Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated you on my raised bed vegetable garden. I’m pleased with the way things are looking right now. The tomato plants are taking off as are the squash and cucumber plants. You can see for yourself the benefits of gardening in raised beds! The tomatoes and other vegetables grow faster and larger.In the…

If you’re looking for a versatile, wildlife-friendly shrub with four-season appeal, Viburnum nudum absolutely deserves a spot in your garden. Commonly called possumhaw viburnum, raisin tree, or witherod viburnum, this native plant brings glossy green leaves, colorful fall foliage, and clusters of berries that both birds and pollinators love. Best of all, viburnums are great a native replacement for many…

I did a post a while back on my front yard garden spots where I wrote about my mailbox garden and felt today that I needed to update what I’ve done since then. I really haven’t done much, as far as adding plants goes, but I can definitely tell you that a little mulch goes a long way toward making…

The dry season is well upon us. Here in Tennessee we haven’t seen a drop of rain in two weeks and even that was only .12 inches (at least in our garden). I’m not sure how long the plants can hang on without a good dose of liquid from the sky. And despite my repeated waterings the plants are suffering….

The redbuds are in bloom! Cercis canadensis is a beautiful native plant here in Tennessee and in other areas of the country. Redbuds are an understory tree that do best on the outskirts of forest areas or with partial shade locations. They don’t grow very tall, somewhere around 20-30 feet or so. Redbud flowers are very interesting because they appear…

Among many garden chores that come in spring perhaps the biggest is the trimming of the ornamental grasses. Trimming back perennials can be time consuming but the ornamental grasses can be a bear. It’s not the tiny little hair-like strands of the Nassella tenuissima (Ponytail grass), or the tall and narrow ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grasses. The panicums aren’t a…

Over the weekend I planted an ‘October Glory’ maple tree. I chose this tree as one of my first fall plantings of 2025 for a several reasons. One of those reasons was a little sentimental. You see when my wife and I bought our first home an ‘October Glory’ was the first tree we planted there. We wanted a nice…

In yesterday’s post on propagating switchgrasses I left out the picture of the ‘Northwind’ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Also I didn’t post any details about the two switchgrasses that I mentioned. So here’s a little more about switchgrasses! Switchgrasses are native to the United States and flourish during the warm season. In my observations they are later to emerge from winter…

We were sitting at the breakfast table on Sunday morning when an unusual sight appeared from the wooded area in the back of our yard. We watched as this dog-like apparition glided from the woods and crept across the grass. It was a coyote and it wasn’t a welcome sight to my eyes. As a father of two small children…

If you are like me, you may have never given your wheelbarrow much thought. It really is a gardener’s best friend. This garden companion is with you in all seasons and through all manner of tasks. The poor little guy is taken for granted yet never complains and always does the job. Often it isn’t until the morning after that…

Just what you want right?  Even more things to do in the garden.  I’m sure you have everything perfect.  Everything is mulched to 2 inches high.  Every weed is pulled and the gardens are in pristine condition!  Not our garden, not even close! An extra long weekend is ahead which (unless you’ve been deluged with rain from Isaac) will give…

If you have a freely draining patio set in sand like I do you may have noticed weeds growing up through the cracks. These are generally caused by seeds that have landed on the patio and germinated and can be easy to eliminate. The most obvious way to deal with them is to try to pull them up. For a…

Homesteading has seen a resurgence over the last several years which is very cool.  More people are opting to build a strong connection with the land and are moving toward mini-farms and homesteads to raise their families.  Before beginning a homestead future farmers should do one thing: learn to garden!  The garden is one major component of a successful homestead…

A couple years ago I was given a blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) to add to my garden.  I planted it when it was covered with seeds and let it go to grow as it could as I do with so many plants. I forgot about it but apparently several seeds landed in different location near our front porch entry area…

I had intended to continue my series of Thrifty Gardening Tips but unfortunately blogger ate my post. Or most of my post. I’m not sure what happened, half of it disappeared which of course was the half that took me a couple hours to write. So instead I’m showing you a couple pictures of the rose bush I we bought…

In front of our garage we have a nandina. I’m not a huge fan of nandinas normally but I’ve grown accustomed to the one we have, besides it saved my mower and our house once! I’ve never done any real maintenance to it and it has performed great in the front garden. It was due for a pruning so I…

I am currently away from my garden so I thought I would share some Asiatic lilies from my mother-in-law’s garden. The blooms are spectacular this year! The lilies are mixed together with a variety of other plants in a raised bed garden made from local stone. Enjoy the blooms!For a look at other people’s June Blooms go to Carol’s site:…

Today I put the final touches on the birdbath garden for the 2008 gardening season. It’s come a long way since it’s inception last fall. In the beginning it was merely a birdbath with a couple plants next to it. A few irises, two coneflowers (‘Sunset’), and a butterfly bush made up the whole garden. Later I added some discount…