Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Another year comes and guess what – I make more changes to my vegetable garden layout! I haven’t done anything yet but below you’ll see what I intend to change from last year’s vegetable garden design. This is step one in altering my garden into what will eventually become an awesome parterre layout. I can envision it now – brick…

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 are scenic views and of…

Yet another use for my pickup load of stone the other day is a bench for the little people. No I’m not talking fairies, elves, or garden gnomes but my two girls.  Of course anyone else who might happen upon the bench and need to take a load off their feet is welcome to do so.  I was lucky to…

The other day when I went to pick up my bricks for the greenhouse flooring the temperatures were still at or around freezing. I had my camera along for the ride and took a couple shots of the ice structures that were along Highway 840 here in Middle TN. I’ve always found the ice sculptures that appear alongside the cliff…

Last year I came up with a layout for our vegetable garden that I later decided wasn’t as effective as I hoped. This year I made a better raised bed layout that focused more on the convenience of the gardener and it is working great! The central path makes getting around a breeze and the smaller paths around each bed…

I’ve always been a big fan of raised bed gardening. There are significant advantages to gardening in raised beds which is why when Greenland Gardener offered to send me one of their raised bed kits to test out I said “yes please!” My vegetable garden is almost completely made of raised beds built from non-pressure treated lumber which only lasts…

We have three children in our household who love to be outdoors.  It’s extremely hard for this gardener to sneak outside without someone tagging along.  That’s a good thing! I’m thrilled that they love to be outside in the open air experiencing what all kids should have the opportunity to experience.  It’s important though that the garden be a safe…

Here is an inexpensive little project I’m working on that hopefully will work to hold a tomato plant. This homemade tomato cage is made from the pliable branches of a sycamore tree my neighbor limbed up. I offered to take the branches to dump in a pit in the backyard and mentioned I might use a few of the branches…

For the last part of my Winter Garden series I have a special treat planned. I arranged for snow to fall upon Middle Tennessee so I could illustrate how great a winter garden looks! OK, of course I’m joking but snow is very cool to look at on the garden (please forgive the pun). The weather forecast called for chances…

The title of this post says it all. If I can move a rock I’ll put it somewhere! Thanks to a garden club friend (Evelyn) I found out about a man named Barry who was clearing part of his property so that his wife could have horses. Unfortunately for Barry, and very fortunately for me and several other rock collectors,…

Herb Garden Layout I’ve been debating on exactly what kind of herb garden to implement and after making up some rough sketches of various ideas on paper I decided to throw this basic design together. It has a somewhat formal look yet should be relatively easy to maintain. I was considering trying to do a knot herb garden but that…

I finally found some Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) to add to the garden. It’s been on my radar for a while and it was even more desired after seeing it in such impressive displays at Frances’ Garden! Yesterday I planted it in our Japanese maple garden next to the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ that I had already planted. The miscanthus…

Over at Clay and Limestone Gail celebrates the diversity of native plants with Wildflower Wednesday so I thought I would join in this week to share a few of the native plants I’ve run across over the past week.  Let’s start with a shrub!  This is what I believe to be a gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa).  It has white clusters…

We’re entering the middle of November which means not only is that turkey get closer to being roasted but it’s also time for hardwood cuttings! There are quite a few plants that will easily grow from hardwood cuttings and are well worth trying for any budget minded gardener.  Free plants are always a good thing right?  Well unless they’re weeds……

The rain garden is very close to being finished. We worked most of the day and managed to get the soil put in to make the planting bed. All that is left to do is to select plants and cover with mulch!Here’s a look at today’s progress:Here is where I ended the other evening. A big hole with a trench….

The holiday season is in full swing and the good news is that gardeners are very easy to shop for! Whether your gardener likes gardening with vegetables, herbs, or ornamental plants there is something for everyone. Today here are some Christmas gift ideas for gardeners to help you find just the right thing! (Disclaimer: The links in this post are…

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 by George Eliot to start…