About Garden Betty.

Hey, new Friend.

I’m Linda Ly, the creator of Garden Betty.

That’s my big ol’ mug you see up top. (And no, I don’t usually do my hair to go out in the garden. Nor do my clothes stay that clean.)

This site is for you if:

You don’t mind getting a little dirt under your nails.
You think it’s a shame to let good food go to waste.
You’re obsessed with the free (and cute, and hilarious) entertainment that are backyard chickens. Or…
Nature is your happy place and you love to explore and find out what’s around the next bend.

So, welcome. I think we have lots in common. 🤗

Here’s what you’ll find here.

Garden Betty is full of incredible ideas, tools, and resources—from someone who has actually tried them all—to help you reach the next level in your gardening, cooking, or adventuring.

You’re not going to find generic photos or the same ol’ encyclopedic info that’s been regurgitated from other sources. (It’s shocking how many garden writers online are just that—writers, or worse, AI programs—and really don’t do much gardening at all.)

You’re going to find real tips based on real experiences, and that includes lessons learned from my own mistakes—so you don’t have to make them yourself.

Let your curiosity guide you around this site and not only will you start dreaming about all the amazing things you’ll grow and eat, you’ll start taking action and seeing the magic happen.

Think of me as your friend and guide to a life well-lived outdoors.

So who am I to help you with all this?

I’m a plant lover, passionate road-tripper, and cookbook author whose highly approachable, firsthand advice and bestselling books have been featured in Time magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Martha Stewart, and The Washington Post.

I’ve been called a Creative Genius by DIY Network (now Magnolia Network), the go-to gardening expert by HGTV, and the Best Gardening Blog by Country Living.

But you can just call me Linda.

My joy is in learning and sharing what I know with people just like us. People who love to be a part of everything in nature, who value old-timey skills like tending to their vegetable gardens and stocking their pantries with home-canned goods.

These are essential life skills that everyone should learn, and there’s a certain thrill to being just a little more self-sufficient and discovering this wild world we live in.

As I like to say… There are no black thumbs, only green thumbs in training.

How to navigate this site.

If you stumbled on my blog through a random link, here’s a quick lay of the land to help you find what you’re looking for.

You can keep exploring by clicking around on the menu at the top of this page. The search icon in the top right corner is also a good way to dig a little deeper into my content archive.

My site search is powered by Grow, a robust, privacy-focused search engine that can save all your recent searches and favorite articles in one convenient place. I highly recommend creating a free Grow account so you can bookmark your favorites on not only my site, but many other sites using Grow.

If you’d like to bookmark an article to read later or keep for reference, simply click on the heart icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. It’ll save the article right to your Grow account!

Not finding what you need? I’m always open to suggestions on new topics I can research and share.

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