Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

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…

Who would have thought? A daffodil (Narcissus) blooming in mid-February! The little sprouts are coming up all over but this one and a couple others like it have decided they like the weather. It could be that they are in a slightly warmer micro-climate near concrete but mostly it’s because of the extremely unseasonably warm weather we’ve been enjoying. It’s…

This post is about two of my favorite vegetable garden plants: tomatoes and sugar snap peas! Both are delicious right from the garden and I have both growing in my home and garden! The snap peas are about 6 inches tall at this point. The pea growth has been slowed some by the cool temperatures.  Even though sugar snap peas…

Every garden experiences pest issues form time to time.  Insect pest can be frustrating and sometimes when you discover what is damaging your plants it’s already too late to do anything about it.  Here are five common insect pests that you may see in your garden for today’s Friday Five post!   Pest #1: Flea beetles You’ll first notice flea…

Over the weekend we went to visit family at my in-laws’ house for Easter. While there I saw this amazing flowering display on the Bridal Wreath Spirea (Spiraea x vanhouttei). It was literally covered in branches of white blooms. They planted this spirea well over 10 years ago. I really can’t say exactly how long it’s been here (it’s not…

It’s bound to be an exciting year for the vegetable garden!  In fact every year I get excited by the potential new varieties of seeds to try.  The catalogs are full of amazing, mouthwatering, and delicious pictures and descriptions. (Don’t worry I’m not eating the catalog – although I’ll bet you thought about it too!) Whittling down the choices to…

It’s time for October’s Garden Questions of the month! These are questions people have asked the search engines and found The Home Garden and hopefully they have also found the answers.  Q. Can you prune silver mound in the fall? A. It’s better to wait until spring. The foliage that remains above the plant will help protect it over the…

I enjoy periodically just walking around the yard and seeing what there is to see in my landscape. Today was a bit of an overcast day probably in the lower to mid 60’s F. Its always a good idea to walk around your yard so you know what’s happening. Today I took a camera and shot a few pictures. The…

You may not believe me but snakes really can be a garden’s (and gardener’s) best friend!  Many people carry a fear of these creatures.  I can understand being afraid of poisonous snakes but the others are quite beneficial.  Yesterday while I was outside near my vegetable garden putting in some outdoor plant shelves (made from old wooden pallets) I moved…

Today I took the mower out for a final spin in the balmy 60 degree weather before closing shop over the winter. I’m sure the mower was appreciative of the action as it had rested in my garage for a month gathering dust. It was a good day. It was just the mower and me, man and machine, making the…

I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial. The one where a couple is in an elevator, then elevator music happens and they recognize it as the theme song to Lexus commercials.  That’s when it dawns on the unsuspecting member of the couple that the other one is giving them a Lexus for Christmas.  Those commercials are driving me nuts.  I don’t…

All of us experienced gardeners can tell you, you are going to make mistakes!  It’s inevitable.  No matter how much planning or forethought you put into your garden you WILL make a mistake!  How’s that for thinking positively?  You positively will make a mistake, and you know what?  That’s OK!  We’ve all done it – albeit some more than others…

Why should you consider planting a tree? Aside from the more pleasurable aspects of trees like flowers, leaf color, and shade there are some significant scientific reasons.I found a very interesting site called the Colorado Tree Coalition that has listed some very important information about trees and what they really do. The Colorado Tree Coalition talks about carbon sequestration. Which…

A springtime flowering favorite of mine is the Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis).  I’ve written about these trees several times in the past and I know I’ll write about it again as it is such a valuable tree in the landscape for it’s ornamental beauty. I’ve never been able to root this tree…until now!  A couple months ago I…

Wild animals have always fascinated me and I think there are not many that have the beauty and majestic nature of the birds of prey. While we were at the Bloom ‘N Garden Expo on Saturday there was a table set up from a wildlife rescue group. I wish I remembered the name of the group so I could give…

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…

No you’re not having a bad 80’s flashback. The word rad in the title doesn’t refer to big hair glam bands or jelly shoes but rather radishes! How could you even think of the other stuff? The radishes are in from the vegetable garden and are quite tasty.Here’s the bunch I pulled today. There are still a few more in…