Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

We’ve all heard about the infamous teenagers who go around neighborhoods looking for pumpkins to smash. Smashing pumpkins is one of those activities I never did and frankly always found rude and obnoxious, unless of course the smashers purchased their own pumpkins but that’s rarely the case. In fact I find the current state of my own pumpkins to be…

This Saturday is the Middle Tennessee Plant Swap at Henry Horton Park. This is a fantastic opportunity to talk to other gardeners and exchange those extra plants you don’t need for some you do! If you haven’t already gotten your plants ready you should do that ASAP to give them time to recover from any potential plant shock. Exchanges aren’t…

One of the more confusing aspects of gardening is when to prune hydrangeas. The confusion is because the best time of year to prune hydrangeas differs depending on the type of hydrangea you have. Some hydrangeas bloom on the old wood from the previous season while others will bloom on new wood. Determining which hydrangea is which will help make…

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…

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….

It will be fun to think of what next year’s growing season will bring. The yard here is pretty much a blank slate still. I’ve done a few things, like making a garden bed or two, making a bird bath garden, and added trees but there is a lot left to do to fit my vision of what this yard…

Spring is hitting us full force right now in mid April. Flowers are blooming everywhere! The mailbox garden is covered in spring time flowers and in just about every other garden is a spot of color to talk about. This post is plant and garden photo heavy so be prepared! April Blooms in the Mailbox Garden We’ll start the garden…

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here is my Anything Green Post! You are welcome to join in and post anything that is green and growing in your gardens in the month of March!Here’s the tour of what’s green in my gardens.The daffodils in my yard are still green while most of the other daffodils I have seen in our area…

My thoughts on gardening in 2020 2020 has been a crazy year so far hasn’t it? On the positive side it has introduced a host of new gardeners to the fun of home gardening. People these days are looking for ways to spend their time at home and maybe participate in a healthy activity that can offset some expenses with…

Another second of the month has arrived and it’s time for an update on my seeds for the 2011 GROW project! Here’s the Italian Cameo Basil – I have it planted in a container but I suspect the soil mix is too heavy for the basil. Its growth has been fairly limited over the last month and I may need…

Since summer has now officially come and gone and I only started this site a week ago (give or take a day or two), I thought I would share an easy project that I did this summer from another old wooden palette. Originally I was going to turn it into a compost bin, but after using the palette laying on…

Over the holidays we went to the West Tennessee town of Trenton to visit my wife’s grandmother. Her home rests in the middle of several acres of rich Tennessee farmland where they typically grow either soybeans, corn, or winter wheat depending upon the whim of the farmer. The crop is most likely determined through a system of crop rotation. Soybeans…

In late May I wrote a post about how to propagate Asiatic lilies from leaves. I figured it was time to show you how things are coming along. After small little bulbs began to form on the base of the leaves I planted the bulbs into small pots. As you can see in the picture below the old leaves completely…

An interesting problem has arisen lately. You see, over the last few months little saplings of our Tennessee state tree the tulip poplar have popped up all over the place. It must have been a great year for tulip poplars last season because I’ve found over 7 saplings that seem to be doing great all over the yard. They all…

Since it’s been raining and not much can be done outside, I’ll share a few pictures I took a couple weeks ago at my in-laws house. If you remember I did some wildflower hunting (Yellow Corydalis, False Garlic, Sedum puchellum) while we were there. Today I’ll show you the more cultivated side of their yard.Here are a couple blossoms off…

Last year I set up a small greenhouse in my garage.  It was a gift from my parents and has come in quite handy.  I keep it in the garage next to one of the windows and have an old aquarium light set up for the top shelf.  This little greenhouse is the perfect place to harden off my seedlings…

Garden mulch can be an essential part of your garden. Mulch has a number of benefits including keeping the moisture in the soil and adds beneficial organic matter. Mulch can be valuable in reducing weed pressure as well. How much mulch do you need? Below is a simple mulch calculator to help you determine how much mulch you need for…

Cilantro is one of our family’s favorite herbs to grow. We use it in cooking various dishes and always include it in our guacamole. In the garden it tends to be very short lived in the heat of the summer. Cilantro is very heat sensitive and will produce flowers very fast when the temperatures get warm. Why does Cilantro bolt?…