Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

We’re always looking for ways to save money and with today’s economy what it is it’s not just wise, it’s crucial for gardeners to save a buck when they can!  Gaillardia from a Discount Rack There are several ways gardeners can save money on their garden that are really easy to do and don’t require anything really crazy.  Today’s Friday…

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…

It’s been while since I showed larger scale pictures of the garden.  Mostly because it was such a mess over the summer. Today I’ll share a few photos of the various garden areas.  The resiliency of plants is simply amazing. With neglect, wet weather, dry weather, hot weather, and lack of time my plants seem to be doing fine! The…

Things are going well with the vegetable garden remodel even though the pictures may not fully illustrate it (see the layout to get an idea as to what it will look like). Right now it looks kind of like a war zone complete with with bunkers, foxholes, and fencing but soon it will come together.  You have to start somewhere! …

We had a short reprieve from the cold winter temperatures we’ve been having.  It reached nearly 70 degrees  and we actually saw the sun for the first time in days. It felt good to be outside this afternoon tending to some minor garden chores. My first task was to pot up some more Purple leaf plums (Prunus cerasifera) that had…

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…

I’ve mentioned that with my newly redesigned garden layout that I would like to put a fence around it. Partly to keep the rabbits and groundhogs out but also to add an air of formality around the garden. I have two ideas in mind that I’d like to gather some opinions about. In the drawing below I have a standard…

Over the years I’ve done several vegetable garden layouts for my garden. I’ve always tried to make improvements to the vegetable garden. My goal is to make it more efficient for growing yet still aesthetically pleasing and fun to be in. This year however isn’t just an adjustment, it’s a whole new garden! We moved into our new house in…

I thought I would take a moment to talk about hardwood cuttings. It is the beginning of winter and which is also a great time to go out and try to reproduce many of your favorite woody trees and shrubs in the garden. Many plants will easily propagate through hardwood cuttings and I’ve included a short list below that you…

Since our yard was rather devoid of color and life this past season with the possible exceptions of the verbenas, mums, and asters I am making a strident attempt to improve the year round color situation. Our house was at one time a rental house that was not cared for very well inside or out. As you can imagine the…

I wrote in my last post about the plant benches I was working on for the garden shed and this weekend I was able to finish installing the coated wire shelf tops. Now I can add plants in to overwinter, hardwood cuttings for rooting over the winter, or maybe even start seeds in the early spring.Each shelf is covered with…

When building raised beds I usually screw deck screws through each of the boards to attach the corners of my raised beds but using brackets to hold raised beds together does work better. With the screw in method I find after a while that the corners begin to rot, the screws begin to loosen, and the corner doesn’t hold together….

We all know about compost.  It’s important, perhaps the most important thing we do as gardeners for our plants.  Organic matter is critical for plants to get nutrients.  It’s also extremely helpful as a waste disposal system.  Rather than throw away your biodegradable wastes from the kitchen you can compost it and use it later for the garden.  Composting makes…

They finally came! My experiment with Arbor Day has begun. Earlier in the year I ordered several trees from the National Arbor Day Society. I also got a few free trees with my order. I know many people have had mixed results when ordering from Arbor Day. They either have trees that don’t make it through the winter, receive dead…

This little chickadee was seen on my back deck going after some birdseed.  It’s always fun to watch the chickadees fly around. They seem fearless and will often just land a few feet way while I’m working in the garden. I didn’t participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count last weekend but I think next year I’ll jump in and…

Cilantro is one of those plants that you either like to eat or don’t. Fortunately I’m a fan, especially when it’s in guacamole, but even if you don’t like to eat it cilantro sure looks good when in bloom! I let my cilantro go to seed each year so that I can collect the seeds and plant it again. I…

Could their be a more aptly named plant than ‘Silver Mound’? Artemisia schmidtiana has several common names like wormwood, mugwort, sagebrush, or just silver mound (which to me is the most descriptive.) This mounding perennial has soft silvery gray foliage that invites the casual observer reach down to touch it. It’s hard to walk by without petting the ‘Silver Mound’….

If coleus (Solenostemon) is not the easiest plant cutting to root, then it must be ranked at the top of the plant propagator’s list right next to the willows. Here’s the process of rooting Coleus in water. Whether you want to multiply your coleus plants or save some cuttings indoors over the winter coleus can root very easily in water…