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Japanese Dappled Willow Sculpture (Salix integra)
Several weeks ago I told you of a little dappled willow pruning experiment I tried at my in-laws home. Before I show you the results let me quickly revisit some characteristics of dappled willows and why I like these shrubs. About Dappled Willows: Japanese dappled willows or (Salix integra ‘Nishiki’) are shrub willows that will quickly grow between 10-12 feet…
Random Thoughts While Mowing
Tonight while mowing I had no fear of the myriad of carpenter/bumblebees that were hovering through the garden. I was on my riding mower and said to the bumbles “my buzz is bigger than yours.”
The Greenhouse Project: I Need Braces
We managed to accomplish a little more on the greenhouse project this week. We ran into a small roadblock when we botched putting together the roofline and had to take the rafters down to reattach them to the center beam. I was trying to do things in a simple and easy way which turned out to be complicated and difficult,…
Crossed Branches and Pruning
When pruning shrubs and trees there are certain characteristics you need to look for to determine where to cut, how to cut, when to cut, or even what to cut. It’s like a good mystery movie with the who, what, when, and where! One very important thing to watch out for is crossed branches (this would be a who). Crossed…
A Bounty of Purple Podded Pole Beans
Beans are simply the best vegetable in the garden. I know, all you people out there who hate eating your greens disagree, but really when you compare factors like the ease of growing, pests, and diseases beans really win out. In many cases beans will just continue to grow when other plants halt in the tracks due to dry weather…
Three Gardening Books I’d Like for Christmas
Before every Christmas season begins I am asked by various family members “What do you you want for Christmas?” Of course sometimes it’s phrased more like “Get me your Christmas list by X Date!” Does this happen to you too? As an avid gardener and blogger I thought it might be fun to think of the books I would like…
Things To Do In My Garden In February
It’s time for me to plan out my garden activities for February. There’s always something that needs done and for some reason I always seem to be able to create even more for myself! This list of things to do in the garden this February is specific to my garden but may have some relevance to yours as well. Things…
Cicadas are Here and Humming
OK perhaps humming isn’t the proper word…buzzing…droning…that’s more like it! The cicadas are here and in action making a cacophony of sound all around. I noticed their cast off shells hanging on the tall grass foliage in the backyard while mowing the other evening but didn’t see any actual cicadas until Thursday. My daughter and I went exploring in the…
Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
I finally found some Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) to add to the garden. It’s been on my radar for a while and it was even more desired after seeing it in such impressive displays at Frances’ Garden! Yesterday I planted it in our Japanese maple garden next to the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ that I had already planted. The miscanthus…
Native Plants to Bring in the (Native) Bees (Guest Post)
I invited native plant expert and advocate Benjamin Vogt to write a guest post on attracting bees to the garden with native plants. I hope you enjoy it! -Dave This morning, once the sun hit the main garden, I took my video camera outside. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do, recording the most active part of the day in…
The Buzz on Sunflowers
The Warm Weather Needs to Chill
I like warm weather, don’t get me wrong. I like the warm spring sunshine that bathes everything in light and encourages the flowers to grow. I like the summer days – when it isn’t above 90 degrees and 65% humidity – I’m not picky. I love the warm fall days where the sun trickles through the falling leaves. I even…
And the Results are In! (Troy-Bilt 4 Cycle Trimmer Giveaway)
First let me thank everyone who entered the giveaway for the Troy-Bilt 4 Cycle string trimmer. I really wish I could be like Oprah. Everyone in the audience would look under their chairs and find a new Troy-Bilt 4 Cycle string trimmer, but her bank account has a much higher capacity than mine! Thankfully though my association with Troy-Bilt allows…
Why I Didn’t Remodel Our Front Porch
The truth is I never even considered remodeling our front porch for the Better Homes & Gardens 48 Hour Challenge but if I had considered it I did have some incentive not to. The two front runners in the challenge (Making it Lovely and This Young House) had some nifty ideas that they used in their porch remodels and some…
Green Gardening for St. Patrick’s Day
We are told all the time about what you can do to be “greener.” Things ranging from changing the light bulbs in your home to setting the heat back a few degrees are common tips we hear but what about in the garden? There are several things we can do to enhance our environmental “greenness” in the garden and here’s…
Why Bradford Pear Trees Are Junk Trees
It’s taken a few years before my premonitions came to fruition. It’s not that I wanted it to happen I just expected it. It was inevitable and couldn’t be avoided. The ‘Bradford’ Pear tree in my front yard split. No storm brought damaging high winds that would wreak havoc among many species of trees. There were no diseases making the…
Garden Webbed
I always enjoying seeing spider webs in the garden. It means there is some natural pest control happening! Anything interesting come out of your garden lately?
A Plant I Couldn’t Resist (‘Oranges and Lemons’ Gaillardia)
There was one plant that I knew I would purchase the second I saw it ‘Oranges and Lemons’ Gaillardia. I found one last year on a discount rack and rescued it from an unknown fate. ‘Oranges and Lemons’ quickly became one of my favorite plants in the garden. It bloomed forever and had some really attractive seed heads shaped like…



