BH&G Farmhouse at Heart

THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN RIGHT NOW TO (QUITE LITERALLY) STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES. If the last two years have taught me anything, it’s that there is no better time than right now to (quite literally) stop and smell the roses—or perhaps to slow down long enough to cook a meal from scratch using veggies from the garden, or to learn to stitch a quilt that might one day become a keepsake, or to find new ways to bring meaning to my home through vintage finds and personal treasures. Slowing down doesn’t mean standing still. It means making time for the people and projects that “fill your bucket,” as my 8-year-old daughter would say. These pages are packed with stories of people who have done just that. On Bainbridge Island,…

BEFORE CHRISTINA HEINRITZ AND HER HUSBAND BOUGHT THEIR FARM, she vowed she would never wear a pair of overalls. “Now, I don’t know how I would get by without them,” she says. “They have all those great pockets. Right?” The Bay Area native never imagined herself doing a lot of things that are now her way of life in California’s Thermalands region. “Things change, you know,” she says. Christina grew up with an outdoorsy family. Weekends were spent camping, hiking, and rock climbing, so nature was in her blood. But it wasn’t until she received her degree in nutrition and met Trevor, an agriculture pilot, at a Lady A (formerly named Lady Antebellum) and Sam Hunt concert that she entertained the idea of an agrarian life. “I never even had a…

Herbs have varying needs while growing, but luckily for gardeners, most are not fussy. The exceptions include lemon verbena, borage, and other tall herbs, which need staking to keep them upright. Although some herbs (lavender, rosemary, bay, sage) tolerate dry conditions, others (basil, cilantro, parsley) prefer a consistent supply of water. Tempting as it is to jump in and grow a wide variety of herbs, it’s best to grow only a few types until you’re well acquainted with them. Choose herbs that you will definitely use. Get to know each plant and its needs throughout the growing season. When you’re confident with those, add to your list. the basics HERBS ARE AMONG THE EASIEST PLANTS TO GROW. THEY’RE MOSTLY VIGOROUS AND HAVE FEW PROBLEMS WITH PESTS AND DISEASES. WHEN DECIDING WHICH PLANTS YOU WILL…

FOR YEARS, TOM AND MISHA GILLINGHAM LED A VERY FULL LIFE. Full as in busy, full as in overextended—probably more so than most people, because both had jobs that took them away from home for days and weeks at a time. They might not have realized the toll the travel and lack of “together time” were taking on the family if not for a couple of health scares. Misha was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery and radiation, and their older daughter, Leila, 14 at the time, was hospitalized for mental health struggles. Looking back, Misha says, “our lifestyle wasn’t very healthy. We weren’t living in a way that was helping our family, with Tom being gone and me on the go. We decided to put wellness front and center.” That…

When Kaleb Wyse was studying accounting and business at a university in Virginia, he knew he would return to his family’s farm in southeast Iowa after graduation. He now lives in his grandparents’ former farmhouse, across the road from his childhood home, and spends his days gardening on his family’s land, cooking farm-to-table, canning what’s left over—and sharing it all through his blog, Wyse Guide. What’s it like to live in a place so ingrained in your childhood? I often remember how everyone was always together. When I would look outside or when I was outside playing with my sister, my dad and my grandpa were always working on something together. My dad is no longer here; he died in 2004. The best memories I have are of him and my…

AS DAWN BREAKS OVER YOUR VEGETABLE PLOT, you let out a contented sigh looking at the rainbow sprouting from the earth before you. Purple-red cabbage is as transfixing as a gemstone, and Kelly green kale and Broccolini bloom in spirals—almost like a bouquet of flowers. You can even pull up radishes as red as your grandmother’s lipstick. The best part, though, is knowing they’re more than beautiful. They are stars of a defensive lineup to help prevent cancer and chronic diseases. “I learned as an early teen about a family link to cancer and just immediately went to work researching how to prevent cancer and what causes it,” says Leesa Morales, who holds a master’s degree in nutrition and is a wellness recipe creator and photographer in Portland, Oregon. She…