Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Last week I caught my first glimpse of something I have never seen before, a fox in my backyard.  There was a little doubt in my mind when I saw it.  Was it some sort of dog that resembled a fox or did I really seen one?  I’ve never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild just in…

With a slight fog in the air the sun’s rays illuminated those morning mists.The dew glistened on the Silver mound artemisia in the front sidewalk garden.A purple Mother’s Day rose with its leaves frosted by the morning dew.If you look close enough you can see the spider web waving in the air.Morning is a great time to be in the…

It’s May, and the last thing I thought I’d be writing about is a frost in May (Our last Frost date is usually mid April).  The weather service hasn’t put out a frost warning that I know of but with temperatures predicted to be 39 degrees tonight I know my garden is in danger. Our property sits down in a…

Last week I made some cuttings of my ‘Concord’ grape vine in an attempt to make a few more vines. Grapes are great edible plants to have in the garden whether you like eating them at the table, making juice, or even making wine.  Grapes enjoy a full sun location. Here’s how to propagate grapes from greenwood cuttings. How to…

This time of year there usually isn’t much to see in the garden. Lately we’ve been pounded with rain shower after rain shower. We’ve had so much rain that the Duck River south of us in Columbia is about to crest at 45 ft. which is more than it did in the historic floods we had in 2010. There’s not…

Monarda is called bee balm for a reason! This bee balm was brought home as a division from a plant in my wife’s aunt’s garden in West TN. Monarda is a great plant for attracting pollinators! It doesn’t only attract bees, butterflies are more than happy to land upon this flowering perennial. I planted it just outside our vegetable garden…

At least for these plants! This time of year it’s simply amazing how lush and green all the plants are. Green happens to the be subject of the latest Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest. This morning I went out and took a few pictures of the greenery around the garden that might be contest worthy. Here’s a look at a…

There is a trend emerging, a very good trend, toward homeowners filling their garden with edible plantings. Homeowners are trading out ornamental plants for the practical plants that produce food and nourishment for themselves.  How does a gardener begin with changing their landscape into a practical edible garden? You might be surprised. Try creating your “foodscape” by starting at the…

Now wouldn’t this be cool to have in the yard? No not the gnomes, the green roof! I took this picture last year at the Bloom’N Garden Expo in Williamson County last year. It’s a great example of nature and man working together to make something good for both. Green roofs are catching on all over because they help to…

So the calendar says it’s spring.. Front Yard and Garden and I agree! Front yard and garden with Arbor I hope that wherever you are spring weather finds you soon! Patio Peach Tree Flowers in Bloom

It’s almost always true that success in an endeavor brings excitement and enthusiasm for more and I’ve always found this true for plant propagation. If you’ve never tried propagating plants because you think it’s difficult or just too much work then think again! There are all sorts of plants out there that are very easy to propagate and barely require…

I just wanted to take a moment and wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that your list of things to be thankful for far outweighs any other list you might have.  Enjoy the company of family, friends, and food and let Thanksgiving be a celebration for all the joys you have been fortunate enough to have…

When we first moved into our house back in 2007 and were discovering what our garden had in it we found very little.  A nandina, a couple cedars, some reblooming daylilies, and a teeny tiny spirea were all the plants that were there. Not much to start a garden with but I was excited about the challenge.  The spirea had…

I’ve finally gotten around to one of the chores I’ve been meaning to do for two years! Amazing how that works isn’t it? You intend to do a project in the garden then you get distracted with other projects and it becomes to late to accomplish. Today I finally mulched the west side of the planting bed outside of the…

Recently I came across a crape myrtle on sale and decided to add it to our front garden. It’s a variety called ‘Tuscarora’ that can reach about 15 feet wide and up to 20 feet tall. There are a wide variety of crape myrtle trees available but ‘Tuscarora’ produces beautiful reddish-pink, almost watermelon-colored blooms. It’s very similar to a tree…

Since our yard was rather devoid of color and life this past season with the possible exceptions of the verbenas, mums, and asters I am making a strident attempt to improve the year round color situation. Our house was at one time a rental house that was not cared for very well inside or out. As you can imagine the…

As the official date of the beginning of winter is almost upon us it’s time to say farewell to fall! What better way to say good bye to the fall of 2009 than by taking a look back at all the wonderful posts that our fellow bloggers have written about fall foliage. The weather was an issue for many who…

Mother nature sends us all kinds of good things to help us with the bad, we just have to know where to look! Everyone knows about lady bugs and how beneficial they are too the garden but there are other little insects that can do a good job too. Take my recent discovery of assassin bugs for example. One day…