Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Hydrangeas are fantastic garden plants! The flowers are beautiful but even when not in bloom hydrangeas can be a well formed shrub in the garden. Yesterday while walking through the garden I found a hydrangea that had rooted itself on the ground. This is called layering. Layering is a method of plant propagation where you can encourage roots roots to…

It’s planting time in many areas of the country and many gardeners are just starting their first gardens.  Figuring out just what to do in the garden can get a little overwhelming for beginning gardeners so here are 5 essential garden chores that gardeners can do to maximize their success! 11 Things to Consider When Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable…

It’s amazing how much is growing right now. I feel like all of a sudden everything has emerged in one moment of synchronicity. From the trees and shrubs to the perennials – something is happening everywhere I look. It’s exciting, yet exasperating as there just isn’t enough time to get everything done or talk about a fraction of everything happening…

One of my favorite flowers to enjoy each year is coreopsis! It has an unfortunate nickname that may make you wary, but just because coreopsis is also called tickseed does not mean it will bring ticks! More on that later, but for now here is why coreopsis should be a plant in your garden. Why Coreopsis Is Great in the…

The blue berries I’m about to show aren’t from any blueberry bush but are from the Arrowwood viburnum!  This viburnum is one of my favorites (but really, I think all viburnums are my favorites).  Viburnum dentatum has white flowers that appear in spring and are a great source of nectar for bees and butterflies.  The glossy green leaves persist until…

The rain garden is very close to being finished. We worked most of the day and managed to get the soil put in to make the planting bed. All that is left to do is to select plants and cover with mulch!Here’s a look at today’s progress:Here is where I ended the other evening. A big hole with a trench….

It’s been a while since I’ve written about our vegetable garden so I thought the end of April would be a good time for an update!  There are a few disappointments but overall most of the garden is right on track.  We’ve used raised beds for several years now but most of them have disintegrated.  I’ve replaced some with concrete…

Along the posts of the arbor project we added a little decoration. Welcome to Japanese Maple Leaf Decor 101: How to Stain an Arbor! First we put the initial coat of stain on the 4″x4″s then placed a leaf of a Japanese maple on the still slightly damp wood. Then we removed the leaf after a second coat of stain…

Technically my title is completely incorrect!  We did have snow in January and February but this is the first snowfall of the coming winter season.  And technically this isn’t even officially winter yet.  I’m just breaking all the rules for this post! I’m going wild! Anyway…yesterday we had a light snowfall.  It was the kind of snow that was so…

Here is Part 7 of The Home Garden’s weekly series of posts about gardening on a budget.Last week I talked about making lists for your garden. I mentioned lists for plants you want, plants that did well and didn’t, project lists, and the consolidated list, but another good way to save money while gardening is to know your landscape. This…

As strange as it may sound there are things still growing in the vegetable garden in November and it’s not because of our unusually warm weather. Unfortunately there is only one vegetable growing but there are several kinds of herbs that are doing great. All the vegetable garden pictures were taken this morning while a light frost was still covering…

It was a pretty good weekend for me. You might even say it rocked! Of course that’s partly a play one words, can you guess why?Maybe I went to a concert.Nope. Once our kids came around exciting rock concerts were out of the picture. Not that I really mind I never was much for partying.Maybe I went rock climbing?Nope. I…

One of our favorite vegetables to grow each year is the yellow summer squash. These are some of the best looking squash plants we’ve managed to grow. It could be due to the increased rain this year or maybe the raised beds, but whatever the reason the plants are looking full and strong. They should provide an abundance of squash…

When to plant your vegetables is very important knowledge for all gardeners.  It can mean the difference between a great harvest, a late harvest, or no harvest!  It’s critical to know certain facts about the plants before you plant them. A little knowledge can go a long way to creating a great garden so let’s examine a little bit abut…

Here is the current list of seeds I have started so far. Only a few seedlings have popped up but more will come. It is still early and conditions outside are just now starting to warm up. I’m starting them in the garage under the cover of my mini-greenhouse and some plastic containers turned upside down as propagators. Spending $5.00…

Summer squash is one of our family’s favorite summer vegetables.  A grilled yellow squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper is a simple and delicious treat when cooked along with some barbequed chicken!  There are a few things to know about growing summer squashes in the garden whether they are yellow squash or zucchinis.  Today’s Friday Fives will offer up…

To say I’m a fan of heucheras is an understatement. I like to think of myself as a collector of coral bells, as they are often called, even though my collection is still just a work in progress. I’m gradually adding different varieties to my garden but seem to be running out of room in the corner shade garden (corner…

Peppers aren’t as massively planted as the tomato plant in the vegetable garden but those who do plant peppers have a passion that rivals any other fruit or vegetable from the garden.  Some gardeners love the heat and grow the spiciest peppers they can find, while others love the flavor of a sweet red bell pepper.  I find myself somewhere…