Meet Prunus caroliniana, better known as a cherry laurel. This evergreen tree makes an excellent privacy screen and is great for attracting birds. It’s a native to the eastern United States from Florida on up to North Carolina. It very low maintanence as my parents can attest. Just plant it and water it then let … Read more
Why do I like Red Twig Dogwoods (Cornus sericea or Cornus stolonifera)? If you look in the picture below the reason should become red-ily apparent. The multibranched shrubs stand out with a bright red coloring that looks fantastic in the wintertime. When the trees are bereft of leaves and the stems are left, the red … Read more
I’d like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! And please, for the sake of this fellow and his friends here, take it easy on the turkey! I usually fill up on the sides anyway!
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and I just couldn’t take it anymore. It was just too much. The pressure of leaving has been building since the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project and each day it built a little more, another layer added to the top. I … Read more
While I claim no great skill or knowledge about cooking that big ole Thanksgiving turkey I can tell you about a couple herbs that may help you have a successful culinary experience!; I have the good fortune to have a mom who is an extremely good chef and I’ll share the recipe (or at least … Read more
Before every Christmas season begins I am asked by various family members “What do you you want for Christmas?” Of course sometimes it’s phrased more like “Get me your Christmas list by X Date!” Does this happen to you too? As an avid gardener and blogger I thought it might be fun to think of … Read more
It’s a horticultural crime. A serious crime. One with lasting repercussions on the garden and your landscape. What is crape murder? It is the unnatural and unsightly mass pruning of wonderful crape myrtle trees. These garden trees are hacked down in the prime of life destroying what could potentially be an amazing tree. Why do … Read more
After the summer garden is gone there is still work to be done. My daughters and I went out last week to take care of some last minute raised bed winterizing. We are doing one important step now: adding organic matter. Why? Because organic matter matters! By improving the soil you enrich it with the … Read more
One of the most interesting things about the fall season is the ability to observe the transformation from lush flowers and foliage to seed heads and dried leaves that flutter on the wind. It’s the beginning and the end of two gardening seasons for many plants. The seeds are the bridge that will reach across … Read more
Like the neighbor’s cat holding onto our railing, many of the maples have decided to hold onto their leaves, at least for a while longer. Not all of them of course, the reds lost their leaves several days ago. The sycamore trees still have some dead leaves hanging onto their branches. Their leaves will remain … Read more
First let me apologize for not getting these posts up sooner. This weekend has been a fun filled hectic one with carpet cleaning and a surprise leak that required a new kitchen faucet replacement. The two events were not related unless you count the fact that they took time away from the computer! Skeeter is … Read more
One of the greatest places to find fall color is on the campuses of our country’s learning institutions. Each of these beacons of knowledge are aesthetically landscaped to entice new students to come and to give the students and faculty that attend a sense of nature to enhance their education. This idea is alive at … Read more
We were sitting at the breakfast table on Sunday morning when an unusual sight appeared from the wooded area in the back of our yard. We watched as this dog-like apparition glided from the woods and crept across the grass. It was a coyote and it wasn’t a welcome sight to my eyes. As a … Read more
As autumn’s colors have wrapped us in a cloth of color we have peeked into the foliage around the gardening blogosphere. Participants from Canada to Florida and Illinois to England have offered up wonderful illustrations of fall’s foremost feature. It’s time to take a look back and see where all that fall color came from … Read more
It’s that time of year when the leftovers of the gardening season go on sale at the nurseries and home improvement centers. The last of the stock plants are ready to go home like misbegotten playthings on the Island of Misfit Toys. For whatever reason these plants remained unsold and can now be found as … Read more
The other day while on a shopping trip I sat in the car with my daughters while my wife ran into the store for a few things. In front of our parking space was a magnolia. I doubt it was the full sized magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), as the placement of such a large tree in … Read more
Through the generosity of other gardeners and the creative use of old materials you can do a lot! Last week a friend of my parents was cleaning out their basement and found some things that they passed along to me. One of the items was a kitchen sink. It’s really more of a bar sink … Read more
The Ginkgo tree is one plant I don’t have in my garden but have wanted for a long time. The reason is simple, it has great fall color. When I was in college there were two amazing ginkgo trees on the campus. Each fall (I won’t tell you how many falls I spent there!) it … Read more
Here are a couple pictures I took on Friday November 7, 2008. In the morning it rained; in the afternoon it rained sunshine.
