Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

I’ve been busy this week.  I say that as if it’s something new but it seems like life is just a matter of varying degrees of busy.  Sometimes you’re really busy and other times less so but always busy!  This week I dove headlong into my latest project.  I’ve been talking about this one for years and I’m just now…

Pepper Seeds The other day someone asked me for some general seed sowing and I realized that I had not yet gone through the whole process from start to finish.  I have some scattered information (pun intended ;)) about seeds and seed starting throughout the blog but a complete guide was lacking, until now!  Beginning with this post I’ll go…

I’d like to say some great things right now about my nasturtiums. I’d like to tell you that they are taking off and look fantastic but about the best I can do is say that we’re hanging in there. It’s just been too darn hot to get anything to grow happily from seed. June was excruciatingly hot, well over 10…

Here’s another idea I had for my herb garden. I’ve been planning my vegetable garden with a shrub/perennial ring around it. This herb corridor would lead up to a small entry gate going into the garden area. The beginning of the corridor would start close to our future patio (a project for later this year). The herb garden would have…

If you are like me I didn’t know the answer to that question a couple years ago. It’s a strange concept when you stop to think about it. How can you claim sole proprietorship for something that is alive? It seems strange but when you consider it more it can begin to make sense.First of all what exactly is a…

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…

Earlier this week we had a light frost which meant it was time to collect the basil leaves! Without any real hope of the basil leaves surviving the sub 32 degree temperatures I gathered as much as I could. I brought the leaves inside and made pesto. The 6 cups of loosely packed basil I gathered ended up making only…

Before I begin to highlight a few more front garden spots in my yard let me just say that many of these locations have not been prepared yet for the year. I still need to weed more, mulch more and add new plants in places!These first few pictures are from the mailbox garden. Pretty much everyone has something around their…

The garden is gearing up for growth are you ready?  Have you prepared the garden and gotten everything set to grow?  I haven’t but the warm weather is going to be here this weekend and I’ll be making some headway into my garden’s preparation.  When to prepare the garden varies depending on where you live but several of these tasks…

Yesterday we had the good fortune to witness a Monarch butterfly stopping by our ‘Clara Curtis’ mum for a fill-up.  Monarchs are on their way south now to find their winter homes and have to stop for nourishment along the way.  We usually see them a couple times a year passing through looking for places to lay their eggs or…

I found these little insects today resting and munching on our Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly weed). They are known as milkweed bugs or Oncopeltus fasciatus. According to the University of Arizona Extension the milkweed bugs feed on: Seeds and tissue of the milkweed plant (Asclepias spp.). In captivity, the bugs feed on shelled sunflower seeds. I’m trying to figure out the…

The first step to recovery is recognizing that you have a problem. We sure do, its our drainage! We sit below the road in our cul-de-sac and while drainage is generally good for our house, our driveway pools water near the garage. It’s mostly just an annoyance. When its rained heavily you have to step through a mud puddle to…

The seeds are sprouting pretty good so far. I need to get some pictures taken of them but haven’t had the time this week to do much. I have inspected them daily waiting eagerly for the next little green baby plant to say “hello!” I was getting a little bit of damping off but I took care of it with…

A Growing The Home Garden reader sent me this question asking how I would build a raised bed on a deck.  It’s a very interesting question. I’ve never built a raised bed on a deck before but if I were planning one here’s what I would do. But first the question: Dave, I want to build a raised bed garden…

This past weekend was a big work weekend for me.  Not only did I tackled the paths on the garden but I had a couple other projects in mind to accomplish.  One of which was our Birdbath Garden expansion.  This project is also a small memorial garden for our cat Amber who passed away in December. This is how the…

Today lots of people are becoming more conscious of how their activities can change the environment.  One of the things you often hear about is getting rid of the lawn.  I’m not one of those people who advocates getting rid of the lawn but rather being more responsible for lawn care.  Here are a few ways to do that! First…

Yesterday’s post had many of the colorful plants I planted around the garden shed today’s post may be less colorful but hopefully still interesting! First let’s start off with a small stepping stone pathway. I bought some cheap 12″x12″ stepping stones to lay down for this little pathway. To the left of the pathway is an area that still needs…

Today was one of those days where you just don’t seem to be able to get much done! The weather was unseasonably warm (in the 70’s) and was just great day to be outside with the exception of the high wind. Because of the billowing gusts we didn’t go outside until my youngest daughter (3 months now) went to sleep….