It’s always fun to go back and look at the year. It helps to examine what went well or what didn’t. Usually I end the year with a post on how my garden projects went but this year I thought I would mention what the top posts on Growing The Home Garden were for 2013. … Read more
I don’t make many New Year’s resolutions. I make goals instead. I put together ideas of things I would like to accomplish and set out to do them. I usually don’t get through every goal I set but by setting a few goals that are attainable I accomplish more than I would have otherwise! I’ll … Read more
Christmas is just about here and our minds are all focused on celebrating the season with family and friends but soon after Christmas our gardens will be need attention. In gardening the correct timing can mean the difference between a great harvest, OK harvest, or even no harvest. Let’s take a quick look at some … Read more
Weeds are one of the most troubling elements of gardening that gardeners face. A gardener’s definition of a a weed is simply a plant you don’t want in a place you don’t want it! Which means that even desirable plants can become a weed pest in the wrong place. Gardener’s want simple and easy ways … Read more
This time of year it isn’t unusual to see the garden in a crystallized form. Wet winter weather insures that enough moisture is around to turn the landscape into a frosted garden. The unique appearance of the frosted garden gives the gardener a great opportunity to play around with some photography. Here are a few … Read more
Winter is one of those times when many gardeners wish they could be growing fresh herbs or produce but the weather just doesn’t cooperate. What is a determined gardener to do then? Build something! I decided to put together an indoor grow box/planter with a grow light to grow some plants while the weather outside … Read more
I mentioned earlier today in a post on Facebook about using homemade seed packets as a gift idea for stocking stuffers. You can read more about that type of seed packet in this post: using wrapping paper for homemade seed packets. If you want a more typical style of seed packet that you can customize … Read more
I do a lot of thinking. Too much probably but I have ideas and they have to work themselves out in my head or in the garden one way or another! The gardening “off-season” is when I plan. It’s when I take those thoughts in my head and entertain them before discarding the impractical ones. … Read more
Here at Growing The Home Garden I’m a huge proponent of raised bed gardening. Raised beds can be made of all sorts of materials and have all kinds of advantages for growing a garden. Raised beds are great solution for many tricky situations in the garden. Here are a few ways that raised beds can … Read more
Emily Rose who gardens and blogs in the Chattanooga area has a very picturesque setting for her fall colors! What could be better than fall colors reflected in a pond? Oaks, maples, and other trees all offer up a piece of East Tennessee fall color. Stop by and check out Emily’s fall color pictures at … Read more
I’ve always been a big fan of solar lighting. I like the convenience of adding light where I want it in the garden without having to wire in electrical lines. I also like how solar energy is collected during the day and distributed later when it is needed without using resources from the power grid. … Read more
Garden writer Nancy Ondra never has a disappointing garden photo (at least not that I’ve seen!) This year her fall color project post is as impressive as ever with viburnums, amsonia, winterberry, purple smoke bush and so many other things to look at. I wish I could stop by in person to tour her garden … Read more
A few years ago I found a maple tree on sale at one of our local nurseries. It was only five dollars so I bought it, planted it, and left it alone. It was a ‘Brandywine’ maple tree which is a cross between an ‘October Glory’ and ‘Autumn Flame’. With parents that good it had … Read more
First let me apologize for not writing much lately. Life has been busy and I haven’t been able to get into the garden as much. Things are winding down for the cold season fortunately and while there is still much to do in the garden it always seems more manageable when the weeds are no … Read more
I’m a huge fan of mustard. There are few snacks I enjoy more than pretzels dipped in a delicious honey mustard. I love it on sandwiches and as an ingredient in all sorts of things from chicken dishes to potato salad. Mustard is simply awesome. That’s my opinion anyway. It’s also extremely easy to grow … Read more
The legumes are one awesome vegetable family (Leguminosae). Really, they are! Legumes are essential to any crop rotation plan because of one major trait: legumes are nitrogen fixers! What does that mean? It means that legumes have an amazing ability to take nitrogen from the air and change it into a form usable by plants. … Read more
The other day I wrote about crop rotation, it’s importance, and it’s benefit in the garden so today I thought we’d begin looking at the individual families of vegetables and how they fit into the grand scheme of things. Since it is probably the most popular family, because of one of its members (the tomato), … Read more
