Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

We’ve all been stuck indoors too long.  It’s February and here in TN we should be getting 50 degree temperatures for highs but instead are stuck in the lower 30’s or below.  In order to help alleviate the cabin fever and feed the gardening fix I put together a little project for one of our upstairs windows.  I built a…

Free Plants! The best possible price you can find right? Last week I was struck by a post at everyone’s favorite garden ranting website. The post discussed the “lies” of gardening and one of those supposed lies was that you don’t have to spend money to get plants. The author implied that to get good plants you have to spend…

The current project I’m working on for Lowe’s Creative Ideas fits into two categories for me: indoor gardening and vertical gardening.  “Migration” was the theme given to us which means we were to bring the garden indoors but the issue with that for me is space.  I bring plants indoors to overwinter each year like coleus or my avocado tree…

This post is about two of my favorite vegetable garden plants: tomatoes and sugar snap peas! Both are delicious right from the garden and I have both growing in my home and garden! The snap peas are about 6 inches tall at this point. The pea growth has been slowed some by the cool temperatures.  Even though sugar snap peas…

It won’t be too much longer now before the Yoshino Cherries begin to bloom in Tennessee. Last year the Yoshino Cherry trees bloomed at the end of March. Right now the buds are beginning to swell which makes me optimistic that they will bloom at about the same time as last year. We have three Yoshinos and maybe four. I…

For many years now I have really enjoyed the beauty of our Japanese dappled willows (Salix integra). Japanese dappled willows (or tri-colored willows) are gorgeous shrubby willows that grow up to around 10ft tall. These willows are known for their variegated foliage that emerges initially as pink before gradually turning to green and white on the leaves. Here is a…

Even though it’s been a short week we have lots of fall color to share for the Thanksgiving edition of the Fall Color Project! I won’t be posting for the Fall Color Project on Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday so I thought I would highlight these posts a little early! What could be more perfect than fancy foliage, a…

Last weekend I pulled out the tomato plants (all but three) and did the yearly Bermuda grass removal. Bermuda grass is one of the two most frustrating parts of my vegetable garden, the other being the deer. Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) grows and spreads through rhizomes (under the soil) and stolons (above the soil). Any piece of the roots or…

So on Wednesday of this coming week I’ll have had this blog open for a month. I find it interesting that about two weeks after I start articles all over pop up about garden blogging. Is it something that is catching on? Or is it publicity brought on by the talented folks who have paved the garden blogging way. The…

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 there for an indefinite period…

So what is a weed? By nearly every gardener’s definition a weed is simply a plant in the wrong place. It could be a flower that self-seeded in an unwanted location but that’s not what most people really consider a problem plant, and true weeds are problem plants. So for Worst Weed Wednesday here are several plants from my gardens…

OK, not really, I know the postage would be expensive! Still I want to see your shed or greenhouse photos. I’m looking for ideas and inspiration to build one of my own eventually and would love to have some sheds to share here on The Home Garden. If you would like to contribute a shed or greenhouse photo of your…

Heuchera are one of my favorite plants. I say that phrase a lot though, but really, heuchera, also known as coral bells, are awesome perennials that gardeners just love due to the beautiful foliage and versatility in garden design. Most heucheras you will find are hybrids of species plants of Heuchera sanguinea or Heuchera americana and they are found in…

For this post I really don’t need any words, the pictures will explain why you should plant echinacea (coneflowers) in your landscape. But since this is a blog I have to tell you why I like echinacea in the garden and where I’ve planted it! Echincea is one of the easiest plants I’ve found to grow. Once it’s established there…

OK I’ll have to admit it the arbor part of this post is an attempt to offset some of the misery that my nasturtiums are suffering. The heat of this summer has been way too intense for any of my nasturtium plantings to thrive so I guess I should just be happy that they continue to survive. Before I show…

Last weekend we went to a family wedding in West TN. While out there we stopped by and visited my wife’s Uncle Joe in Jackson who loves to garden. He has a variety of plants ranging from broccoli, radishes, and spring greens to tomatoes and peppers. Since I don’t grow broccoli in my garden (I like it but my family…

The other day I was out and about (as happens often) when I was surprised by the sight of a couple hyacinths coming up. It’s not that I’m surprised that the hyacinths are emerging but rather that I didn’t realize they where there to begin with! This would be one of those time where plant labels would have come in…

As I mentioned yesterday I had a visit from another garden blogger to my garden. It’s not often that my garden gets company and I’m always a little nervous about the things someone might see. Like the loads of Johnson Grass invading the beds (all the beds) or the currently unkempt nature of certain areas of the garden I just…