Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Tomato Blossoms In my ultimate wisdom I know that doing daily garden chores is definitely the way to go. If I accomplish just a few things every day I can keep ahead everything that needs done and maintain my sanity. But I also know in my ultimate wisdom that daily garden chores are not always going to happen. Still it’s…

This weekend a reader emailed me a few questions she had about my post 5 Fall Things To Do to Prepare the Vegetable Garden for Spring.  I thought that other gardeners may be interested in hearing the answers to those questions as well so for today we’ll begin an intermittent series of garden questions and answers!  Feel free to chime…

This summer as part of the Saturday6 Bloggers with Troy-Bilt I tested a 4 Cycle Trimmer (TB675 EC).  I’ll be completely honest and tell you that weed eating is not one of my favorite tasks in the garden.  It’s necessary to keep things cleanly edged, keep weeds down, and even clean out brush areas.  Weed eaters are very useful tools….

Around Thanksgiving I took 6 small 4 node cuttings from a single viburnum at my in-law’s house. I don’t know what variety the viburnum but that doesn’t bother me, I can find out when the leaves begin to grow and the flowers start to bloom (which admittedly might be awhile). For now though I’ll just be happy to add six…

One of the things I love to do, but often don’t have enough time to do, is visit gardens. I like seeing what ideas other gardeners have had and taking a bit of their creativity back to my garden. We recently visited a farm and picked some pumpkins for the fall. While a farm and garden can be vastly different…

A few weeks ago I dropped a fairly large sweet potato in an old plastic peanut butter jar filled with water to make some sweet potato slips. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. To me having a simple baked sweet potato at dinner time almost seems wrong, it tastes like I am eating dessert for dinner! But of…

I suppose it’s human nature to second guess oneself and lately I’ve been wondering if the vegetable garden layout I decided to make was designed the best way. It’s very functional and all the vegetables have been growing wonderfully (until a couple pests came along, but that isn’t related to the garden’s layout.) Aesthetically the layout works well and there…

Despite what the weather may lead us to believe Spring will arrive soon. Maybe it will help us believe it if we repeat that phrase: Spring will arrive soon! (Repeat as needed) It’s March and during March we can expect a number of tumultuous and turbulent weather systems that will toy with our psyche. Have faith gardeners because spring and the gardening…

These particular crocuses were tiny little bulbs (actually corms) that we planted outside of our apartment in east Tennessee. We didn’t have much space to do anything and just experimented with a few just to see if we could get a little color along our short walkway. They would pop up in the early spring and give us a little…

One of the precursors to fall is the beautyberry. Much like the forsythias harken the arrival of spring the beautyberries are always reliably beautiful beginning this time of year. The blooms of summer gradually have transformed from small white blossoms into clusters of tiny purple gems.  Our beautyberry is now in its third year in the ground and has reached…

Fall color is one of the main reasons I garden. If you followed this website for a while you may remember the Fall Color project I hosted where Garden Bloggers from all over posted about their fall color and we shared our autumn experiences. For me few trees have more outstanding fall color than the maple. Red maples and Sugar…

One of our favorite herbs around the house is cilantro. Cilantro seems to be one of those herbs with a flavor that you either like or don’t. From what I hear those who don’t like it think the herb tastes akin to soap, but here in our house that is definitely not the case. Cilantro likes the cooler weather and…

Fall is a great time for many garden activities and could be considered one of the best times to divide perennials. The temperatures in fall drop and plants are finishing up their growing for the season. Dividing now allows them time to regenerate roots and get established before winter dormancy sets in. 15 Perennials to Divide in Fall Hosta (Hosta…

We’re always looking for ways to save money and with today’s economy what it is it’s not just wise, it’s crucial for gardeners to save a buck when they can!  Gaillardia from a Discount Rack There are several ways gardeners can save money on their garden that are really easy to do and don’t require anything really crazy.  Today’s Friday…

Quite a few people chimed in to offer their opinion as to what our naturally formed rock sculpture looks like. There were a range of responses from prehistoric and mythic reptiles to fuzzy and furry creatures of the woodlands and prairies. What I learned is that identifying what a rock resembles is a lot like naming the clouds, every one…

Over the course of the years gardeners learn many things through experimenting, reading, and talking to other gardeners. There are many different ideas and concepts to use in your garden and eventually you develop a little niche. Dictionary.com defines an ecological niche as ” the position or function of an organism in a community of plants and animals.” Your gardening…

I wish I could say I had thousands of plants sitting in the backyard from my plant propagation experiments but unfortunately I’ve just been too busy to do much this year. That isn’t to say I’m not happy with what I’ve accomplished. Sometimes the uniqueness of the experience is much more valuable and satisfying than quantity produced.  What I’m especially…

I was out today looking at the sorry state of the gardens and though it might be an interesting exercise to look back at how the gardens appeared last spring and compare them. Over the next few posts I’ll go back for a few photos of the spring time version and contrast it with that same garden today. Let me…