Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Last year at a meeting of the Tennessee Garden Blogger Society (this does not officially exist but it seemed appropriate!) Gail brought some plant goodies to share. One of which was her Practically Perfect Pink Phlox. It’s now officially made its presence known in our garden. Thanks Gail!

I enjoy periodically just walking around the yard and seeing what there is to see in my landscape. Today was a bit of an overcast day probably in the lower to mid 60’s F. Its always a good idea to walk around your yard so you know what’s happening. Today I took a camera and shot a few pictures. The…

It’s not the greenhouse, at least not today or tomorrow. Over the last couple years (yes I said years) my father and I have been working on a project in his backyard. It began as a patio in the middle of their yard where they could enjoy their backyard spaces and gradually grew into a patio covered with a pavilion…

I’ve talked a lot about raised beds over the years here and there’s no doubt that I’m a fan but are raised beds perfect for everybody?  Does everyone need a raised bed? Should you used raised beds in your garden? Anyone could utilize raised beds to have a great garden, but you don’t have to have raised beds for an…

Denise from Southern California has another great Fall Color Project post for us!  You might think that her region may not have much fall color to offer, but if you look you’ll find it!  Just take a glance at the muhlenbergia in full bloom, the ginko trees, or the sweetgum and you’ll see the fall color that comes to Southern California….

Sunday was a bit of a catch-up day. Over the past few weeks I’ve had several chores that needed done in the garden but just haven’t had the time to get them accomplished. I finally made a dent in that to-do list. Here’s what was accomplished: Birdbath garden and pathway Transplanted: Birch, 2 dappled willows, redbud (these do not transplant…

Could their be a more aptly named plant than ‘Silver Mound’? Artemisia schmidtiana has several common names like wormwood, mugwort, sagebrush, or just silver mound (which to me is the most descriptive.) This mounding perennial has soft silvery gray foliage that invites the casual observer reach down to touch it. It’s hard to walk by without petting the ‘Silver Mound’….

Here’s just a quick post to show you the light post made from a front porch post that I put together for Lowe’s Creative Ideas.  Finches, wrens and cardinals have all been sighted visiting the bird feeder.  As an added bonus the birds get to land on the two hanging baskets to hang out and visit.  It’s almost like an…

The end of August is nearly here and the garden is shaping up for its conclusion.  Hopefully it will be a spectacular finish where the flowers bloom out and blend with the foliage as it turns into flaming reds, oranges, and yellows.  That may be the proverbial pipe dream as the weather has been strange this year and we don’t…

Wouldn’t you know it. I had big plans for those delicious garden grown sweet potatoes. Last year they were the best things ever. Candy from the ground and I had little reason to think I wouldn’t have more of the same delicious tubers again this year. I even saved a sweet potato from last year and sprouted this year’s starts…

This afternoon the temperatures dropped enough for work outside to become “feasible.” Not ideal in any sense of the word simply feasible. Add to that this cough, sinus drainage, and a mild case of pink eye and you would think I would just stay indoors and rest. Not so for this dedicated (or dumb) gardener! My oldest daughter accompanied me…

Today I’m back to talking about the patio. I’ve been adding the finishing touches to the area just in time for cold weather! We’ll still be able to use it since cold weather in Tennessee tends to be tolerable weather. (I still use the grill even in the wintertime) Please ignore the overflowing trashcan in the background but do pay…

As you might imagine much of our time is spent in the garden. The kids are outdoors as much as possible (when the weather is cooperative).  I don’t think just being outdoors is enough, being in the garden is where children should be and here’s why: Gardening gets kids active physically. One big issue facing our country is childhood obesity…

To say that I’m excited about the completion of our Arbor project is an understatement. In many ways it turned out better than I had hoped. From the plants we used to the materials and the design nearly everything went according to plan. Of course I spent a good deal of time before the project began planning this arbor. I…

It’s been several days since I’ve been able to accomplish anything on the greenhouse. I’m hoping that Monday will be the day to get things done as it’s predicted to be 60 degrees with only a 20% chance of rain. Usually the 20% chance of rain will happen right when I don’t want it so I’ll be keeping my fingers…

Its that time of year, just before blossoms begin to bloom when the garden looks it’s worst. Mulch hasn’t been spread – or at least not enough, old dead growth from perennials hasn’t been cleared away, and in general things look like a mess. But that’s OK! You have to start somewhere right? Every garden has it’s low point and…

The passage of time in relation to plants is an amazing thing. I was looking back the other day at some old pictures from this past spring and was amazed at how different everything looks today. What was once a nearly barren bed in the front of our house has grown tremendously. The tulips of springtime faded and the front…

Ornamental grasses are some of the easiest plants to propagate and they look so good in the garden. Today I potted up seven rooted sections of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Four of them were ‘Shenandoah’ which gains a reddish coloring in the leaves in late summer and fall and three were ‘Northwind’ which has a taller and more upright shape. Switchgrasses…