Maybe your garden didn’t turn out so well this year. Maybe your tomatoes may died out due to disease or other vegetables might not have produced as well as they have in the past. It happens. Sometimes it’s the weather that causes it and sometimes insects bring in diseases, but those factors are hard to … Read more
The number one thing people think of when the fall season comes is the leaves. Thoughts of harvests, festivals, and cooler weather come too but when the fall season comes to mind its the leaves that get the attention. Everybody loves the leaves! Here’s why: 5 Reasons to Love Your Leaves The colors. Mother nature … Read more
October is always a fun time of the year. Fall festivals are in full swing, the leaves are changing, the weather is more cooperative for gardening, and of course there’s Halloween. We don’t typically decorate much around here for Halloween. Part of it is the difficulty of managing a whole lot of decorating with four … Read more
Here is a little guide on various plants that you can propagate in your home garden. I’ve included the types of propagation where I’ve been successful (seeds, Layering, Division, Cuttings, etc.). If I can do it so can you! The links in the tables below will take you to posts I have written as a … Read more
It is officially fall and we all know what that means – its time for the Fall Color Project! Every year I encourage bloggers to use Growing The Home Garden as a hub to share the peak colors in their area. Fall color is different every year and in every area. There is no way … Read more
Knockout roses are great additions to any garden. They are more resistant to pests and diseases and continue to provide blooms throughout the summer. This rose is planted in a corner bed between our front sidewalk and the driveway.
Migration isn’t just limited to the birds and the butterflies, it happens in the garden too. We have about a month before the frost date here in Middle Tennessee (mid-October) and it’s time to move and divide the hostas in my garden. Once that frost date comes the hosta leaves will fade away and the … Read more
The leaf show hasn’t begun in the south just yet so now is a great opportunity to look at some common leaves before the color changes begin! For a list of Native trees to the United States and information on how to propagate them go to this page: United States Native Tree Propagation List Redbuds … Read more
I haven’t made it out into the garden much lately other than to gather the occasional item for the kitchen but I did manage to grab the camera and head into the yard this afternoon for a few minutes. Here’s a little of what I found! This is a ‘Golden Globe’ arborvitae. It has a … Read more
The weather is changing, the shadows are getting longer, and of course the leaves are beginning to become more colorful which opens the door to a new season of gardening. Every season has it’s own specific chores and things to do. Winter is for planning, spring is for starting, summer is for maintenance and harvesting, … Read more
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 … Read more
There are few fall performers more majestic than the beautyberry. My beautyberry is Callicarpa dichtoma ‘Early Amethyst’ and is a native of Asia. It’s a beautiful shrub with tiny white flowers in the summer that become loaded with clusters of purple berries in the fall. When I say loaded, I mean loaded! The berries last … Read more
I spent a good deal of time this weekend getting out into the garden to get some long past due chores done. Summertime is one of those stretches where the garden seems to find itself a but neglected. It makes sense. The kids are going back to school, the weather is hot and humid, and … Read more
I’m only a little of the way into a remodel of our side garden but I thought I’d show you what there is to see so far. Our side garden connects the front yard (and arbor) to the back yard and was designed several years ago to eventually become a shady location for hydrangeas and … Read more
Never say never right? In my experience there are very few plants that are truly safe from deer. This year I’ve had big time deer issues. The extra tomato bed I planted was completely devoured by the two deer that are camping out in our backyard. That isn’t shocking really. I wasn’t able to put … Read more
I love surprises in the garden. Plants that pop up where you least expect them – unfortunately those are usually called “WEEDS.” Sometimes though we find plants of value that pop up. Here are a few pictures of some self-sown coleus plants that came up in my front garden this year. I grow coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) … Read more
Every garden has transitions. From the house to the garden, from one garden area to another, even within an established area a garden be transitioning from the sun to the shade, from one color to another or from one type of planting to another. Then there are seasonal transitions. Spring takes over from winter, summer … Read more
Fall is fast approaching. No matter how much we may wish to pause time and reap our summer garden harvest we have to start thinking about the fall garden. This weekend I redid and rebuilt one of my garden beds to update it for fall crops. If you’ve followed me for a while you may … Read more
