Africa about a year ago when my camera was grabbed straight out of my hands by a young octopus thief. Wrapping her arms around her bounty, she zoomed backward across the ocean floor. This was not the first time I’d found myself at the mercy of an eight-armed robber. A couple years earlier, another curious octopus stole the wedding ring off my wife’s finger, never to be recovered. Octopuses love novel shiny things. Peering into their dens, I’ve found earrings, bracelets, spark plugs, sunglasses and a toy car with a revolving cylinder that the octopus spun round and round with its suckers. As I wondered how to get my camera back without alarming my young friend, something surprising happened. She turned the camera around and began to film my diving partner and me. The intriguing images she captured — videos of her own arms draped over the camera lens with our bodies in the background — had a profound effect on me. After many years filming octopuses and hundreds of other animals that call the Sea Forest home, for the first time I was seeing the world — and myself — from her perspective. We must have looked strange to her in our masks and with our underwater flashlights. But in that moment I remembered that despite all our technology, we are not so different from our animal kin. Every breath of air, every drop of water, every bite of food comes from the living planet we share. Credit...The octopus, via Craig Foster Monday is Earth Day, and I am tempted to ask myself how humanity can save our wild planet and undo the devastation we have unleashed upon the natural world. Where I live, in the Cape of Good Hope, I am privileged to be surrounded by nature, but we are grappling with pollution and dwindling numbers of shellfish, fish, raptors and insect species. Worldwide, we are at a tipping point with an estimated 69 percent decline in wildlife populations. When I consider the vast network of living creatures on earth, it’s clear that “saving the planet” is the wrong goal. Unless earth gets obliterated by an asteroid or experiences some similar catastrophic event, the planet could go on for several billion years. But without the biosphere that makes it possible for us to eat and breathe, humanity could not survive. The question we should be asking is what caused the precipitous increase in species loss and what can we do to reverse it. To me, it all started when we disconnected from our wild origins. While agricultural and technological revolutions have enabled massive population growth and innovation, they have also instilled the belief that we can control nature, that our planet is an infinite resource to be mined for our advancement, comfort and entertainment. Today 56 percent of the world population lives in urban areas, a percentage expected to grow to nearly 70 percent by 2050. That means that more than half of us are cut off from reminders that we are still part of nature and utterly dependent on its health. It’s only when something truly devastating happens, like the recent flooding in Dubai, that we remember that even the greatest human advancements can be brought to a standstill by nature’s power. I am not calling for us to leave all modern comforts behind, just pleading for us to get to know nature better, rather than trying to “save” her. Credit...The octopus, via Craig Foster In the last decade I have taken more than 4,000 dives in the Sea Forest. My encounters with mollusks, sharks and jellyfish there have convinced me that there is much we will lose if we do not value the tremendous abundance of life on earth. We do this first by protecting biodiversity hot spots and by restoring degraded ecosystems; the enormous regenerative power I see every day in nature is what gives me hope for the future. It also means learning from and supporting Indigenous people who protect 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity and who have, over millenniums, developed many innovative ways to live with the land and sea. One promising example of partnership is a recent grant from the National Science Foundation to support collaboration between Indigenous ecological knowledge and Western science. Activities that cause long-term destruction of the sea and earth, such as strip mining, deep sea mining and industrial trawling, need to be halted immediately. Farming methods have to change, with greater emphasis on soil recovery and regeneration. We must continue to find alternatives to fossil fuels and push for a worldwide reduction in the production and use of plastics. But each of us has a role to play, too; it starts with challenging ourselves to reconnect with the wild. So much of our modern world seems designed to tame us: to dull our minds, to separate us from the natural world, to convince us that what will help us survive is more consumption. Like my octopus friends, we fill our houses with shiny new things. But our piles of stuff are much bigger, and the cost of acquisition much greater. We can break free of this tame conditioning. When we dedicate even just a few minutes per day to observing wild creatures on their own terms, in their own homes — regardless of where we live — we connect with the concept of biodiversity not simply on an intellectual level but also on an emotional level. We see the world differently — and ourselves, too. How strange it is that one silly primate can see itself as separate from all those it shares this world with. What might happen if we remembered we are a part of this wild world — and let that understanding and humility guide every choice we make? Jane Goodall's Take on Earth Day To reinforce the challenge to reconnect with nature, watch this Instagram reel from Jane Goodall. If anyone knows how to connect with the wild, she sure does! Reflecting on the Meaning of Earth Day: A Personal Perspective I feel I could be one of these pioneering advocates for our planet, but realistically I am just a gardening blogger who feels passionate about our environment. I suppose that's one of the main reasons I started this blog...to share with others the beauty of our planet. Pease do not take our world for granted. Do not use it as a giant garbage can. I see so much trash along the highways from those who throw their garbage out of their car window and more trash just lying in front of people's homes. Recycle as much as you can including through composting and using cloth napkins rather than paper. (Click here for more information from the World Wide Fund for Nature.) And take in all the joys this beautiful world has to offer. Why not go for a lovely walk in a park today? Unplug and just listen to the wind flowing through the leaves, the water trickling down a stream, and the beautiful birdsongs that surround us. It will definitely relax you and put a smile on your face. I hope you enjoyed this post. Please leave a comment below and share this with your friends and family. Happy Gardening, Nina www.bestgardeningforbeginners.com bestgardeningforbeginners@gmail.com

