Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Memorial Day isn’t about cookouts or backyard BBQs. It’s not about the fireworks or vacations either. It’s about paying tribute to the memory of those who have given their lives in the service of their country. Originally it was meant to honor those who died in the Civil War and eventually changed to honor those from all wars after World…

Cucumber Plant – Deer Damage I was startled the other day when the eventual invader leaped out from behind my shed and scampered off into the woods. I jumped because I thought the deer had gone. I thought that they had picked up and moved on after the neighbors behind us moved in with their dog.  I wish I was…

Here are some pictures of our sky yesterday morning September 11th 2008. It was a beautiful morning that I spent (at least before 7:00 AM) potting up a couple demonstration plants for what else? A demonstration! I’ll be giving a demonstration at our local gardening club (Spring Hill, TN) about propagating plants from cuttings. I potted up a Veronica and…

Since summer has now officially come and gone and I only started this site a week ago (give or take a day or two), I thought I would share an easy project that I did this summer from another old wooden palette. Originally I was going to turn it into a compost bin, but after using the palette laying on…

Last year one of the areas of our yard that I was sorely behind on updating was the mailbox garden. Since mailbox gardens typically are the first thing that people see when they come to visit it’s nice to have something to greet them. It really doesn’t take much to refresh or renew a garden. A few bags of mulch…

There are few structures in the garden more prominent than a gate. A good garden gate can invite a person into the garden, protect the garden from intruders, and becomes a feature to draw the eye. This weekend I put together a gate for my vegetable garden fence (which is still under construction). I managed to complete the majority of…

Our president gave us his State of the Union address for 2010 this week and informed us of his plans and his thoughts so I thought why not do the same for my garden? It’s been a while since I’ve addressed the garden as a whole entity as usually I just discuss its parts or its plants. Let me start…

As the official date of the beginning of winter is almost upon us it’s time to say farewell to fall! What better way to say good bye to the fall of 2009 than by taking a look back at all the wonderful posts that our fellow bloggers have written about fall foliage. The weather was an issue for many who…

Kara in West Virginia, who blogs on the blog Garden Vines, posted a very nice shot of the West Virginia countryside in autumn. While we all know that fall colors can be hit or miss, Kara was able to capture a gorgeous view of the landscape despite the fall colors not being at their best. Often lack of rain and…

While we are eating, and playing, and celebrating the holiday let us always remember why we celebrate, our freedom! Happy Independence Day!

When researching plants for our new house holly trees kept coming up as ideas for foundation plantings. I want to focus more on native plants, not exclusively, but with a conscience effort to lean toward native species. So I started looking to native holly trees. Native trees offer more support for local wildlife and are generally better adapted to our…

Sometimes everything is grand and the garden grows so well that the gardener efforts are minimal but other times the garden seems to want to thwart the will of the gardener. The latter case is true at least so far for my nasturtiums. When I last mentioned our rising protagonists they were planted surrounding the garden obelisk near my side…

The colors are out and some trees are spectacular! There are all sorts of colorful trees for the fall that just can’t be beat. The maples are some of my favorites. Here are some suggestions for trees with great fall color:Maples: Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum): beautiful yellow orange foliageRed Maple (Acer rubrum) red foliage (of course)Japanese Maples (Acer Palmatum).Sweet Gum…

Fruiting Plum trees rooted through hardwood cuttings. Winter is officially here! If you’re reading this post you are probably thinking what I can do in the garden in winter? Well if you’re a fan of plant propagation you should try some winter plant propagation! What plants you can propagate and at what time of the year largely depends on the…

All the telltale signs of fall are upon us. The leaves are beginning their changes and one of the first to highlight the season is the sassafras. It’s a beautiful fast growing native tree here in Tennessee and as you can see sets up the wild areas of our yard with some fiery color. But leaves aren’t the only signs…

Technically my title is completely incorrect!  We did have snow in January and February but this is the first snowfall of the coming winter season.  And technically this isn’t even officially winter yet.  I’m just breaking all the rules for this post! I’m going wild! Anyway…yesterday we had a light snowfall.  It was the kind of snow that was so…

One of our favorite herbs is cilantro and I’m pleased to announce that it is reappearing in our garden as one of our fall crops. Cilantro grows great in the cooler weather.  Here in Tennessee it will last until late spring when the temperatures get warm. I usually let our cilantro bolt and it reseeds readily. I know many people…

Mums are the staple of almost every household in the fall because of their abundant fall blossoms and varied array of colors. One thing many people don’t think about is that they are actually perennials. Some people realize this of course, but often people treat them as annuals only to buy them all over again next year. That is fine…