Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

As usual the weather forecasters just couldn’t nail our weather forecast. Several days ago they began hyping the massive snowfall of 1-3 inches that was on its way. The forecast at one point even predicted 2-4 inches! OK I know you northern gardeners are saying “massive snowfall?” Please keep in mind that everything is relative and a massive for Tennessee…

We all know about compost.  It’s important, perhaps the most important thing we do as gardeners for our plants.  Organic matter is critical for plants to get nutrients.  It’s also extremely helpful as a waste disposal system.  Rather than throw away your biodegradable wastes from the kitchen you can compost it and use it later for the garden.  Composting makes…

The peak fall color this year is on its way and Tina has a great post for us with lots of Autumn color to share!  Tina writes the blog In the Garden and lives in Woodlawn, TN which is north of Nashville and just south of Kentucky. What fall color does her garden have to offer?  How about a Korean…

This formerly beautiful coreopsis that I raised from seed last year was nearly completely devoured by leaf beetle larvae.  I don’t know enough about insects to identify which species of leaf beetle it is but I am positive it is a Calligrapha. The damage is pretty devastating. The leaves are spotted with holes and very few leaves have escaped untouched….

If there is anything that 2020 taught us it’s that we need to expect the unexpected and adapt to the changes. One surprise in 2020 was the increased number of home gardeners. The quarantine and stay at home orders forced people to find home based hobbies and activities like gardening to keep busy. The nice thing about gardening is that…

I was able to get outside this afternoon and do a little potting with some cuttings that had rooted. It’s a constant process right now since as soon as one batch gets rooted I start some more. You never know if you will have enough! Sometimes you give away the plants to friends and family, other times the little plants…

Things are really starting to show their colors here in our Tennessee gardens. The spring flowering plants have displayed their petals and are preparing for next season. The daffodils and tulips are long gone. The salvia has given its first performance and is ready for dead-heading to prepare for the next show. Many of the plants in our gardens flower…

On Saturday I purchased most of the vegetable seeds that we plan on growing for this season. We are dividing seeds with my parents since neither of us need all the seeds this year. The raised beds still need to be assembled but the wood is in the garage just waiting to be used. We also bought some herb and…

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…

We have three children in our household who love to be outdoors.  It’s extremely hard for this gardener to sneak outside without someone tagging along.  That’s a good thing! I’m thrilled that they love to be outside in the open air experiencing what all kids should have the opportunity to experience.  It’s important though that the garden be a safe…

For a look at what I think are 5 Essential Garden Tools go read my guest post on the Home Remodeling & Home Renovation (fixR) Blog!

Since our yard was rather devoid of color and life this past season with the possible exceptions of the verbenas, mums, and asters I am making a strident attempt to improve the year round color situation. Our house was at one time a rental house that was not cared for very well inside or out. As you can imagine the…

Fall, as I’ve said before, is probably my favorite time of year. I enjoy the processes involved with closing down the garden, the cooler weather, and the changes in the leaves. It’s also a great time to garden with its own set of unique challenges. For planting trees, shrubs, and bulbs there is no better time than autumn. For growing…

Welcome to my Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day Post for September 2008. On the 15th of each month Carol at May Dreams Gardens encourages her fellow garden bloggers to show what’s blooming in their garden. Please stop by her site to see what else is blooming around the blogosphere!We’ve made it through August and survived with the minuscule amounts of rain…

A couple months ago I put together my little 6’x8′ Harbor Freight greenhouse.  It was an inexpensive greenhouse that I was hoping would be a good way to increase my growing area for my small nursery business.  I thought it was time I gave an update on how the greenhouse is working out for me. After one storm where a…

Salvia is one of my favorite perennials to propagate and spring and summer are the best times to do root cuttings of salvia from stem tip cuttings. Pretty soon our gardens will be filled with salvia blooms and you’ll see why I like them so much. I’ll post a picture at the bottom of this post if you’re curious! The…

Last Saturday I was shopping at a nursery where I found a ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint (Nepeta faassinii). I’ve talked about the benefits of Nepeta before so it may not be a surprise that I bought one. I planted the new perennial the other day in our front sidewalk garden. Catmint flowering near a witchhazel and lemon balm. Simply brushing the…

Another Tennessee sunrise peaks out through the bare trees. A chilly 22.9 degree Fahrenheit began the day but it warmed up to the 60’s in the afternoon.