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. It’s time to start thinking about that special gift for that special someone, your mom. I have gardened most of my life. After I became a mom of 4, my children often gave me a garden gift on Mother’s Day. However, I usually received a flat of flowers or a container of tulips or whatever flower they found at the local supermarket. Not to say I wasn’t happy and grateful for these gifts, I just wish they had given it more thought if it was going to be a gardening gift. (A Disclaimer….many of the other gifts they gave me were fantastic! And of course, it’s the thought that counts!) Here are some suggestions for unique gardening gifts for mom for any occasion. I hope you find some of them a little extraordinary. (Some of the links within this post are affiliate links on which I receive a small compensation from the sale of certain items.) Time To Spend With Mom – Time is Precious Instead of buying your mom something, how about spending an entire day with her! Mother’s Day is usually the time when azaleas are in full bloom. One suggestion is to find an Azalea Festival around the area where you live. Google azalea festivals in your area and see what comes up. If there isn’t one close by, a local park will probably feature beautiful azaleas in bloom. You just may have to do a little research. If you have the time, inclination, and money, how about going on a road trip to an Azalea Festival? Many moms would really enjoy that! It’s Picnic Time Gardening Gift For Mom Make a day of it by packing a picnic lunch and surprising her with a bouquet of white carnations. Did you know that white carnations symbolize unconditional love and good luck? If you prefer a different color, try pink carnations. They represent a mother’s love. You could set them up in a small vase on the picnic blanket next to the delicious food you’ll supply. The food could be as simple as buying a hoagie (or sub as they say in other parts of the USA) from your favorite deli. One bonus of presenting her with carnations is that they are the longest lasting cut flowers, so she’ll be able to enjoy these beauties for a few weeks. ====== It’s Garden Time How about presenting her with a flat of unusual annuals and then spend time planting them with her? You could both share ideas as to where to plant them and she could perhaps teach you a thing or two about gardening! (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) You could also give her a gardening roll and kneeler if she doesn’t already have one. Again, spend a few hours with her planting or even tidying up her garden. I’m sure she’d appreciate the help. It’s Hiking Time Hiking is a wonderful pastime. It’s good for the cardiovascular system and helps you to commune with nature. While hiking notice the different flowers popping out of the ground and the various leaves bursting on tree limbs and branches. While you’re hiking, why not ask her about her life when she was a child? There are so many things you could learn from her. My husband and I both wish our moms were still here so we could ask them about their youth and young adulthood. We both regret not doing so before they passed. Community Activities Community Gardens Everyone loves vegetables, at least they should! Farm fresh vegetables are wonderful in the summer. They supply you with natural nutrients that help maintain good immune and digestive systems. Why not join a community garden with your mom? There are many in the country and they will provide you with fresh ingredients for delicious salads throughout the summer. Most community gardens are established as allotment plots. That means a family or individual rents an area in a garden and plants their own vegetables. It is maintained by the individual and you reap the benefits of the harvest during the course of the season. Only you can harvest your food. Perhaps you could pay the seasonal rent as a gift to your mom. Some community gardens have sections that are maintained by the entire community and the produce is donated to local food banks. It’s a great way for your mother to get involved with neighbors. It will help keep her social by meeting new friends, spending more time outdoors, and improving her mind and body. She’ll also enjoy the time with you! Garden Clubs Surprise her with names of people who belong to a garden club in her area. Have information regarding when, where, and what they do in the neighborhood. Plan to go with her for the first, or the first few meetings. This is important especially if she is not an extrovert but enjoys gardening. Tech Support! Anything For Mom! YouTube Videos There are many garden channels on YouTube. The focus of the channels ranges from the simplest of gardens to the most involved. I enjoy watching shows on English gardens. All have a distinct look. Some are of the geometric, straight-lined, extremely manicured variety and others are the natural flowing, overabundant, free form flowers of the English cottage look. Help your mom find these shows and subscribe to them. I never knew how to do that until one of my children showed me. Remember, some of us are dinosaurs and not tech savvy. Creating YouTube Videos I suppose creating a video is as easy as taping yourself on the phone and posting it to YouTube. However, it may be a little more involved to set up comments, followings, and subscribe buttons. She’ll also need someone to tape her. This is where children step up. They could help her complete these tasks much more quickly than if she was to watch tutorials on the issue. Creating A Website On Gardening If your mom loves to garden, has the time, and would like to share her ideas with others she may be interested in creating her own website. This probably sounds like a daunting task if she is not tech savvy, but if you help her get started, she’ll probably be eternally grateful. Platforms like Wix and WordPress are wonderful platforms that teach you how to create a website. It trains you by taking baby steps from beginning to end. With your help though, she can accomplish this much quicker. It’s also another great activity that you and she could do together. You could always share this website with her! Gardening Gifts For Mom – Let’s Go Shopping! If you are the type of person who likes to give gifts, here are some examples of gardening gifts for mom. