Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

This morning’s cool temperatures made it feel like my favorite season is well on its way.  Of course autumn is coming but the extra cool August temperatures we’re having have me hoping for an extended fall season.  Here’s a look at a few things from around the garden this morning! ‘Arizona Sun’ Gaillardia – Blanket Flower is a good native…

If you’re like me you’re a sucker for phlox in the spring time. I’ve seen photos of phlox completely covering hillsides and it looks just like a painting, wouldn’t it be cool to mimic that idea in your own garden? Maybe just on a small scale though because once the phlox blooms in the spring all you see is green…

I’m sure you can understand why the January garden doesn’t get much picture time here. It’s not because it doesn’t look great – even though it doesn’t – it’s because it’s pretty darn cold! This winter has been one of the coldest we’ve had in a long time here in Tennessee and I like it much warmer. I remarked this…

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 been gradually tinkering away at the garden shed. A few tasks are underway that are necessary before the next big step for the outside – painting! I’ve been busy sealing up the cracks around all the openings with caulk. I think I’m just over halfway done with the caulking on the outside. The caulking around the big windows on…

While aphids are easy to deal with they are definitely a nuisance! I discovered these on our hostas the other day feasting on the flower stalks. Aphids are easy to find, just look for the ants. Ants are opportunistic little insects that love a sweet and easy meal that the aphids provide. When the aphids begin to feed on the…

Recently I was asked some questions about gardening with children and while there are certainly quite a few tips I could mention about the subject there is one idea that stands out above all others in my mind. Do what the kids love!  Every kid is different and each one has as many different ideas as to what makes a…

For those of us who garden in the summertime almost exclusively for the purpose of tasting that juicy red perfect tomato from the vegetable garden there’s a pretty good resource for you. It’s an Ebook called How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes written by Lucia Grimmer and Annette Welsford. Together the two tomato aficionados have assembled a handy resource for…

It’s bound to be an exciting year for the vegetable garden!  In fact every year I get excited by the potential new varieties of seeds to try.  The catalogs are full of amazing, mouthwatering, and delicious pictures and descriptions. (Don’t worry I’m not eating the catalog – although I’ll bet you thought about it too!) Whittling down the choices to…

Daylilies are one of those plants every garden should have. Unfortunately I’ve been lax in adding daylilies to the garden over the years. I’m not sure why really. It might be the fact that daylilies in the garden centers aren’t all that thrilling and that is where I do most of my shopping. I’ve perused catalogs for various online nurseries…

Memorial Day isn’t about cookouts or backyard BBQs. It’s not about the fireworks or vacations either. It’s about paying tribute to the memory of those who have given their lives in the service of their country. Originally it was meant to honor those who died in the Civil War and eventually changed to honor those from all wars after World…

It’s taken a few years before my premonitions came to fruition. It’s not that I wanted it to happen I just expected it.  It was inevitable and couldn’t be avoided.  The ‘Bradford’ Pear tree in my front yard split. No storm brought damaging high winds that would wreak havoc among many species of trees. There were no diseases making the…

Have you had enough of fall color yet? Not me! We have two more great examples of spectacular fall color from two more great bloggers.In Maine Sarah, a professional writer and blogger of Sarah Laurence Blog, takes us on a weekend hiking trip into the mountains of Maine. The photographs of fall colors in Maine are simply stunning. While the…

Emily Rose who gardens and blogs in the Chattanooga area has a very picturesque setting for her fall colors!  What could be better than fall colors reflected in a pond?  Oaks, maples, and other trees all offer up a piece of East Tennessee fall color.  Stop by and check out Emily’s fall color pictures at her blog!

My gardens haven’t seen any rain for several weeks now.  The grass is brown and I even commented to my daughter that it sounds like crunchy snow.  Of course the reality couldn’t be further from the truth – it’s hot!  No snowball could survive in our back yard today with temperatures expected to rise into the triple digits.  Droughts do…

I was inspecting the Birdbath Garden the other day when a persistent buzzing sound became noticeable. I looked around a little closer and found this little bee happily buzzing among the stalks of the salvia. No wonder I like these plants! They are magnets for these happy little pollinators. This bee buzzed from stalk to stalk sampling all it had…

I wrote in my last post about the plant benches I was working on for the garden shed and this weekend I was able to finish installing the coated wire shelf tops. Now I can add plants in to overwinter, hardwood cuttings for rooting over the winter, or maybe even start seeds in the early spring.Each shelf is covered with…

With summers in Tennessee you never know exactly what your going to get. Usually you expect dry and hot. That’s a pretty safe bet.  But lately the temperatures have reminded me of fall. The scents are on the wind.  Fall blooming plants like goldenrod and ironweed are beginning to flower. The smell of fall is in the air – but summer isn’t over yet. When…