Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

In case you are wondering about where exactly you are situated in the USDA plant hardiness zone maps here are a couple to look at. One is the national map and the other is the Tennessee State map.  The maps are useful when determining which plants to plant in your area.  The zone map shows you the lowest expected temperatures…

I haven’t made it out into the garden much lately other than to gather the occasional item for the kitchen but I did manage to grab the camera and head into the yard this afternoon for a few minutes. Here’s a little of what I found! This is a ‘Golden Globe’ arborvitae.  It has a nice rounded habit with golden…

Those hot days of summer are here again, and while were all complaining about our excess perspiration, lack of precipitation, and all kinds of heat related aggravation – good things are growing. Take the terrific tomato for example! Botanically speaking the tomato is known as Lycopersicon esculentum but I’ll just stick with tomato — or as those here in the…

Every now and then it’s good to take an overall look around the garden and see how it is doing. Through modern technology we can record it all and one day go back to explore and see how things have changed. With that in mind here is a video of my garden as it appears at the very end of…

Alright you tomato crazed vegetable gardeners! It’s time to give away some tomato seeds to start your heirloom tomato collection for next year. The seeds I’m talking about are from a tomato called ‘Woodle Orange’.  Which is perhaps a lesser known variety but definitely not because it under performs. In fact it’s a delicious alternative to the standard reds and…

In times like these can you afford not to garden? The other day I was thinking about the actual value of a garden. What do you get out of it? Not just the sense of satisfaction of eating the greatest tomato ever grown. That’s pretty valuable in itself. Not just the pleasure of being able to boast to friends and…

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This ancient sentiment applies very well to the denizens of the garden. The tomato (tobacco) hornworm in the pictures is a being of great tomato destruction. This larval stage of the five-spotted hawkmoth is able to demolish whole tomato plants in a matter of days if not caught early. It feeds off…

Spring is here and the garden is most certainly coming alive! Unfortunately some freezing temperatures are in the forecast for later in the week here in Tennessee. Here’s a quick look at what you will find in my garden at the moment! Purple leaf plum and forsythia   I trimmed the forsythia back after it bloomed last year into more…

It’s always fun to join in with Carol’s Garden Blogger Bloom Day every 15th of the month but the early summer day are some of the best for blooms. Some of the spring blooms are hanging on despite the extreme heat (it’s way to hot for June!) and the summer blooms are definitely getting into gear. Today I’ll show you…

I made big plans for this weekend. Plans that, at least in my mind, were very attainable. Unfortunately the weather did not concur. When I made my chore list for the weekend the weather forecast said Saturday and Sunday would be in the 70’s and sunny. We had a such a great weather day on Saturday that makes saying it…

With all the nasty but necessary weather we’ve been having lately it’s been hard to get out in the garden to work. What’s a gardener to do? Talk about the seedlings growing inside! Today I’m going to give you an update on how I am growing heucheras from seed. The largest of my heuchera seedlings is still tiny but I’m…

Since Labor Day is the unofficial/official end of summer I guess that means it’s time to start thinking about fall! And what else do you think about with fall?  FALL COLOR!  Which means it’s time for The Home Garden’s annual Fall Color Project! Since 2008 The Fall Color Project has been bringing fall color from Canada, The United States, Germany…

It’s been several days since I’ve been able to accomplish anything on the greenhouse. I’m hoping that Monday will be the day to get things done as it’s predicted to be 60 degrees with only a 20% chance of rain. Usually the 20% chance of rain will happen right when I don’t want it so I’ll be keeping my fingers…

…One looks to the sky.

I really like using rock and stone in the garden. I’ve used rocks and stone for two main uses: as stepping stones or as borders. I prefer natural stones that have a rough hewn look. I like the irregular forms, the variety, and the general natural quality of the stones. The problem is the perfect flat stones are not readily…

The cold temps are keeping you indoors and you are going stir crazy.  You need to do something in the garden, with the garden, or for the garden and the seed catalogs showing up in your mailbox just aren’t good enough to get your gardening fix.  Then do this – plant an indoor garden!  Recently I put together a small…

If you are tired of hauling your old newspapers to the dump or recycling there are a couple good uses of it for around the house. First its important to note that newspaper is biodegradable and most of the inks are soy based so there will be no harm to the environment. In fact the newspaper should add to the…

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a huge fan for the genus Prunus so you won’t be flabbergasted when I tell you that I like this little ornamental dwarf peach called ‘Bonfire’ (Prunus persica). I bought it last year for my wife who wanted a peach tree. Unfortunately at the time I didn’t realize that it was merely ornamental and not…