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Learn How to Garden

Welcome to Home Garden Joy, the place to learn all about gardening, self-care with herbs, and home cooking from scratch.

I wasn’t always a homebody. For many years, I thrived in the fast-paced concrete jungles of New York City as a marketing executive. I chose to give up that lifestyle in 2007 and move onto a 17 acre farm. What I gained by giving up is a peaceful existence that is true to my nature – a homebody who loves nothing more than digging deeply into the soil, putting down roots, and blooming where I’m planted.

 

 

strawberries in a woman's hand

What Will You Find at Home Garden Joy?

The site is filled with everything you need to know to start a garden from scratch. You can learn how to grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, fruit, and more. And, I also share plenty of recipes to help you preserve, store and enjoy the harvest.

In addition to the Learn to Garden section which has plenty of basic gardening information, I also run the Home GardenJoy Academy on Teachable (gardening classes) and offer books on gardening, too. And my new section called Cooking with Fannie & Me helps you master home cooking with my reviews of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

cat in a raised bed garden

 

 

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell

Meet the Gardener – Jeanne Grunert

garden educator Jeanne Grunert

Hi, I'm Jeanne Grunert. I'm your host here at Home Garden Joy. I'm a Virginia Master Gardener, herbalist, and writer.

In 2007, I did what my family and friends said was crazy. I quit my stressful job as a New York City executive and moved with my family to a 17-acre farm in rural Virginia, Seven Oaks. There, I dared to grow my life instead of just make a living. I was on the vanguard of what today is called 'the great resignation' and the 'great migration' out of the cities. The pandemic has pushed many other people into making the choice to embrace a home-based, healthier lifestyle and to give up the frantic pace of city life. I hope that my journey over the past 15 years serves as an inspiration to those of you new to gardening, self-care with herbs, cooking from scratch, and working from home.

Hey, Gardening Buddy!

Latest Posts

water droplets in sunbeams over a raised bed vegetable garden

How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Scratch

If you are looking for information on how to start a vegetable garden from scratch, you may find yourself lost in a sea of advice. I’ll make it easy for your start a backyard vegetable garden by breaking down the steps into four simple categories: Location, Soil, Size, Timing. Where Should You Plant Your Vegetables?…

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Learn Gardening!

writer Jeanne Grunert

Hi, I'm Jeanne Grunert, master gardener, gardening book author, herbalist, and writer. If you're new to gardening, welcome! I make it simple and easy for you to grow a gorgeous garden and cook with the fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you grow.

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Featured

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Home Garden Joy was featured by the American Horticultural Society on #plantchat.

My Books on Amazon

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Visit my author page on Amazon to find all of my fiction and gardening books.

Herbal Academy Teachers

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peach tree cuttings in a pot on a windowsill

Propagating Peach Trees from Softwood Cuttings

We decided that propagating peach trees from softwood cuttings was the way to go when we couldn’t find the variety we wanted at the store this past week. The best eating peach we’ve ever grown here at Seven Oaks Farm is “Red Haven.” It was recommended by our neighbor, a man whose family has farmed…

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soul in a yellow mug against pine panelling

Made From Scratch Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe

This is the best made-from-scratch chicken vegetable soup recipe you’ll ever taste. It’s a favorite of my family and I’m betting it will quickly become a favorite of your family’s, too. As part of my ongoing quest to test and taste every recipe in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook 100th Edition, I’ve made the Vegetable Soup…

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A loaf of bread on a plate

Water Bread – Recipe Review

Once you make water bread, you’ll never eat store bought white bread again. In fact, you won’t be able to look at a loaf of “white bread” from the market and consider it bread, in any sense of the word, after you’ve taken a bite of the real thing. Hot. Crunchy crust. Tender, flaky, soft…

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lemon on a lemon tree

Can You Grow a Lemon Tree from a Seed?

If you’ve ever wondered can you grow a lemon tree from a seed, the answer is yes, you can. But it takes patience and time to coax the tree into producing fruit. In the meantime, you’ll have to tend a tree that wants to grow into six, seven or more feet tall. Here’s the story…

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