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Germinating Japanese Maple Seeds in a Plastic Bag
I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesn’t? There are Japanese maples with variegated leaves, ones with deep burgundy colors, others with interesting shaped leaves that are highly dissected and many other kinds. The fall color on a Japanese is almost always guaranteed to be something special. Their highly ornamental nature makes them very popular trees in the landscape. Last summer I gathered…
Fiery Plant Selections for a Hot Summer Garden!
If you like things hot (or if you are in the south its just going to be hot) why not try some of these fiery colored plants in your garden! The colors of red, orange, and yellow can truly set the garden ablaze visually! The plants I’m talking about are also very easy to grow and just need a little…
The Birds…
The mockingbird has been causing trouble again. The suet was the issue of contention in the backyard because our resident Mockingbird King claimed it and all the surrounding territory. No other birds were allowed near the feeders, even if they only wanted sunflower seed for which the king has no desire. When the mockingbird gave us (or more importantly, the…
What Do You Compost?
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…
Why You Shouldn’t Plant Sweet Autumn Clematis
It’s that time of year when the fall blooming plants begin to start their show including Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora). This non-native clematis grows prolifically through the summer and gladly will climb and overtake any structure it meets then will bloom in the fall. I picked up two of these on the discount racks and even though I know…
Vegetable of the Month: Pumpkins of course!
I officially nominate the pumpkin for vegetable of the month! Do I hear a second?I realize that the selection of a pumpkin may be predictable but it’s such a seasonally appropriate vegetable for October. After all could you have even think of fall harvests and Halloween without pumpkins? Whether they are turned into pies or Jack-o-lanterns these orange globes of…
Burning Bush Cutting Progress (Euonymus alata)
This fall I took a scraggly looking branch off a little burning bush I had. The botanical name is Euonymous alata. These bushes are green during most of the growing season but turn fiery red in the fall before they lose their leaves. It is for this reason that people plant them. Yesterday I checked the cutting’s progress. I wasn’t…
How to Plant Potatoes in Raised Beds
Healthy potato plants About a month before the last frost date is the best planting time for potatoes in my zone 7b garden. That starts the planting season for potatoes here in Tennessee in Mid March. If you need a better guide than that think of St. Patrick’s Day and plan around it within a few days. Potatoes are not…
‘Trombetta’ Climbing Squash
One of the more unusual vegetables I am growing this years is the ‘Trombetta’ climbing squash. Its name is derived from the Italian word for bugle or trumpet which is the shape it resembles. ‘Trombetta’ is a climbing squash that when ideally placed has the strong support of an arbor or trellis on which to grow. The squash itself gets…
Why Add Lime for Tomatoes?
You’ve probably heard of adding lime to soil. Farmers and lawn experts recommend it frequently to add to gardens and lawns to help your plants grow, but why? Why should you use lime for your tomatoes? What is Lime? Lime is calcium carbonate. Which leads us to one easy answer for why it might help tomatoes – to combat blossom…
Around the Garden in October
It’s been while since I showed larger scale pictures of the garden. Mostly because it was such a mess over the summer. Today I’ll share a few photos of the various garden areas. The resiliency of plants is simply amazing. With neglect, wet weather, dry weather, hot weather, and lack of time my plants seem to be doing fine! The…
5 Ways to Naturally Eliminate Weeds!
The complete and total elimination of garden weeds is every gardener’s dream! And to do so organically or naturally just makes it all the more thrilling! While I’ll share with you some methods for eliminating weeds naturally for The Friday Fives, please keep in mind that the battle with weeds is perpetual struggle between gardener and nature. Weed seeds can…
An Interesting Zinnia
The other day I was taking the camera out for a walk. We do that often around here. Just my camera and me wandering through the garden. Gazing at flowers, bugs, butterflies, and anything else of interest. I think you know this already – but I take a lot of pictures! I stopped by to examine a zinnia intending to take a…
October Garden To-Do List
Another month has begun and the list of chores keeps mounting. September’s To-Do List didn’t get completed and those items may need attention in my garden this month too. The weather is nothing short of stunning in October with warm sunshine and cool days, and as long as time is available gardening is a top priority! Here’s what I need…
5 Vegetable Garden Things to Do in July
This July has been very strange for us here in Tennessee. We ended June with intense heat and dryness which continued into July then the weather changed. Rains came back and with them came the hope of producing a quality crop from the vegetable garden. To achieve the best results from the vegetable garden there are a few things that…
Another Tennessean’s Shade Garden
There are so many variations a person can make for a shade garden. Often there are similarities between plant selections or plant placement but the individual responsible for putting them together has a significant impact. Recently another Middle Tennessean sent me a picture of her shade garden. Rachel put together a very fine display of foliage and blooms that I…
The Birdbath Garden: March Update
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…
Flower Seeds: My 2008 Picks
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…
