Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Lately the birds have been returning to the feeders. These goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) all dressed in their winter coats after molting are partaking of a feast of niger seed, which is excellent for attracting finches.  Like all birds they seem to prefer the seed d’jour. Afterall who doesn’t like the fresh stuff?  Thistle, coreopsis, sunflower, service berry, birch, and alder…

The Good: Cherokee Purple Tomato! Yum. This tomato delicious dark skinned tomato with the greenish shoulders is already gone, only the image remains to remember it by. And I’ll say again…Yum! The Good: Raindrops, although minimal, bring hope that more is to come tomorrow! The Bad: A sneaky deer peeking around the corner of the garden shed just waiting for…

Nandina domestica, otherwise known as ‘Heavenly Bamboo’, can be an interesting plant to put in your landscape but you may want to think twice before doing so. I’ll explain why in a minute but first let me tell you why so many people like it. It retains its leaves year round, it has bright red berries that are fantastic for…

I’ve talked about Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) before (with propagating) but good things are always worth a second look! Our Russian sage is in full bloom in our front garden and should continue to burst forth with a bounty of purple blooms throughout the summer. These powerful perennials are drought tolerant and have been extremely pest free. Our Varieties of…

In case you happen to not be in cicada territory and don’t have the joy of listening to their “soothing music” here’s a video of our backyard with our local cicadas from brood 2011 blaring in the background. The sound in the trees is deafening and after 45 minutes of being outside your head begins to throb. Turn up your…

Last week I posted some pictures of our front sidewalk garden. This past weekend I moved ahead with my plans and put together the garden for the other side of the sidewalk. You can look at my last post to see the layout. As you can see in the above and below pictures on the yard side of the sidewalk…

Before I began building my greenhouse shed I did some research into what makes a good greenhouse. Among many important aspects like positioning (for ideal sun), materials, and passive heating I learned that a porous surface for flooring is essential. It makes sense, plants need water – plants will drip water, it has to go somewhere! In my greenhouse shed…

Much of the time I find myself wandering around the garden with a new plant in hand just trying to find a good home. It usually happens as a result of an impulse buy or a plant swap/present that I wasn’t really counting on getting. Sometimes I see the plant and think “that would look good over there by the…”…

To grow a healthy plant healthy growing conditions are important. Sometimes all a plant needs is watering at the appropriate times. Often, you have to give the plant more and that is where fertilizers can be useful. Fertilizers provide extra nutrients that may not be readily available in the soil. There are many types of fertilizers available for gardeners to…

I’m amazed this year by the blooms I actually have in the garden. Maybe it was the warm snap, or maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have some great blooms each and every February. My feature plant today is one that comes every spring much to the chagrin of the lawn lover.  Tiny purple flowers bloom enmass across yards all…

Tatyana took a walk through her town in Washington to bring us fall color. Along the way she found some spectacular images of fall in the Pacific Northwest. I envy their ability to grow Japanese maples so successfully in that region. Birches, maples, evergreens and the Olympic Mountains all have their place in Tatyana’s fall photos! See the most recent…

This post is a little late in coming, especially since I actually received my Father’s Day present from my wife and children a couple weeks early. They gave me a Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum). I always like unique plants in the garden and a Japanese maple adds some foliar interest with its delicately shaped and burgundy colored leaves. I have…

26th Annual Nashville Lawn & Garden Show 2015 Nashville Lawn & Garden Show Announces Wine Festival Wine Festival occurs on Saturday, March 7 during the 4-day Show  Nashville, TN – The Nashville Lawn and Garden Show will partner with the Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance to present a one-day-only Wine Festival during its traditional four-day Show at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. …

I couldn’t help but snap the picture below.  It’s white clover and it’s in my lawn. What lawn companies will tell you is that this little beautiful green plant that grows in patches is a weed.  Don’t believe them.  Clover is a useful little plant in many ways! First of all clover is a legume. It’s similar to beans and…

Here’s just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! It’s good to have a day to reflect on what you appreciate. Don’t over stuff on the turkey today! It’s usually the side dishes that get me!

This was a historic day. It was the first day I’ve ever seen a frog in my garden. I’ve seen a toad or two but never an actual frog! Amphibians are a good indicator of the heath of an environment. They are kind of like environmental canaries in a coal mine, if something is wrong they are one of the…

There are many ways to grow tomatoes. In the past I generally used tomato cages to hold up my plants. One method I’ve been trying lately in my garden is trellising. When you trellis a tomato plant you create a structure that allows the tomato to get good sunlight and airflow around the plant. This get help out immensely if…

Quite a few people chimed in to offer their opinion as to what our naturally formed rock sculpture looks like. There were a range of responses from prehistoric and mythic reptiles to fuzzy and furry creatures of the woodlands and prairies. What I learned is that identifying what a rock resembles is a lot like naming the clouds, every one…