It’s taken a few years before my premonitions came to fruition. It’s not that I wanted it to happen I just expected it. It was inevitable and couldn’t be avoided. The ‘Bradford’ Pear tree in my front yard split. No storm brought damaging high winds that would wreak havoc among many species of trees. There … Read more
I invited native plant expert and advocate Benjamin Vogt to write a guest post on attracting bees to the garden with native plants. I hope you enjoy it! -Dave This morning, once the sun hit the main garden, I took my video camera outside. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do, recording the most active … Read more
First let me thank everyone who entered the giveaway for the Troy-Bilt 4 Cycle string trimmer. I really wish I could be like Oprah. Everyone in the audience would look under their chairs and find a new Troy-Bilt 4 Cycle string trimmer, but her bank account has a much higher capacity than mine! Thankfully though … Read more
July can be a tricky month. The weather is normally hot and very dry which brings with it challenges for irrigating the garden and keep plants alive to produce well throughout the fall. This July in TN has bee a lot different. Out hottest days so far this year were like normal days in previous … Read more
This summer as part of the Saturday6 Bloggers with Troy-Bilt I tested a 4 Cycle Trimmer (TB675 EC). I’ll be completely honest and tell you that weed eating is not one of my favorite tasks in the garden. It’s necessary to keep things cleanly edged, keep weeds down, and even clean out brush areas. Weed … Read more
Coleus is one of my favorite ornamental plants (Solenostemon scutellarioides). It functions as an annual in our zone 6b-7 but is a tropical perennial that can come back each year in the right climate. Tennessee is definitely not the right climate! I enjoy planting coleus because of the many varied colors it can bring to … Read more
OK, maybe you didn’t, but what gardener doesn’t want to see flowers in bloom? Here’s a quick look around at the blooms of my garden for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day hosted by Carol and May Dreams Gardens! The bees always love the coneflowers. Blackberry lily. Blackberry lily gets ts name from the seed clusters that … Read more
You might think that peppers are one of those seed only grown plants. For many gardeners they are, but what if you want an exact copy of a favorite pepper plant? With peppers we typically sow the seeds in late winter and grow the seedlings on to plant out in the spring. Through cuttings we … Read more
It’s important for kids to have a place to play outdoors. My kids are outside with me all the time but they don’t always want to garden so to help them have a safe place to play and explore I put together this children’s patio and mini-garden for Lowe’s Creative Ideas. It’s a simple project … Read more
I’m waiting on my garden. Everything is growing nicely (except for plants that got eaten by the deer but taht’s another story). Tomatoes are hanging on the plants, peppers are growing profusely, eggplants are putting on flowers, but everything has been slow to ripen! It’s frustrating but that is just part of the art of … Read more
Peppers aren’t as massively planted as the tomato plant in the vegetable garden but those who do plant peppers have a passion that rivals any other fruit or vegetable from the garden. Some gardeners love the heat and grow the spiciest peppers they can find, while others love the flavor of a sweet red bell … Read more
The world is full of creative ideas and this ancient method of watering plants is a very cool one. An olla is a clay pot that is buried in the soil near plants. The non-glazed clay pot has a watering hole in the top that allows the gardener to fill it with water when needed. … Read more
We have tomato weather but no tomatoes! That’s not surprising for June here in TN as most tomatoes don’t produce ripe fruit until July. Knowing that fact though doesn’t diminish the desire for that first fresh from the garden homegrown tomato! Our plants are doing very well so far, healthy and strong with stout stems … Read more
Every garden experiences pest issues form time to time. Insect pest can be frustrating and sometimes when you discover what is damaging your plants it’s already too late to do anything about it. Here are five common insect pests that you may see in your garden for today’s Friday Five post! Pest #1: Flea … Read more
Here is a quick list of things that need done in our June garden. Keep in mind that we’re located in Spring Hill, TN in a zone 6b-7 area and these chores may not correspond with the growing season in your area. You’ll need to do many of these tasks too but at different times. … Read more
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one of the easiest herbs to grow. Here are a few growing facts about basil in the garden! Basil grows well from seed. You can sow it in the garden or start the seeds in pots. It transplants well. Keep basil seeds moist until germinated and established. Basil is a great companion … Read more
For my farmer’s market business I grew a lot of tomato plants. In fact I grew more than I think I can sell over the next couple weeks and after that no one will be looking for plants. Gardeners will be wanting to harvest their tomatoes instead of planting more. I planned a few weeks … Read more
