Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

The daylilies (Hemerocallis) have begun their summer show appropriately on the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day. Maybe the lilies felt the need to pay tribute to all of our country’s veterans as we all should. These showy flowers are well known for their bountiful blooming abilities. Each flower only lasts a short period of time, about a day (imagine…

One of the more unusual vegetables I am growing this years is the ‘Trombetta’ climbing squash. Its name is derived from the Italian word for bugle or trumpet which is the shape it resembles. ‘Trombetta’ is a climbing squash that when ideally placed has the strong support of an arbor or trellis on which to grow.  The squash itself gets…

Oh I know, I’m keenly aware of the Superbowl coming up but this post has nothing to do with it. You see Saturday is destined to be a day outdoors – nothing short of the weather forecasters getting it completely wrong can stop that. We all know that never happens… The temperatures are said to finally be reaching the 50’s!…

I’m not sure how this snowfall counts. Would it be the first one in Middle Tennessee? Would it even be enough to count? I’m not sure, I only know that we did not receive what our northern neighbors have been gifted with this December!I know it disappointed my two year old daughter who asked me several times to make a…

I’ve always been a big fan of solar lighting.  I like the convenience of adding light where I want it in the garden without having to wire in electrical lines.  I also like how solar energy is collected during the day and distributed later when it is needed without using resources from the power grid.  Solar energy is a very…

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…

The weather this past weekend was perfect.  No rain, lots of sun and warm temperatures have given all the plants the kick they need to break their dormancy.  Hopefully they will remain safe from any heavy frosts.  I’m looking forward to seeing the blooms on this Sargent Crab Apple (Malus sargentii).  It was a just sapling a few years ago…

Last year I set up a small greenhouse in my garage.  It was a gift from my parents and has come in quite handy.  I keep it in the garage next to one of the windows and have an old aquarium light set up for the top shelf.  This little greenhouse is the perfect place to harden off my seedlings…

Last week I caught my first glimpse of something I have never seen before, a fox in my backyard.  There was a little doubt in my mind when I saw it.  Was it some sort of dog that resembled a fox or did I really seen one?  I’ve never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild just in…

What a beautiful fall preview weekend we were granted this weekend! This fall has been very unusual with moderate to cool temperatures here in Tennessee. I hope you we’re able to enjoy the weekend outdoors, I know I did! Here’s a couple pictures I took of the nice weather.   The wild goldenrod on our slope will soon be blooming which…

My lately planted vegetable garden is doing its best to get back on track!  It’s been a busy spring time and everything got delayed until the official “whenever I could manage a few minutes” time.  But one of the great things about gardening in Tennessee is the long growing season.  Even if you don’t get the vegetable garden planted within…

I really didn’t expect to get flowers from the cuttings of Persian Shield I made in the fall. It’s been an added bonus but I was only trying to keep the cuttings alive long enough to plant them in the ground this spring. I’ve kept them in jars of water so far even though I should have long ago planted…

This week I started another batch of tomato seeds. For the last set of tomato seeds I used peat seed starting trays, this time I used washed mushroom containers, yogurt cups, and an old refrigerator plastic drawer! Not too long ago our refrigerator decided to quit and we had to replace it. I kept the plastic drawers from the old…

I went out to water plants in the garden this morning and thought it was a good time to show you how the garden was growing this morning.  So far the first week of May have been warm and sunny and the garden is responding accordingly.  Here is what you can see in our zone 6b garden this spring: Our…

Every gardener has an enemy, a nemesis, an evil villain that lurks in the garden that the garden would love to eradicate. I’ve had an invader this year that has been more aggressive than ever before – Bermuda grass. Once it gets a foothold in the garden it is extremely hard to hold back, let alone eliminate.  Recently I attempted…

This week is the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show!  For those of us here in TN this is a great opportunity to go out and take care of that gardening fix after a long cold winter.  There are always some interesting ideas to be found in the displays so make sure you bring a camera!  Here are some photos from…

Sometimes I plan really well and gardens come together perfectly, sometimes I don’t, — and sometimes I get lucky! Luck is the case with the combination of Achillea and Asiatic Lily that I’m about to show you. Maybe I was thinking that because both plants started with the letter ‘A’ that they would go well together…I don’t think so. It…

A plant holding bed is a luxury that anyone who propagates plants might find very useful. (I know I will!) A plant holding bed can function as a coldframe or just as an out of the way spot set aside for plants to rest in while they grow. For me I just have too many propagated plants to continue storing…