Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Today was one of those days where you just don’t seem to be able to get much done! The weather was unseasonably warm (in the 70’s) and was just great day to be outside with the exception of the high wind. Because of the billowing gusts we didn’t go outside until my youngest daughter (3 months now) went to sleep….

This is the first year in our garden that I’m trying corn. Last year we didn’t have the space but since we expanded the garden this year with my newest layout I have an 8’x10′ area for corn. I’m planting it in succession.  The first part is planting a small square of corn. Squares are efficient for corn because corn…

Google Patent Search has probably been around for a little while but since it says Beta it may be a relatively recent development. The patent search makes it very easy to find patented inventions including plants. Just type in the name of your plant and instantly you are provided with the patent records. This could be extremely useful for those…

With fall almost here it’s time to start thinking about gardening chores and the task that most people have to do in some way is deal with the leaves. What do you do with the leaves is an important question. For way too long many people have burned them which to me is the worst possible way to dispose of…

They were right! There, let it be said that the weather predictors and prognosticators said we were going to have snow and we did. Unfortunately the manner of snow and the amount of snow differed from what the forecast originally said (which was 2-3 inches at one point). Currently we have between 4-6 inches of snow with a nice smooth…

Cilantro is one of those plants that you either like to eat or don’t. Fortunately I’m a fan, especially when it’s in guacamole, but even if you don’t like to eat it cilantro sure looks good when in bloom! I let my cilantro go to seed each year so that I can collect the seeds and plant it again. I…

Yet again I could not resist the urge to look for discount plants, and I found some! I picked up three more ‘East Friesland’ salvias, three ‘Caradonna’ salvias, another viburnum, and two ‘Patriot’ hostas. My total for these nine forlorn plants was $8.74 after taxes. The salvias were all in great shape for being on a discount rack. The hosta…

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…

What do you do when cute little furry bunnies that eat your strawberries? Good question! I’m not sure I have the best answer and maybe you have some suggestions for this issue but over the weekend I found a solution that so far seems to have worked.  First let me share with you how I found bunnies in my garden….

Than a delicious, dark red, juicy sliced tomato? My turkey wrap sandwich was very happy this afternoon with the addition of this red fruit of the garden. Not too juicy and not too meaty, just perfect – the perfect tomato experience. The scent of the tomato after cutting it open was like taking in the fragrance of a honeysuckle flower….

My fall garden is much less impressive than the trees that surround us. In fact if you were to take away the trees little else would be remaining with any significant color. There are a few things that defeat my previous statement in our garden but I see a definite need for improvement in the fall color area. When I…

I’ve written several times before about raised beds.  I’m a fan, a huge fan of raised beds. With a raised bed you can control the soil, control the moisture, and garden virtually anywhere.  It makes sense that raised beds are a great option for every homeowner (here’s why: 8 Benefits to Gardening in Raised Beds).  The question though that new…

My last garden shed post was way back in June and I’m definitely overdue to share some more progress. This one has much more to do with gardening than building a shed so go take a look at the first part of two posts! The Gardens Around The Shed

On Monday Tennessee had near record temperatures in the upper 60’s.On Tuesday it got warmer.According to the local television broadcast Nashville hit 71 degrees Fahrenheit which ties a record set in the 1800’s. The warmth has left us now but we took advantage of it while it was here! Here’s what we did:Monday Morning:I ran around the yard chasing my…

The hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is one popular bird in the garden. We have a couple of regulars around the yard. They seem to like almost any colorful flower in the yard but are especially attracted to the zinnias. I’ve not only seen them on the zinnias but also the morning glories, the salvias, and even the tomato blossoms. The only…

Lately I’ve been thinking about my fall vegetable planting and since the time is upon us I thought I would put together a fall vegetable garden layout of how I might plant one of my 4’x8′ raised beds. While this vegetable garden design is not necessarily drawn to scale with regard to the number of plants possible it should show…

It’s kind of an odd subject to bring up during spring but propagating mums for profit takes time. Spring is when you have to get started for fall mum sales. For the purposes of this article we are talking about the common chrysanthemum you find in stores everywhere during the fall. Also for this discussion it is important to note…