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 … Read more
Fall color can be enjoyed in many ways. From a distance where you see swaths of golds, reds, and oranges mixed together with evergreen foliage. Through the observation of individual leaves with their unique textures, colors, and shapes. One way I like to look at fall foliage is to see what they all look like … Read more
I have always believed that one of our country’s greatest resources is our state and national parks. You can see why when you take a stroll down to Georgia and visit Dot’s (Strolling Through Georgia) trip to the Amicalola Falls State Park. The colors there are in varying hues of gold, red and orange. There … Read more
Did you ever realize that you could go to Florida and see Tennessee fall colors? Well you can today, since Meems brought fall colors from Tennessee to her blog Hoe and Shovel! She recently came here to TN to visit her sister and went to visit the beautiful gardens of Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. She put … Read more
I’ve written about Tennessee’s state tree, the Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) before but I decided in order to show as many fall colors as possible I needed to split my pictures into several posts. Yes I really took that many pictures! That’s the danger of the digital world, I haven’t worried about wasting film in … Read more
What do Obama, McCain, the Nashville Predators, recipes, a 2002 Chevy, and the Williamson County Honor Roll have in common? Well it’s not politics if you can believe it! While I have definite political opinions, I wish to stay non-partisan on this blog and will have to tell both Obama and McCain that they will … Read more
Within a mile of our home lies a beautiful pastureland divided by an old country road. The pastures are separated in a way that doesn’t diminish their beauty but rather enhances the quaint rural scene. This is my preferred route to take to and from our neighborhood when I can. In every season it has … Read more
Fall is definitely at its peak here in Middle Tennessee! Rhonda at Adventures in My Garden has some great fall color in her own backyard. The view from her back porch is spectacular and would be envied by anyone who likes autumn leaves. Is there really anyone who doesn’t? And the quote she picked out … Read more
The warm fall temperatures aren’t destined to be here much longer. The days grow shorter and shorter and this weekend is threatening to be a much colder climate than we’ve had previously. With the day time temps predicted to be in the 50’s it is a far cry from the nearly 80 degree temperatures we … Read more
This Garden Blogger fall Color Project Post is all about New Autumn, that is Autumn in New England and New York! If you travel to upstate New York to visit Kerri’s Garden at Colors of the Garden (a very appropriate name, don’t you think?) you will get a grand tour of the New York Countryside … Read more
Today is a great day for fall color here in Tennessee. I went outside a few minutes ago and took some pictures for my Garden Blogger Fall Color Project Post which will come later this week. We also have a hat trick of fall color from several Tennessee bloggers! Peaceful and tranquil beauty grace the … Read more
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 … Read more
Illinois is having a fantastic array of autumn colors this year! I’ve highlighted several Illinois bloggers and the fall color near them and now we have another Illinois blogger to add to the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project! Beckie the blogger behind the computer screen of Dragon Fly Corner has put together a great selection … Read more
Today in the garden I spent a good deal of time cleaning up and clearing out the old vegetables of the 2008 season. The tomatoes are gone as are the cucumbers, squash, and beans. The cantaloupe stopped producing weeks ago and surprisingly the watermelon gave us one more last week before its demise. It wasn’t … Read more
Over at Ledge and Gardens in Rhode Island Layanee has put together a post about my favorite trees, maples! Layanee’s maples are mostly Japanese maples and their color is nothing short of awesome. From orange to red to gold-green these maples don’t disappoint for fall color. Included in her post are the Acer palmatum varieties … Read more
There are still fall colors beckoning gardeners in Illinois to pull out their cameras! Rose of the blog Prairie Rose found quite a few colorful trees in her neck of the woods. Crabapples bearing fruit, ashes, maples and a hackberry all join in the fall fray. One very interesting thing among the many photos to … Read more
The gardens are closing down for the winter and fall color is nearly peaking. Frosty mornings are here again. I’ll miss the warm temperatures, the yummy tomatoes, and the fresh air that comes with working in the garden. Every season has it’s own interesting things to enjoy and the fall-winter seasons are no exception. The … Read more
