Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

One of the great flowering summer trees of the south is the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). They typically grow well in zones 6-9 (Tennessee generally falls in the zone 6 area with a few areas in the 7). One of the growing traits of a crape myrtle that makes them good for propagating by cuttings is their ability to sucker….

Everyone starts somewhere with a vegetable garden.  You can’t instantly have the garden of your dreams. That dream garden has to come together bit by bit, a little each day.  That goes for experienced gardeners as well as those just starting their first vegetable garden.  It’s just the nature of gardening.  You don’t receive instant gratification but each day you…

Last year I wrote a post called What is Your Gardening Niche? It was a little post about how every gardener has their one area either of expertise or interest (most likely both) that he or she just can’t get enough of.  I remember several people decided to write their own posts based on it like Anna (Flowergardengirl) who wrote…

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…

Birch tree cutting from a cutting taken in summer Have you ever wanted to try propagating birch trees from cuttings? The river birch is definitely worth propagating for your garden for many reasons. First of all birch trees can be rooted! While I’ve tried propagating several kinds trees unsuccessfully (like maples ~ seeds: no problem ~ cuttings: not so good…

Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the back door and saw an accipter yesterday! That’s a member of the Acciptridae family which are birds of prey like hawks. Don’t worry I didn’t know that either until now. I looked into what kind of hawk-falcon this bird was and finally settled on a Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) after comparing…

It’s getting close now. Can you feel it? Seed starting time! In preparation for my seed starting activities of 2020 I thought it would be fun to tell you about my favorite tomato and pepper varieties for Growing The Home Garden. In this video I go through some of my tried and try peppers and tomato varieties. They may not…

Ornamental grasses are some of the easiest plants to propagate and they look so good in the garden. Today I potted up seven rooted sections of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Four of them were ‘Shenandoah’ which gains a reddish coloring in the leaves in late summer and fall and three were ‘Northwind’ which has a taller and more upright shape. Switchgrasses…

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…

While wasps certainly are a normal part of nature and serve an important function we don’t always want to be around them.  Wasp stings can be quite painful and some people even have adverse reactions to their sting (as I can attest to, see the post on my swollen foot – not for the squeamish!)  Removing wasps from an area…

Have you ever wondered why some plants are considered invasive? It’s usually because if the growing conditions are even slightly favorable they take over. Invasiveness can be due to a number of traits like rapid growth, prolific reseeding, and rooting vine habits. Euonymous fortunei is one such plant in which I have observed to have at least two of these…

Yesterday I was shopping at our local Lowe’s home improvement store looking for weatherstripping for the garden shed. While there I casually sauntered over to the plant area (after picking up three rolls of foam insulation) to see what they had in stock. It’s rare that I go to a store that has plants and don’t take a look (unfortunately…

Welcome to another Fall Color Project Post! The leaves are changing faster as we progress through one of my favorite seasons which means we get to see more fall color from our blogging friends and neighbors! Last Friday an Obsessive Neurotic Gardener (aren’t we all? ;)) put up a post with some beautiful scenery. Could pictures of fall that include…

The weather here in Tennessee is nothing if not unpredictable.  Some will even say that the only thing predictable about the weather is that it is unpredictable!  So gardeners are left trying to figure out how to best mitigate harsh conditions of any extreme.  Two years ago we were facing floods that washed out gardens, homes, and upturned lives –…

Ever been to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show? Here’s the info for 2012: Gardens Past, Present & Future Will Be Celebrated March 1-4 at the 2012 Nashville Lawn & Garden Show Discussion of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gardens among the many free presentations at the show Nashville, TN – The timeless appeal, importance and fun of gardening will be celebrated…

It won’t be long before the warm weather approaches (or at least I keep telling myself this) and gardening begins for the 2009 season in earnest.  One of the projects I have planned this season is the self sowing garden.  A self sowing garden is pretty self explanatory, it has plants that seed themselves year after year without much attention…

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I started the seed selection process the other day. I ordered seeds through the American Horticultural Society’s seed exchange. I wasn’t able to contribute seeds to the exchange this year but they do allow you donate $5 and pick ten different selections from this year’s list.Here is what I picked:Rudbeckia hirtaAgastache foeniculumAsclepia tuberosa (Butterfly weed)Dianthus deltoides ‘Arctic Fire’Echinacea purpereaEchinacea purperea…