Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Wednesday was full of randomness, although it wasn’t all gardening.  A little bird watching, a little gardening, and a little bit of house stuff all rolled together to make a Wednesday. The day started with a trip to the home improvement store.  Not for gardening stuff this time but for painting materials.  A bathroom in our house needs redone so…

A couple months ago the folks at Proven sent me a sample of their Proven Insect Repellent to test out in my garden and report back my opinion. Since I’m out in the garden frequently and often exploring our land to seek out pawpaws I encounter plenty of human devouring insects to give Proven a good test. Among the most…

It’s that time of year when we’re all struggling to come up with great ideas to give our favorite people. I’ve always found that the best gifts are those that you can use on an almost daily basis. A couple years ago at Christmas I was given an iron skillet. I thought for second “wow, an iron skillet.” It certainly…

The cold weather combined with morning clouds and the light of a new dawning day create a genuine tapestry of light.   Six minutes later (after scraping the ice off my wife’s car) the sky changed palettes to include more gold.   Mother Nature’s paintings are ever changing which is probably why we appreciate them. 

By far my favorite plant from the vegetable garden is the tomato.  I don’t buy them from the stores if I can help it as there is very little flavor to be found in store bought tomatoes.  Fresh from the garden is how a tomato should be.  Today on a gray overcast winter day I’m looking back at the tomatoes…

As you probably know every 15th of the Month is Bloom Day started and hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens and as you know it’s February. When you put the two events together you will find that I really don’t have much to show. Last year at this time the daffodils and several other plants had already begun blooming….

So on Wednesday of this coming week I’ll have had this blog open for a month. I find it interesting that about two weeks after I start articles all over pop up about garden blogging. Is it something that is catching on? Or is it publicity brought on by the talented folks who have paved the garden blogging way. The…

Here’s a quick press release from the Herb Society of Nashville about their quided walking tours. For more information contact using the email addresses below! The Herb Society of Nashville has created a variety of  Guided Walking Tours of their Cheekwood Herb Garden for May and June of this year.   The tours are conducted by members of the Nashville Herb…

The plant of the week this past week was an oak tree. This tree is actually in West Tennessee at my wife’s grandmother’s house. It is a very large and majestic tree that provides great shade and a bounty of acorns each year. The picture was taken from the base of the tree looking up at the canopy. As for…

Monarda is called bee balm for a reason! This bee balm was brought home as a division from a plant in my wife’s aunt’s garden in West TN. Monarda is a great plant for attracting pollinators! It doesn’t only attract bees, butterflies are more than happy to land upon this flowering perennial. I planted it just outside our vegetable garden…

I’ve written several times before about raised beds.  I’m a fan, a huge fan of raised beds. With a raised bed you can control the soil, control the moisture, and garden virtually anywhere.  It makes sense that raised beds are a great option for every homeowner (here’s why: 8 Benefits to Gardening in Raised Beds).  The question though that new…

Today is the Monday morning of what promises to be the coldest week of the Fall/Winter season 2010. The temperatures are predicted to be in the 30’s for highs and teens for lows with is about 15-20 degrees colder than the normal temperatures. I thought I would take a moment with this post and tomorrow’s post and think about those…

I’ve been lax on the lists lately. There are always things that need done and projects that need tackled and this weekend is no exception. Here’s a quick list of the fall chores and projects that I hope to start and maybe even complete this weekend! Attend the Spring Hill Country Ham Festival – This festival benefits the Tennessee Children’s…

Oak leaf hydrangeas are an awesome landscape shrub to add to the garden. They get big and need room and enjoy part shade/part sun locations but if you have the right spot for one by all means add one! I’m always trying to propagate a few more but they tend to be rather tricky to propagate from cuttings. Layering is…

One of the best things about feeding the birds is seeing a new bird you have never seen before. We’ve seen grosbeaks like blue grosbeaks and cardinals (which are a type of grosbeak) but this is the first rose breasted grosbeak we have seen. It’s not a surprise that we haven’t seen them before since they are migrating north to…

Tomato planting season is almost here for Middle Tennessee so I thought now would be the perfect time to share some things you need to know about growing a great tomato!  Tomatoes have always been my favorite crop from the garden.  I like tomatoes fresh, cooked, preserved – it doesn’t matter how – I like a GREAT Tomato! There are…

You know the saying “If you don’t like the weather in {Insert your state here}, just wait a few minutes!” In the last two days, and possibly much of January, truer words could not be said about the weather here in Tennessee. Gray skies have been intermittent with occasional sun. The temperatures have been warm, rainy, and much more like…