My garden is as crowded as my bookshelves, and Laura Ingalls Wilder is a good part of the reason why. I sit down to read, come across a plant, and then want to grow it. Here’s how it happens. Start, let’s say, with On the Banks of Plum Creek. By Chapter 2, the family is…
Little House on the Prairie Gardening
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories focus so much on food and gardening that we know you'll enjoy these wonderful posts. This Gardening section brings you a glimpse into the time period covered in the Little House books, and heirloom gardening trends still popular today. Browse all the Lifestyle articles in this index.
Sweet Potatoes and Pioneers
“Johnny fussed in the bedroom, and Laura quickly pinned her braids, tied on her apron, and said, ‘Let me fix the potatoes while you dress him.’” These Happy Golden Years When you think of Little House on the Prairie, you may think of the covered wagon journey, Jack the brindle Bulldog’s loss and return,…
Edible Landscaping Tips Inspired by Little House on the Prairie
“The colors in the sky at sunset, the delicate tints of the early spring foliage, the brilliant autumn leaves, the softly colored grasses and lovely flowers – what painter ever equaled their beauties with paint and brush?” Laura Ingalls Wilder I grew up watching “Little House on the Prairie” each day while my mom prepared…
Growing Heirloom Corn Varieties
“Every morning Pa went cheerfully whistling to the field… Now he carried a sack of corn fastened to his belt, and as he plowed, he threw grains of corn into the furrow beside the plow’s point. The plow turned over a strip of sod on top of the seed corn. But corn would fight its…
Pioneer Kitchen Gardens: How the Pioneers Planned and Planted
For many of us, gardening is a hobby or even a passion. But there are many people leading perfectly satisfying lives without ever having a garden. It hasn’t always been this way. Gardening is depicted as a normal facet of life in the “Little House on the Prairie” television show and book series, because each…
Growing Historical Lettuce Varieties
“The garden was growing now. In tiny rows of different greens, the radishes, lettuce, onions, were up. The first crumpled leaves of peas were pushing upward. The young tomatoes stood on thin stems, spreading out their first lacy foliage.” Little Town on the Prairie Along with the Little House on the Prairie books, Laura Ingalls…