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Hummingbird Feeder – Grateful Gnome Hummingbird Feeder More Birds Ruby Hummingbird Feeder Wind Chimes – Wind Chimes For People Who Like Their Neighbors Surenshy Wind Chimes Retro Solar Wind Chimes Garden Tower Project Home Pollinators– Hanging Bee House Click here for more information on Bee Pollinators. Happy Mom, Happy Life! Mom’s love to spend time with their kids for birthdays, Mother’s Day, any holiday, or any time. Why not treat her with one of the ideas presented in this post? I know she’ll appreciate it. Please let me know how you made out and leave a comment or question below. Happy Shopping OR Planning! Nina bestgardeningforbeginners@gmail.com www.bestgardeningforbeginners.com

Go to Home Page for Recent News and Deals Tasteful Redesigns Virtual Garden Consultant In this fast paced world we cherish coming home to a quiet retreat. I can virtually help you transform your yard into a sanctuary by suggesting how to rearrange existing items or create a new look all together. At Tasteful Redesigns Garden Consulting, I'll work with you to help transform your yard or existing garden into an oasis at a minimal cost. Blog What I Provide As a client of Tasteful Redesigns you will receive the following services: ​ 1. An initial consultation (virtual or in person) including a checklist of items needed to create an exclusive package tailored to your individual needs. 2. PDF designs drawn to your specific measurements. 3. Complete program detailing how to create the garden, how to plant the items, how to maintain the plants, and how to transplant existing plants as needed. 4. A suggested shopping list of items to purchase. 5. A follow-up consultation with any remaining questions answered. Pricing Competitive rates. Contact me for a free consultation. Get To Know Me I'm not sure about you, but by the end of the day all I want to do is take a break. Wouldn't it be nice to return to surroundings that relax your body and calm your soul? What better place to do so than in your own private garden oasis. ​ Throughout my life, I've worked to create these moments of peace in my own backyards, where I can sit and smell the roses. ​ If you're interested in creating a quiet space of your own but lack the time, vision, or inspiration, I can help. After an initial consultation that will touch on your yard's soil type, slope, sun/shade exposures, and your personal preferences, I will create a template to the scale of your yard. It can include shrubs, trees, flowers , different forms of hardscaping , and a list of garden decorations (bistro sets, etc.). I'll also provide detailed instructions on how to maintain and care for your hideaway. Click the e-mail link to book a free consultation. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with the wide variety of options for your yard by browsing my blog. ​ To learn more about my credentials, click here . ​ Email Me Your Space, My Assistance Local Garden Tour I was honored to have my backyard on the Bordentown City garden tour in Spring 2022. Guests were surprised to enter such a cozy and inviting space in a townhouse setting. ​ Travels I have visited many unique gardens across America, France, Spain, Portugal, and others. ​ These travels inspired me, and provided fresh design ideas I will integrate into your personal garden plan. Unique Designs Transforming a blank slate into an inviting garden can be an intimidating feat. That's where I can help. With your input I will design your ideal outdoor space. Once the plan is in place, you can develop the garden at a pace that suits your lifestyle. Client Input Your vision will guide every project I undertake. Together, we can find the perfect combination of trees, shrubs, and flowers that will elevate your space and enhance your yard, no matter the climate or the space's orientation, all at an affordable price. ​ ​ Coming Soon Gardening Quotes Audrey Hepburn "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." ​ Hanna Rion (1874-1924; Popular Garden Writer) "The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses." ​ Thomas Jefferson "No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." ​ Richard Sheridan (1751-1816) "Won't you come into my garden? I want my roses to see you." Deb My bedroom window looks out over Nina's garden and it starts my day off with a beautiful view! Nina has the ability to combine flowers to make beautiful spaces. Testimonials Pam I am very pleased with the landscaping design that Nina put together for my yard. I've always wanted to create a pollinator garden, but didn't know where to start and what plants would survive the hungry rabbits we have in our area. We had an initial call during which Nina asked a series of questions to fully understand my current landscaping design and what I would like the final design to look like. Nina then promptly put together a comprehensive, custom landscaping design including a set of visual plans, detailed instructions on transplanting existing plants and caring for new ones, and a handy 'shopping list' of suggested plants to purchase. I now feel like I have the tools I need to implement the landscaping plan I've always wanted but was unable to develop on my own. I would highly recommend Nina and her services! Coming Soon Coming Soon

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