Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Several years ago I built a patio using paving stones. I intended to complete the patio by adding a sidewalk that would bring the paved surface area all the way around to the garage and driveway. This weekend I finally made major progress on this neglected project. Making a paving stone patio, sidewalk, or pathway is not an easy task….

I’m a little late on this post but here it is! What questions did people ask in September? Here’s a glimpse of what information some people were looking for and wound up here!How fast does Russian sage grow? Pretty fast! I put in two plants this spring from cuttings and they grew to full size and bloomed. They had ideal…

This Thursday through Sunday is the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show put on by the Horticultural Society of Tennessee.  It’s a combination of show gardens, displays, and all kinds of garden goodies. The display gardens were impressive, filled with water features, flowering plants, and fire features! All the elements were at play in each of the designs. Natural looking water…

The holiday season is in full swing and the good news is that gardeners are very easy to shop for! Whether your gardener likes gardening with vegetables, herbs, or ornamental plants there is something for everyone. Today here are some Christmas gift ideas for gardeners to help you find just the right thing! (Disclaimer: The links in this post are…

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…

George in Vermont (The Vermont Gardener and Vermont Gardens) has posted some wonderful colors of the Vermont wilderness. Filled with maples, the hills appear to be on fire with the autumn foliage turning. With photos of places like Marshfield Pond and Osmore Pond you start to think thoughts of camping and sitting by a fireside on a cool autumn day…

Yesterday evening we had storms. Heavy winds and rain knocked down sunflowers and pretty much every perennial planting over 2 feet tall that wasn’t staked up. If it could catch the wind – it did. Unfortunately our Bradford pears remained in tact – I’ve been looking for an excuse to take them down, one of these days they will break……

Yes deer season is in full swing, but that’s not what I’m shooting!  The other day I ventured around the garden just to see what was growing (and what wasn’t), what was blooming (and what wasn’t), and what I needed to get done (or put off/procrastinate). In the latter category there is a mountain of things I could do but…

I know what this plant is, do you? See if you can guess it!The young foliage.The flowers.A stem covered with bugs! (Crane flies, harmless but they are everywhere right now)

I like the look of rocks for bordering my garden beds.  Rocks define the border between the garden area and the walkways, help keep mulch in place, and give the garden bed a structural element.  I’ve gathered rocks from several places over the years and brought them to my garden.  It’s not easy work but I like the end result….

This plant of the week resembling a swooping bird is known as Trillium grandiflorum! Trillium is a member of a group of plants called the ephemerals. And no, it is not some sort of new rock band, but a group of flowers that appear in late winter and go through a two month cycle. They flower, seed, and die back…

Back in the fall I took advantage of a sale at the discount retailer Harbor Freight and bought myself a greenhouse.  It was a small greenhouse at only 6’x8′ in size which would be about 48 square feet of space.  I’ve always heard gardeners say that no matter what size greenhouse you have you will always need more space!  I…

Kids in the garden are funny creatures. Although your kids may be too young to do many of the garden chores that need done it’s important to get them out there not only to learn but to get fresh air. Gardening is an invaluable educational tool because children can learn how to do things, procedures, why things are done a…

Another year comes and guess what – I make more changes to my vegetable garden layout! I haven’t done anything yet but below you’ll see what I intend to change from last year’s vegetable garden design. This is step one in altering my garden into what will eventually become an awesome parterre layout. I can envision it now – brick…

The majestic oak is one of Tennessee’s most beautiful native trees. It’s also an extremely useful tree for our local wildlife as it can host over 200 species of insects and animals. You can see why you would want to cultivate more oak trees! Recently I gathered some acorns from a nearby tree on our property. The oak tree is…

This post is a post I’ve been dreading.  Mainly because this year has been tough, probably the toughest I’ve ever had to live through.  My garden projects fell by the wayside.  My projects and ambitions just didn’t matter when compared to the situations that the course of life brought us through.  But we’re getting through things, day by day.  I…

The gardener gone A.W.O.L. was me of course, but for good reasons I assure you! No doubt you are familiar with the saying “make hay while the sun shines.” Well…the sun has been shining in our Tennessee home garden. The past couple days I have been busy in the yard trying to turn this place into a fantastic garden this…

This time of year the squash is blooming away, but what if that’s all you get? What if all you see on the plant are blooms? The plant is perfectly healthy with no signs of any issues but still isn’t setting fruit. If you have blooms and no squash the answer may be as simple as the type of flowers…