The weather has turn hot and humid, of course this is normal for summers in Tennessee. We are blessed with a very long growing season but our summers can be extremely warm. Last year on a record setting June day we reached over 110 degrees. Which also happened to be the day our air conditioner … Read more
Last year I began to experiment with hybridizing. I’m hoping that the plants I cross together result in something really nice but it takes a few years to get something from the crosses. So far I’ve experimented with daylilies, echinacea, and irises. Hostas are on my list but the deer keep getting to the flowers … Read more
The tomatoes are coming along nicely in our garden which means it’s time to do a few important things for them to maximize their growth. Here are a few quick tomato growing tips to help you grow your favorite home grown backyard vegetable! (It’s really a fruit though!) Stake and Trellis Your Tomato Plants Stake … Read more
This week has been eventful. I haven’t been able to post much about the garden due to the happenings here but I did want to catch everyone up on how things are growing. Here’s a quick update on the garden. The beans are climbing the bamboo trellis I put together. I gathered it up from … Read more
A couple weeks ago I redid our self-sowing garden. It was getting messy and too many weeds incorporated themselves into the garden. I suppose they thought they could pass themselves off as desirable plants but their plans were foiled by May’s Lowe’s Creative Ideas Project! The theme for this month was bulb plants. Being one … Read more
As a member of the Troy-Bilt Saturday6 I was provided compensation and products to review from Troy-Bilt. All opinions and statements in this post are of my own observations and experiences. Today though I’d like to share with you my experiences on the Troy-Bilt RZT Mower. The 46″ RZT Mower is a 0-turn mower which … Read more
Over the weekend our family visited Bountiful Blessings Farm here in Middle TN. Bountiful Blessings is in the Williamsport area about 30-40 minutes away from where we live here in Spring Hill. The big draw for us was the strawberries. My mom gave us a couple pints of strawberries from their farm about 2 weeks … Read more
Our garden sits precariously between zone 6b and 7. We’re in a very borderline area with multiple micro-climates within the 1.3 acres of land we have around us. We’re far enough into the warm season now that the frosts should not happen again until fall, but then we thought we were done with frosts over … Read more
I decided several years ago that I didn’t want to mess with chemicals in my garden. It was an easy choice for me. We had kids and I didn’t want to risk their exposure to dangerous substances. I didn’t want to eat food covered in chemicals at the dinner table. A tomato with a side … Read more
Here’s a quick look at my garden from the weekend! The ‘Diablo’ ninebark is in bloom. It has beautiful purple-copper hued leaves and flowers with these clusters of white flowers each spring. In the vegetable garden the lettuce is coming along – finally. It’s taken a while this year to get some good germination. I … Read more
There are some plants that are tricky to propagate but stevia isn’t one of them! In fact stevia is very easy to root from cuttings. Read on to learn more about propagating stevia from cuttings! Why Would You Want to Propagate Steve from Cuttings? Stevia rebaudiana is an herb often used as a substitute sweetener … Read more
It’s been a couple weeks since I updated the series on starting a nursery business and since yesterday was my first sales date at a farmer’s market I thought today would be a good opportunity to talk about that experience. Going to the market is pretty much an all day affair. It takes time to … Read more
Today is the 15th of the month which means that it is also Garden Bloggers Bloom Day hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Stop by to see a bounty of blooms from across the blogosphere. Today here are a few things that are blooming in my Tennessee Garden. The irises are taking the stage. … Read more
Spring means it’s time to take some cuttings! Today I took a few cuttings of a birch tree I’m eventually going to have to remove. I planted it way too close to our house and it has gotten too large. I didn’t want to lose the tree so I thought I would get a few … Read more
It’s been a very busy week for me and I haven’t had much time to write but I did want to post a few photos of what is growing in the garden. Today is a rainy soggy mess in the garden and not very well suited for gardening so looking back at the garden photos … Read more
This year is going to be a challenge. I can tell already judging from the weather we’re having. A delayed start combined with high moisture and strange weather is creating a tricky situation for gardeners. All this moisture may sound like a good thing but I’m very concerned about the potential for fungal diseases on … Read more
Planting time is here, but before you plant there are a few things you should do to prepare your garden beds. Here are a few things you should do to get the soil prepared before planting out your garden. Weed – This one is pretty obvious but it has to be done! Weeding the garden … Read more
