Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

At my parent’s house there is a small garden location where the contemplative gardener can go to relax. Nestled between the cherry trees the garden bench that my dad and I built for my mom several years ago. What I thought made this scene so special was the fallen cherry blossom petals from the nearby Kwanzan cherry tree. Statue of…

Over the years I’ve done several vegetable garden layouts for my garden. I’ve always tried to make improvements to the vegetable garden. My goal is to make it more efficient for growing yet still aesthetically pleasing and fun to be in. This year however isn’t just an adjustment, it’s a whole new garden! We moved into our new house in…

Last year my plum tree was the victim of a savage deer rubbing attack. The bark was stripped all the way around the trunk leaving no possibility of water passing toward the top of the tree through the cambium layer. It was frustrating to say the least. Two varieties of plum trees are necessary for good cross pollination to produce…

Peppers aren’t as massively planted as the tomato plant in the vegetable garden but those who do plant peppers have a passion that rivals any other fruit or vegetable from the garden.  Some gardeners love the heat and grow the spiciest peppers they can find, while others love the flavor of a sweet red bell pepper.  I find myself somewhere…

Starting a fall garden is a great thing to do. Especially so when there is so much uncertainty in the world. A fall garden provides food security and is a great way to relieve stress! Fall gardens are not hard to get started but there are a few things you need to know in order to get one going successfully….

The other day I took this photo of a pot my mom put together of pansies and violas. I’m not much of a potted plant person so most of my plants go in the ground but I thought this easy to put together arrangement of annuals was perfect. The larger pansies went in the center and were planted around with…

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…

Do you need another reason to like Red Twig Dogwoods?  Take a look at these pictures from Ann Althouse.  These pictures illustrate exactly why I like them as much as I do! The fiery stems really add color to the snowy landscape. More on Red Twig Dogwoods: Red Twig Dogwood Propagation Red Twig Dogwoods (Cornus stolonifera) and Why I Like…

While out of town this past weekend at my in-laws home I took the opportunity to take more cuttings from their pyracantha (Pyracantha augustifolia). It is a favorite of shrub for birds due to its bright orange berries and is has an appropriately named common name: Firethorn. Firethorn’s thorns are quite sharp and offer the plant good protection from would…

During a break in the rain on Monday I was able to take these shots. The blue of the sky is just starting to peak through the dark rain clouds. It reminded me of one of my favorite newer U2 songs, Window in the Skies (from U218 The Singles). My oldest daughter’s favorite part is when they sing “Oh, Oh,…

There are few fall performers more majestic than the beautyberry.  My beautyberry is Callicarpa dichtoma ‘Early Amethyst’ and is a native of Asia.  It’s a beautiful shrub with tiny white flowers in the summer that become loaded with clusters of purple berries in the fall.  When I say loaded, I mean loaded! The berries last throughout the fall and typically…

On Monday I posted about 5 Plants I Want in Every Garden.  In case you missed it the post was about plants that should I ever move I will plant again in the new garden.  As several of the commenters pointed out it’s hard to just pick five. With that in mind I’ll add four more to my list.  Neither this…

‘Bruce’ Plum This weekend I am proud to say that our edible landscaping situation has been improved by two plums! We planted two (hopefully delicious) plum trees along our sideyard. To get proper pollination you have to plant two varieties that bloom within the same window so that they may cross pollinate. The two plums trees were Prunus salacina ‘Morris’…

I found it. I finally found it. The First Outdoor Bloom of 2010 Today while working outside for the first time in weeks I saw a little yellow bloom peeking out from the edge of a raised bed in the vegetable garden. It’s not much but it’s a flower nonetheless. And it may not even be a plant you like…

A spiral vegetable garden planted with lettuce and greens is a very interesting way to grow vegetables or herbs. It has obvious design appeal with its circular form yet is fundamentally a raised bed. I can see where a spiral garden might make an interesting centerpiece for a parterre garden layout. We saw this spiral at the Nashville Lawn and…

For anyone who follows this blog locally in the Spring Hill, TN (Maury and Williamson County) area you’ll be able to hear me on the radio tomorrow talking about The Well Sprung Garden. Just turn to WAKM (that’s 950 on your AM dial) at 8:00 AM. The Well Sprung Garden is an organic vegetable garden started to supplement a local…

This winter I gathered some seed from a yucca (Yucca filamentosa) and saved it. I’m not sure exactly why other than I thought it might be interesting to see how they grow. I do that sometimes, where I just attempt something for the sake of attempting it (I once planted lemon seeds from a store bought lemon to see if…

It’s a little hard to see the changes that have happened over the last two years but I was looking through the pictures back in 2008 and was amazed on how much has changed. A maple tree in the back is twice as large now, the vegetable garden has been redesigned and now has plants around the outside of it,…