Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Last year I planted two ‘Winter’s Snowman’ camellias in the front garden. I was hoping that they would bloom last year but alas it was not to be, but they have started blooming this year! The first of the white camellia blooms opened today.  It wasn’t fully open when I snapped the picture but I just couldn’t wait to share…

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…

Every year I put out a list of my intended gardening projects that I personally want to accomplish this year.  Then back at the end of the year I review them to see how I’ve done.  This year is a little tricky.  I have quite a few projects leftover from last year that I still want to accomplish in my…

One of my projects this year is a self seeding garden. I showed you in yesterday’s post what I’ve done so far and I mentioned a few of my personal reasons for planting a self sowing garden but since that post I thought of a few more general ideas why someone might want to consider planting one.1. Cost – seeds…

This time of year the only thing us gardeners think about is the garden!  Because “the garden” is such a broad subject in itself we are really thinking of all kinds of things like timing, soil, seeds, cuttings, and list could go on!  One of the main tasks I need to accomplish is preparing my vegetable garden.  Preparing the vegetable…

Fall is a great time of the year. It’s always been my favorite season because of the fall colors, the cooler weather, and there are always events to enjoy. The vegetable garden is enjoys the cooler weather too. Gone now are the peppers and tomatoes, which both succumbed to frost, but instead we have kale, pak choi, mustard, and Brussels…

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!

Drought tolerant Purple Coneflower It’s June and already we’re suffering drought conditions. The weather around us is more like late July and August than June with temperatures ten degrees higher than normal and no rain. We are dry as a bone. Last night I watched as a huge rain cloud dissipated into nothing before it made it to our garden…

One of the great benefits to being a part of a garden club is being able to see other gardens. This past weekend the Spring Hill Garden Club took a tour of a very cool garden based all around everyone’s favorite shade plant: Hostas! We visited Cornelia’s garden who is the president of the Middle Tennessee Hosta Society. Her garden…

Today the major player in Bloomsday action is the tulip! Some of these pictures were taken a couple days ago so you can see the blooming process better but all of the flowers you see in this post are currently in bloom.Here is the bed in the front garden. This picture was taken from behind the tulips toward the sidewalk….

As I mentioned in my previous post the folks at EcoSMART sent me four of their insect products to me for testing. Generally I am loathe to apply chemicals in any form on the garden but since EcoSMART products do not leave toxic residues and use natural chemicals and oils I figured it would be worth trying. Please keep in…

Who doesn’t like free seeds? Today I have an opportunity for you to win a variety pack of garden seeds from a new seed retailer: Hometown Seeds! Hometown Seeds is offering to give these seeds to three lucky readers who visit their website and report to me about the most interesting seeds you see. That’s all you have to do!…

The other day strong winds blew through Tennessee.  They were not just your normal winter winds, these were March winds – in February.  The kinds of winds we normally get in spring when the weather changes more frequently between warm and cold fronts.  Unfortunately I wasn’t prepared for the high impact of the winds.  Two glass shower doors were propped…

Here is the view from one cold January morning in Tennessee. The thermometer read 8.7 degrees Fahrenheit at 7:00 AM this morning. I looked outside and the sky was showing this captivating display. Feathery white clouds are wisping around while the the peaking sun shines through the skeletal trees. Sometimes cold mornings make the best pictures!

It’s the seed starting time of the year! This is probably where I have the most fun gardening. I get to imagine the possibilities! This week I started Oregon Sugar Pod II peas by presoaking. It only took a few days after planting until I had germination from the first two seeds. To see how I started the Sugar Pod…

Today I’ll show you a few more pictures of the mums but I also wanted to remind you that today is the last day to enter the $50 Gift Card Contest to Lowe’s!  The folks at Lowe’s Creative Ideas are providing anyone who comments on the mums project posts this week an opportunity to win that $50 gift card.  All…

The people at EcoSMART have offered to give away a bundle package containing an eco friendly pesticide and several other of their environmentally friendly products. Included in the bundle is an organic weed killer, a fungicide, garden insect killer and an insect repellent. All you need to do to enter the drawing for the is to post in the comments…

When the flowers are pretty much gone it’s time to harvest the result: seeds! Saving seeds is a great way to reduce your plant budget for next year, especially when the plants you save seed from are known for easy germination. Recently I collect some poppy seed from our red poppies in the self-sowing garden. Some of the seeds I’ll…