Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

For a long time now I have denigrated my Bradford pear tree.  It’s smelly in the spring, although it looks nice.  It produces loads of inedible fruit that spawns offspring in my garden and everywhere else the birds decide to fly.  Bradford pear trees are generally weak trees that split because of their “V” shaped branch unions that cluster with more…

To say I’m furious tonight would be an understatement. The deer have struck again, and again this week, relentlessly. This week’s attacks have been the most brutal by far. I normally like the deer. It’s fun to see the fawns scamper through the backyard, or to watch the watchful mother and father deer looking after the young ones. But today…

This may be an unusual tool to consider a garden tool but I have found my Swiss Army Knife very useful in the garden. As you probably know Swiss Army Knives have many useful attachments from the knife itself to toothpicks. I don’t use the toothpick at all but there are many other parts I use frequently. Disclaimer: Some affiliate…

The weather has turn hot and humid, of course this is normal for summers in Tennessee.  We are blessed with a very long growing season but our summers can be extremely warm.  Last year on a record setting June day we reached over 110 degrees.  Which also happened to be the day our air conditioner decided to quit!  We spent…

It is inevitable. You will find a weed somewhere in your lawn or in your garden.  As things begin to grow this spring you’ll notice weeds coming up where you don’t want them.  In fact that is the general definition of a weedy plant – a plant that grows where you don’t want it!  Any plant can become weedy but some have…

It’s just about time to start seeds indoors for peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes here in TN so I thought I would share a quick post on how I make my seed starting medium (mix).  Seed starting mixes can be bought with the same ingredients as what I’m about to share with you but when you mix it yourself you can…

You’ve probably noticed that there’s a lot of talk these days about self-sufficiency.  People are striving to reduce their impact on the environment by improving how things work.  Self-sufficiency is a great goal to have for your garden as well.  Not only does being self-sufficient help the environment but it makes a cheaper and healthier garden.  Today for the Friday Fives…

Updated on 11/23/2024 Fall is that time of year when gardeners begin the process of cleaning up the garden but also is the time when we begin to think of next year and saving seeds. One of the my favorite plants is echinacea and I like to save the seed from it to grow and expand gardens. Saving seeds of…

If you happen to be wondering what my project is for the 48 Hour Blog Challenge I have a few hints for you.  I’ve included three pictures of a few materials we plan to utilize.  If you want to see what the project is you’ll have to check the BHG.com 48 Hour Blog Challenge Website on Friday! Now for the…

Than a delicious, dark red, juicy sliced tomato? My turkey wrap sandwich was very happy this afternoon with the addition of this red fruit of the garden. Not too juicy and not too meaty, just perfect – the perfect tomato experience. The scent of the tomato after cutting it open was like taking in the fragrance of a honeysuckle flower….

A few weeks ago I was asked to review a website of a commercial furniture manufacturer for garden furniture. I took a look around at The Oxford Garden website and from what I can tell they have some very nice furniture. The furniture has a classy yet casual look and whether you are looking for a nice bench to sit…

I did a video a while back on Youtube about collecting oak leaf hydrangeas from seed. I thought since now is the ideal time to start collecting those seeds again I would go ahead and direct sow some oak leaf hydrangeas from seed. Below you can watch a short video of the flat I put together but it is a…

Yesterday day I mentioned how quickly and easily my Snow Fairy caryopteris (Caryopteris divaricata) rooted. Today I went out and potted my little cutting up into a small 4″ pot for it to grow a stronger root system before I plant it in the yard. I took a picture to show you about what size and kind of cutting I…

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….

Friday afternoon and evening I was in the yard and garden vigorously hauling compost from truck to the raised beds. Fortunately one yard of compost was all that was necessary to complete the filling of the beds.   Saturday’s task will be mulch: mulch for the garden paths and for various other locations around the yard. I can’t wait to…

Sometimes the weather makes stops our plans, sometimes it changes them, and sometimes we just don’t let it stop us! Such was the case for Healing Magic Hands who braved the rain to bring us fall color. Japanese maples, American cranberry bushes, and many other fall foliage plants enticed her out of her house and into her garden while the…

When you’re taking cuttings from a plant, one of the most important steps is choosing the right material. The type of cutting you select plays a huge role in whether or not it will root successfully. In this post, I’ll walk you through what I look for when taking cuttings from shrubs and perennials and share some practical tips to…

OK it’s not really a strawberry patch as much as it is a raised bed in the vegetable garden that is overflowing with strawberry plants. A couple years ago I planted the bed with these strawberry plants, I believe there were twelve plants total, and let them grow in the bed. I fertilized after their fruiting was complete with an…