The first frosts are almost always something that this gardener dreads. Mostly because it is the end of the growing season – mostly, some plants will grow on through the winter. But if you look closely at the frost you can also find it is a thing of beauty. Frost on Viburnum x burkwoodii Frost … Read more
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is one of those beautiful plants for fall color that unfortunately gets mixed up with one of similar appearance but of very ill repute: poison ivy (Rhus radicans). The difference has traditionally been summed up in the phrase “Leaves of three let it be, leaves of five let it thrive!” Physically … Read more
I always wonder exactly when the colors are going to peak. It always seems though that you never quite have it figured out until you’re actually past peak. With that in mind are our fall color peaking? Are the color changing maples, oaks, and sassafras at the height of their autumn radiance? Hopefully not but … Read more
My wife told me today that when I post to one of the other offshoots of this blog I need to let people know with a post here! I should listen to my wife more, but don’t tell her that! So what has been updated? For one the Fall Color Project now has several posts … Read more
Since my garden shed’s construction was complete my updates have been less frequent. OK it’s not really complete yet but the physical structure is finished. (Feel free to check out the YouTube slideshow on the shed’s construction) There is a huge list of things I would like to add or improve on the shed and … Read more
This weekend I found myself in the shed working on some shelving and countertops for the reclaimed cabinets I picked up from the dump (yes I’m that cheap!) I’ll talk more on the garden shed later in the week but for now I thought I’d show you a little of what is going on in … Read more
This week I went to my mom’s house to do a little digging. Back in the late spring we noticed small butterfly bush seedlings beginning to sprout in the pathway’s of her vegetable garden. As they grew large enough to transplant the weather became hot and transplanting wasn’t a great idea. Then my father passed … Read more
It’s taken me all summer to get to it but I’m finally taking the first steps toward changing the vegetable garden to the parterre layout. I had some of the blocks sitting around for months now and others I borrowed from our patio sidewalk expansion which I just haven’t had time to get to this … Read more
It’s been while since I showed larger scale pictures of the garden. Mostly because it was such a mess over the summer. Today I’ll share a few photos of the various garden areas. The resiliency of plants is simply amazing. With neglect, wet weather, dry weather, hot weather, and lack of time my plants seem … Read more
You’ve seen it before I’m sure. A surprise plant or two coming up where you would least expect it. A bird may have moved the seed around, or maybe it was caught can carried along on the wind. But have you ever had a whole garden just appear ready to go? I have! Now it’s … Read more
‘Bluecrop’ Blueberry Bush As I indicated in my last post about the two camellias in one pot I’m always looking for ways to garden cheap. Imagine my excitement when I stumbled across some ‘Bluecrop’ blueberries that are normally over $20 marked down to $5 each! Of course I snatched two up (I might have gotten … Read more
When you garden cheap (or try to) you look for all those little tricks that will help save a few dollars. Plant propagation is one of my favorite tricks but here’s another money saving trick that pops up from time to time: multiple plants! Sometimes plant propagators stick more than one cutting in a pot … Read more
No this isn’t some heavy weight boxing fight over on pay-per-view. This is a garden blog after all! This is a comparison between two very similar fall flowering perennials that really are heavy weight garden stand outs! This battle is between ‘Sheffield Pink’ and ‘Clara Curtis’ – the pink mums! In this corner we have … Read more
You may have noticed a few changes here at The Home Garden lately. The changes are not completely set into how I want them to be yet but they are well on their way! You may be wondering why did I change things? To start off there were some major issues going on with something … Read more
As always I’m excited to get new plants through plant propagation and I’m pretty excited to add 5 new dwarf arborvitae to the collection! I bought the ‘Little Giant’ arborvitae (Thuja occindentalis) last fall on the discount rack and planted two of them in the birdbath garden on either side of the pathway to the … Read more
It’s no secret that this has been a challenging year for our family. My father’s health issues and fight with cancer completely drained our enthusiasm and many things have suffered. That is one reason why this fall is so welcome. Fall represents the closing of the growing season. Winter will come soon after and gardening … Read more
I’m a couple days late on my entry for the GROW project so here it is! The Italian Cameo basil is still going strong and is beginning to flower. It’s done well in a soil mix that I think is probably too compacted. I didn’t get a picture of it but it really doesn’t look … Read more
Another month has begun and the list of chores keeps mounting. September’s To-Do List didn’t get completed and those items may need attention in my garden this month too. The weather is nothing short of stunning in October with warm sunshine and cool days, and as long as time is available gardening is a top … Read more
