Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Everybody has a spot in their yard that needs definition. Whether it is a shared boundary line with the neighbors or just a border between garden rooms, people like to define their spaces. Another major project I tackled last weekend was the side border garden. As it’s creative name describes, it is on our side border, and it’s purpose is…

One morning back in September there was a heavy dew that illuminated this web on one of our potted lemon trees. We thought it was pretty cool so we took a picture of it!

Maybe you can help us figure something out. Jaime sent me this picture of a plant growing where she wanted to plant zinnias. If the plant growing there is something good then she’d like to see it grow to flower but if it’s a weed well, you know what she’ll do to that weed! I’ve checked out several weed pictures…

The first day of Spring is marked by gardeners everywhere.  Unfortunately not everyone gets to experience warm days, growing plants, and all the wonders of spring at the same time.  It’s different for every region but that doesn’t make it any less significant.  The first day of spring symbolizes the beginning of the growing season for many gardeners.  Even gardeners…

Since I bought my new toy (a Sony Handycam HDR-CX130) I’ve been playing around with filming my garden in different areas. I have to admit – talking to a camera by oneself while wandering around your garden is a weird sensation. I’m convinced that my neighbors already think I’m crazy and I doubt video recording my garden is going to…

I wanted to share a few more pictures from my visit to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens the other day but also wanted to give you a Friday 5 post so I thought why not put the two together?  For today I’ll give you 5 Great reasons to visit Cheekwood and show you some of the great features I saw during my…

Tuesday evening several of us Tennessee garden bloggers got together to meet. For some of us, including myself, it was the first time seeing the bloggers behind the screen. Our conversations ranged from garden topics, blogging topics, to air traffic control. So who was there? Who are the faces behind the blogs?Gail from Clay and Limestone is on the left…

Even in winter compost happens. It may be slower but those microbes are still hard at work turning your pile of waste into “Gardener’s Gold.” You can compost all sorts of vegetable based materials. I even heard a news story not to long ago in New Jersey where they compost roadkill carcasses! They bury the poor animals in wood chips…

It won’t be very long now until our first tomatoes and beans are filling up their respective plants taunting us with the tantalizing promise of tastes to come. The tomato plants are filled with blooms and in some cases are beginning to form fruit. One of the most prolific tomatoes we have are the Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. My eldest…

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…

Very little progress has been made on my greenhouse shed project yet. The persistent rain combined with a much needed family vacation postponed construction, excavation and pretty much everything except for planning. But the planning is probably the most important part in any big project.  This is easily the biggest project I’ve attempted so far and I’m making sure to spend…

One of my favorite shrubs is the Japanese dappled willow (Salix integra).  In the springtime its new foliage emerges with variegated green and cream leaves that persist through the fall.  The leaves darken some as they grow older (or for those who prefer different terminology “grow more mature”) until they bare themselves when the light levels drop and cooler temperatures…

Today while browsing I checked the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council’s website and found some very useful information for home gardeners. But first let me tell you why I was looking for it. I saw a post discussing Allan Armitage’s view of native plants over at Garden Rant. To sum it up in three words: diversity is good! In my…

Maybe it hasn’t quite reached you yet. Maybe the temperatures are still hanging in the 90’s like they are here in Tennessee and the only leaf drop is due to dryness, but let me assure you fall is here! I have evidence, and it exists within the blogs below. Journey with me to see the first colors of fall as…

The other day I was out and about (as happens often) when I was surprised by the sight of a couple hyacinths coming up. It’s not that I’m surprised that the hyacinths are emerging but rather that I didn’t realize they where there to begin with! This would be one of those time where plant labels would have come in…

Jump on over to Our Little Acre to see the fall colors! Not my acre, Kylee’s! She has viburnums, a gingko, sumacs, and many other plants that are showing some great fall foliage. The bald cypress and the beautyberry are two that I will have to add to our garden! Don’t forget to journey up to Kalamazoo, Michigan and the…

For a couple years now I’ve watched and waited for our hellebore to bloom. Every year I jealously read the posts of other gardener bloggers who are happily displaying their hellebore blooms but alas, I had no flowers to share! But now the single Lenten rose I have has grown into an 18″ little bush with glossy green leaves and…

At the request of a reader (xRay) on the original creatively pruned Japanese dappled willow post I thought I would show you how it looks now. It needs some touching up, especially around the base and a few more branches need to be thinned around the canopy but the overall form is in tact and filling in nicely above the…