Hi there, and welcome to Home Garden Joy! I’m Jeanne Grunert — the writer, master gardener, and amateur herbalist behind this blog. You’ll find tons of helpful articles here to support you as you grow what feeds you, whether that’s your first tomato plant or your skills in cooking with homegrown produce.
Home Garden Joy is all about living closely with the seasons — through gardening, cooking, and savoring the rhythms of nature. You’ll find simple how‑to gardening tips, landscaping and flower‑garden inspiration, indoor plant care, and guidance on growing fruits, veggies, and herbs. I also share ways to cook with your harvest and preserve it so you can enjoy the flavors of each season long after it’s passed.
So what nourishes you? For me, it’s time spent digging in the soil, stirring something delicious on the stove, savoring the seasons, and watching birds and butterflies drift through the garden.
Come grow with me. Welcome to Home Garden Joy.
Learn more about Home Garden Joy and our 19+ year journey to build a spirit-lifting lifestyle.
Every summer, without fail, I plant basil at the end of the raised beds. These are the beds filled with Roma tomatoes, the ones we harvest by the bushel to make our salt-free organic tomato sauce. My tomatoes thrive. “Did you know that basil repels aphids?” an organic gardener friend mentioned to me casually one…
I’ve loved this little folk art weather house all my life. It still makes me smile. What gardener doesn’t need to know the weather? I grew up with many German relatives. Thank-you notes were written to “Oncle Ludwig” and “Tante Marie.” During visits to their homes, I was fascinated by the little folk art German…
Growing vs. wild foraging medicinal herbs is a real concern among newbie herbalists. The other day, I shared pictures of my herb seedlings (mallow, parsley, and savory) on Facebook. A nervous nellie immediately wrote, “I would be so AFRAID to do that! How can you know they are safe?” Well, first of all, parsley and…
I love sunflowers, so when the National Gardening Bureau reached out with the news of Sunfinity® Sunflowers, I had to check them out. This new sunflower variety keeps blooming long after traditional sunflowers call it quits. While many common varieties offer only a few weeks of color and stop producing flowers once cut, this series…