Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

In the fall there are several iconic thoughts that spring to mind of most people. Cool crisp days evoke good feelings and memories created around fall festivals, apple cider, holidays, and other fall activities. One way to share the fall experience with your family is to add a backyard fire pit. What could be better than a cool crisp evening…

The Plant of the Month for December over at Gardening Gone Wild is all about sedums!  Sedums (also called stonecrop) are a type of succulent and are capable of storing water in their leaves which makes them very drought tolerant here in Tennessee.  We have several kinds of sedum in our garden with one of my favorites being the Dragon’s…

In the light of the fading sun the shadows of the dogwood (Cornus florida) flowers rest lightly upon the bracts.

It’s been another long break between postings here on the Growing The Home Garden Shed page.  If you follow me on Facebook or read my main gardening blog you know how busy I’ve been with starting my own nursery.  It’s been a challenge and even though I started off with the attitude that I should count a single customer as…

In the world of plants there are few that are easier to root than a willow. Whether you have a weeping willow, contorted willow, or dappled willow they all root very easily. Rooting a dappled willow is extremely simple and can be done in a glass or vase of water. Rooting a Willow Tree To root a willow in most…

Perhaps one of the easiest methods of plant propagation is through bulbils. Bulbils are simply baby plants produced along aerial stem of a plant. Lilies are well known for producing bulbils and you can take advantage of this natural plant ability to create more lilies for your garden. Not all lilies produce bulbils so be observant of your garden to…

A couple weeks ago I redid our self-sowing garden.  It was getting messy and too many weeds incorporated themselves into the garden.  I suppose they thought they could pass themselves off as desirable plants but their plans were foiled by May’s Lowe’s Creative Ideas Project!  The theme for this month was bulb plants.  Being one to never turn away from…

Chris over at Outside Clyde posted a great picture of the Smokey Mountains that reminded me of when we lived out that way. We really miss living in east Tennessee because of the proximity to those mountains. There are all sorts of beautiful nooks and crannies to explore, breathtaking views, and animals to see. If you’re lucky you may even…

This weekend found me still digging the greenhouse foundation out. Digging out a 10’x16′ area by yourself takes some time, especially when it rains more often than not. But in gardening, as in life, you take what comes and do the best you can with what you have. In three digging sessions I excavated three 4’x8′ areas to eventually remove…

Dogwood leaves turning a deep red for fall in Tennessee! Last year when we bought our land I knew there would be challenges. There always are when building a home. I’ve helped a number of people over the last several years get homes built and I’ve seen all sorts of issues from the construction side of…

I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesn’t? There are Japanese maples  with variegated leaves, ones with deep burgundy colors, others with interesting shaped leaves that are highly dissected and many other kinds. The fall color on a Japanese is almost always guaranteed to be something special.  Their highly ornamental nature makes them very popular trees in the landscape. Last summer I gathered…

Has this ever happened to you? You cut a tomato open only to find…it’s growing!Our tomato we sliced open for dinner on Wednesday was sprouting new plants inside of itself. It was ripe and was still in very good shape. I guess the seeds were just ready to grow!

…meal in my garden this year. Blood meal is one of those organic additives that contribute to the quality of your soil. It has a very important nutrient: Nitrogen. Nitrogen is responsible for growing the green leafy growth on your plants. Since blood meal is made form the dried blood of livestock it is an organic product and releases the…

The other day I wrote about the value of using echinacea in the garden. As it turns out that it’s not only valuable to us as an ornamental or as a pollen plant for beneficial insects but it also can be a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis)! This weekend I discovered this mass of tiny black…

I’ve been looking back at my photo albums lately.  Looking back at old photos helps to get a perspective of where the garden is going by remembering where it’s been.  I can see how effective my efforts are at developing a garden, how much things have grown, and remember old plants I might not have anymore.  While perusing the photos…

You can feel it in the air can’t you? The coolness of an approaching autumn. The each passing day is getting noticeably shorter. We’re beginning that transitional period from the hot summer growing season to the fall growing season and that can mean a lot of changes in the garden. The vegetable garden may still be going full speed ahead…

Nandina domestica, otherwise known as ‘Heavenly Bamboo’, can be an interesting plant to put in your landscape but you may want to think twice before doing so. I’ll explain why in a minute but first let me tell you why so many people like it. It retains its leaves year round, it has bright red berries that are fantastic for…

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan for the genus Prunus so you won’t be flabbergasted when I tell you that I like this little ornamental dwarf peach called ‘Bonfire’ (Prunus persica). I bought it last year for my wife who wanted a peach tree. Unfortunately at the time I didn’t realize that it was merely ornamental and not…