Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

While we were away last weekend picking pecans I snapped some photos of the setting sun. Sometimes I think wintertime sunsets are trying to make up for the lack of color in the garden and elsewhere during this season.This picture was taken overlooking one of the fields near my wife’s grandmother’s home.

This summer heat, humidity, and assorted family issues have kept me behind in most of my goals.  One of which was expanding the side border garden so that the caryopteris wasn’t completely absorbing the whole area. I tend to take a more conservative approach to pruning my caryopteris and consequently I didn’t prune them back enough this spring. They responded…

Here’s a new take on the name that plant challenge, Name that Seed! See if you can guess what plant these seeds came from and what they could grow to be. Each seed is slightly larger than 1/2 an inch in length and ovular in shape. The one clue that I’ll give you is that it came from a type…

It’s about time I positively identify the Name that Plant. It was a ‘Duke’ Blueberry bush. Our eldest daughter loves blueberries and while I’ll eat them occasionally they were planted for her. I planted two this spring and while we are hopeful that this Northern Highbush blueberry will bear fruit we may have to be patient and expect it next…

Here is a list of 10 plants that are very easy to propagate for your garden that I have found to be extremely easy to root. There are many plants that could be on this list but I decided to stick with some that I have done and know for a fact that their root development is very reliable. I’ve…

Once your plants have rooted they need potted up or planted. In most cases I will pot up the newly rooted cuttings to help them grow stronger and more established root systems before planting in the garden. Potting up cuttings is a very simple process but there are a few small things to keep in mind. For information on growing…

Early morning is the best time for so many things including plant propagation. Taking cuttings when it is cool prevents them from drying out and losing too much moisture before they get prepared. If a cutting dries out it very well could be the end of the road for your potentially propagated plant! This morning, as I always try to…

Corner Trim on Garden ShedEvery day that I get a few minutes to work on the garden shed I get a little closer to finished. Of course I’m still not close enough for my tastes but I’ll keep plugging away at it and eventually it will get completed. A couple weeks ago I managed to add the trim to the…

I would like to wish you and your family a safe and very merry Christmas season! Photos: Nandina berries (top left), eastern red cedar under snow(middle left), blue garden shed (bottom left), happy little bluebird in snow (middle bottom), daffodil coming up in a March snow (bottom right), Our Snow covered house (top right). Coming up after Christmas: 2011 Project…

Plant propagation sounds like something very complicated.  A lot of gardeners are intimidated by the idea of getting something to root.  It looks challenging but in reality there are a great number of plants that are very easy to propagate.  That’s not to say that a cutting will grow roots each and every time.  In fact I’ve lost many cuttings…

It’s time for October’s Garden Questions of the month! These are questions people have asked the search engines and found The Home Garden and hopefully they have also found the answers.  Q. Can you prune silver mound in the fall? A. It’s better to wait until spring. The foliage that remains above the plant will help protect it over the…

I had a question posed to me through a comment on this blog that I’ve not really written about dealing with plant propagation: Why do I use sand instead of soil for cuttings? Before I answer let me say that most (maybe about 95%) of my successful cuttings were done in sand alone with the rest in either in a…

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…

Columbia, TN which is just down the road from us is currently having it’s annual Mule Day festival. It began on Tuesday and continues through this Sunday. It’s basically a festival with arts and crafts, bluegrass music, clogging, and several mule related events. There’s even a parade! I feel bad for the band members who have to March behind the…

First before I tell you who won the Jet Blower from Troy-Bilt I wanted to say thank you for entering! Giving stuff away is really one of the more exciting parts of blogging! The Jet is an easy to use leaf blower made by Troy-Bilt. The Jet easily blasts away grass clippings on driveways and leaves making cleaning up after yardwork…

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…

Sometimes days in the garden can expose you to elements of nature that are a little more on the unpleasant side, kind of weird, or just plain gross. After our recent deluge of rain (does anyone even remember the word drought?) I made of pair of gross discoveries in my garden. All natural of course, but gross none the less….

It’s been a while since I joined in with Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day so I thought I’d share you a little of what is blooming in the gardens around our home.  For our garden this year it’s the usual suspects who are in flowering.  Daffodils, crocuses, and winter jasmine are coming along strong while other early spring/late winter flowers are…