Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Hummingbirds are one of those subjects that are a challenge to photograph in flight. The best way I’ve found to get a good shot of a hummingbird is simply to take a whole bunch of pictures. My only other tip is to stake out the bird feeders and wait for that perfect shot while taking multiple pictures per second. The…

Over at Ledge and Gardens in Rhode Island Layanee has put together a post about my favorite trees, maples! Layanee’s maples are mostly Japanese maples and their color is nothing short of awesome. From orange to red to gold-green these maples don’t disappoint for fall color. Included in her post are the Acer palmatum varieties ‘Omurayama’ and ‘Osakasuki’, as well…

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about one of my favorite shrubs, the Japanese Dappled Willow ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ (Salix integra). It’s a fast growing variegated willow that works well as a privacy screen and is hardy in zones 4-9. It’s deciduous so it will be bare over the winter but the new growth in the spring time is fun…

Summertime in Tennessee will be HOT. No doubt about it! We frequently get into the upper 90’s and sometimes it can last for several days in a row. You need a plan for your garden to deal with the hot temperatures. Most warm season plants that you grow will do fine with a few basic techniques for dealing with the…

I haven’t made it out into the garden much lately other than to gather the occasional item for the kitchen but I did manage to grab the camera and head into the yard this afternoon for a few minutes. Here’s a little of what I found! This is a ‘Golden Globe’ arborvitae.  It has a nice rounded habit with golden…

Ever been to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show? Here’s the info for 2012: Gardens Past, Present & Future Will Be Celebrated March 1-4 at the 2012 Nashville Lawn & Garden Show Discussion of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gardens among the many free presentations at the show Nashville, TN – The timeless appeal, importance and fun of gardening will be celebrated…

I made big plans for this weekend. Plans that, at least in my mind, were very attainable. Unfortunately the weather did not concur. When I made my chore list for the weekend the weather forecast said Saturday and Sunday would be in the 70’s and sunny. We had a such a great weather day on Saturday that makes saying it…

Now here is a cool list of trees for those who may like to bring a bit of the Smokey Mountains into their landscape. On the Great Smokey Mountains National Park website they have published a list of all the trees in the park and even included the non-native ones denoted with an asterisk. What I find interesting is where…

Hostas are one of my favorite garden plants so it stands to reason that I like to propagate more! The propagation of hostas is done primarily through division which is a very simple process. Like any process there are several methods that will work to propagate and divide hostas. The Best Time to Divide Hostas The best time to divide…

The Dandelion(Taraxacum officinale)You know this pretty little face don’t you? Staring up at you with it’s bright golden feathery petals gleaming in the sun. It is a pretty little flower in it’s own way. Almost…dandy. But its pretty exterior hides how fierce this weed really is. It spreads fast if not contained.This little flower from the Asteraceae family will spread…

The title of this post says it all. If I can move a rock I’ll put it somewhere! Thanks to a garden club friend (Evelyn) I found out about a man named Barry who was clearing part of his property so that his wife could have horses. Unfortunately for Barry, and very fortunately for me and several other rock collectors,…

No you’re not having a bad 80’s flashback. The word rad in the title doesn’t refer to big hair glam bands or jelly shoes but rather radishes! How could you even think of the other stuff? The radishes are in from the vegetable garden and are quite tasty.Here’s the bunch I pulled today. There are still a few more in…

There’s no doubt about it but Bachelor’s buttons (also known as Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus) are beautiful flowers in the spring garden. They have amazing blue colored petals with a darker blue center. Bachelors buttons grow very easily from seeds and require no real care to proliferate – and that is where the problem is – they can spread like crazy!…

This time of year can be very confusing.  Especially when the weather throws a few curve balls like extra warm temperatures!  It almost makes you think it will be fine to plant those tomatoes four weeks early.  I know why, everyone wants bragging rights about that first ripe tomato! I thought for today’s Friday Five post that I would mention…

Last weekend I brought home a few things from my in-laws house. I’m very fortunate to be able to take cuttings of anything they have around or to be able to gather rocks for edging in our garden. So what did I bring home last weekend? I’ve already told you about one thing, the pyracantha cuttings. I took 14 cuttings…

Picking a photo for Gardening Gone Wild’s Photo monthly contest was a challenge. The subject matter for September is ornamental grasses. I took photos of the grass leaves, the seed heads, and from different perspectives and finally settled on the first picture of the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’. I liked the second picture of the seedheads because of the similar orientation…

This fall I took a scraggly looking branch off a little burning bush I had. The botanical name is Euonymous alata. These bushes are green during most of the growing season but turn fiery red in the fall before they lose their leaves. It is for this reason that people plant them. Yesterday I checked the cutting’s progress. I wasn’t…

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…