Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

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…

OK, I wouldn’t have titled the article with Pimp My Yard (I’m really not cool enough to do that) but there’s a very good article on Slate about garden coaching as an emerging horticultural profession.  Garden coaches offer guidance for do-it-yourselfers who want to learn how to garden better.  For more information beyond the Slate article go check out Susan…

Have Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!

Here is a picture of our new territory that I didn’t quite know I had until a couple weeks ago. It is covered in a variety of weeds including notable family favorites like ragweed, goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace. Now if it were just the latter two weeds I would be OK with the area as a natural wild field…

Today I thought I would show you the before and after since yesterday I teased you on the details of the front porch garden remodel. It’s current state is still classified in the unfinished category but it is well on its way to becoming a welcoming front porch garden. First let me show you the before pictures: The crabapple is…

Yesterday I showed you part one of the state of the garden which contained mostly the front yard and side yard, today we go into the backyard to visit the gardens. The Vegetable Garden Let’s start by looking at the department of agriculture. The vegetable garden isn’t being very productive right now even though it could be. Hoop houses constructed…

The organic weedkiller winner is… as selected by the random number generator at Random.org… which came up with the number… (I’m drawing this out a little)… (just for fun)… (are we having fun yet?)….   3… which means that…. Meemsnyc from the blog: Gardening in the Boroughs of NYC is the winner! Congrats and email me your mailing address ASAP…

I saw this story online at the Tennessean Newspaper’s website. Apparently a women was stealing decorations from grave sites and adding them to her landscape! How desperate must your landscape be to take fake flowers from the graves of the deceased then add them to your garden. The story also says that she took solar lights and benches. Maybe she…

It’s that time of year again, time to think about spring! Yes, I said that right. Spring! Fall is almost here but if you want to maximize the potential of your garden next year fall is the best time to get some work done. The autumn leaves will be changing soon and now is the best time to get some…

This weekend I found myself in the shed working on some shelving and countertops for the reclaimed cabinets I picked up from the dump (yes I’m that cheap!)   I’ll talk more on the garden shed later in the week but for now I thought I’d show you a little of what is going on in the garden. Things are winding…

The weather this past weekend was perfect for outdoor gardening activities! Unfortunately we are still a good six weeks away from safe outdoor planting and many of the tasks on my long term spring agenda need to wait until the frosts are done, but there is always something that can be done! Garden preparation! By far the biggest job my…

It’s not just a box.  Really it isn’t.  It’s so much more than that.  You built it in your backyard, sideyard, or even front yard.  You filled it with soil.  You tended that box and nurtured every single tiny seed you planted in it.  That box is your garden.  That box with the untreated wood your neighbor told you would…

Please ignore the mess of bricks and leftover lumber lying on the floor at the bottom of this picture. Instead focus on the cabinets! Family friends were cleaning out their basement and passed on quite a few pieces of lumber and odds and ends they thought could be reused. The cabinets came along for the ride too. With a little…

…project! Could you possibly guess what these windows will be used for?   I acquired these windows for a very economical price from a very generous person on Craigslist.  The price was simply the cost of the trip to pick them up! They included two very large picture windows, three doors (two of them French), two storm doors, two large…

The other day while on a shopping trip I sat in the car with my daughters while my wife ran into the store for a few things. In front of our parking space was a magnolia. I doubt it was the full sized magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), as the placement of such a large tree in a limited growth area like…

This time of the year it seems like there are a million and one choices for seeds.  The catalogs have been rolling in at record paces enticing us with beautiful pictures of what we could have in our gardens but how do you figure out what you need to buy especially if your trying to save money?  The first step…

Unique berry producing plants are always welcome in my garden. What do I mean by unique? I’m glad you asked! If you didn’t ask then bear with me anyway. To me a unique berry plant is one that may not be in everyone’s landscape. Plants that look spectacular because of the berries and the berries aren’t just an added bonus….

Last week I put together another downspout dry creek bed to help escort the water away from the house foundation. We don’t really have any issues with too much moisture around the house but it’s better to think preemptively and solve those dilemmas before problems arise. Besides this is such an easy project to do that it can be started…