This morning I went out to the garden and took a few lavender cuttings. Lavender is a popular perennial for many gardeners since it blooms beautifully, smells great, and is very useful for making various crafts. A few years ago I started some lavender seeds which have grown into a small lavender shrub in our … Read more
A couple months ago I put together my little 6’x8′ Harbor Freight greenhouse. It was an inexpensive greenhouse that I was hoping would be a good way to increase my growing area for my small nursery business. I thought it was time I gave an update on how the greenhouse is working out for me. … Read more
Perennials are the work horse of just about every garden. Trees and shrubs provide structure, but perennials provide a consistent impact. Annuals are great for an instant punch but perennials give you a repeat performance year after year. Some perennials bloom consistently through the season while others give a nice show for a short period … Read more
Our first group of irises has just started to bloom. The iris blooms are coming much later than last year due to the cold temperatures that have pushed everything back about nearly a month. There are a just a couple types of iris here in my garden including the tall bearded irises, the Dutch irises, … Read more
I like the look of rocks for bordering my garden beds. Rocks define the border between the garden area and the walkways, help keep mulch in place, and give the garden bed a structural element. I’ve gathered rocks from several places over the years and brought them to my garden. It’s not easy work but … Read more
It’s Friday! I think I may have heard you exclaim in glee from here…maybe that’s just my imagination. The weekend is approaching and you are eagerly anticipating being outdoors in the garden. Have you planned out your chores and tasks yet? If not here are a few things that I need to do in my … Read more
One of the many things to consider when starting your own nursery business is the workload. You probably really enjoy gardening (or else you wouldn’t even consider a nursery business!) but do you realize how much work goes into producing a plant for sale? We aren’t just talking about one plant either. We’re talking about … Read more
You’ve probably heard of adding lime to soil. Farmers and lawn experts recommend it frequently to add to gardens and lawns to help your plants grow, but why? Why should you use lime for your tomatoes? What is Lime? Lime is calcium carbonate. Which leads us to one easy answer for why it might help … Read more
Springtime is full of all kinds of color. New foliage comes out, flowers bloom, and all kinds of fresh growth begins. One of the classic plants many people think of for spring is the tulip. Tulips are usually best planted in the fall about 6 inches deep in the garden, but sometimes we forget to … Read more
It’s planting time in many areas of the country and many gardeners are just starting their first gardens. Figuring out just what to do in the garden can get a little overwhelming for beginning gardeners so here are 5 essential garden chores that gardeners can do to maximize their success! Keep the Garden Weeded … Read more
It is full fledged spring around our Middle Tennessee garden. There is no shortage of work that needs to be done in the form of weeding and mulching on top of a myriad of miscellaneous projects. For now though let’s just take a few pictures of the garden and we’ll think of that monster spring … Read more
Every year I notice these little green insects, aphids. Well, sometimes they aren’t green, I’ve seen them in orange and yellow and they come in red, brown, and black too. Whatever fashion sense these insects display one thing is for sure: you don’t really want aphids on your plants! Aphids are a soft-bodied insect that … Read more
In the vegetable garden there is always a need for more space. You never have enough. The garden is constantly being filled with more plants than you really have room for and you have to find ways to organize it. That’s why going vertical is a great option and the most classic way to go … Read more
What is my favorite tree? That’s a hard question to answer, since there are so many trees that I enjoy. Some trees provide fruit, other trees, shade, and others flowers which makes them hard to pick a single favorite. I have to categorize. In the spring for the flowering trees I would have to say … Read more
It all adds up! Everything you do has some sort of financial cost to it that can contribute to your business expenses when beginning your nursery business. Often we don’t think much about them. I know I’m guilty of not considering certain items as part of the expenses. There are lots of things that sound … Read more
The 20-Minute Gardener on Amazon A couple weeks ago I was sent a review copy of the 20-Minute Gardener from Sunset Books. The idea behind the book is very intriguing: 20 minutes of gardening each day for a great garden. You may have heard this concept before. The idea is simple. If you do a … Read more
Today lots of people are becoming more conscious of how their activities can change the environment. One of the things you often hear about is getting rid of the lawn. I’m not one of those people who advocates getting rid of the lawn but rather being more responsible for lawn care. Here are a few … Read more
I’ve been busy this week. I say that as if it’s something new but it seems like life is just a matter of varying degrees of busy. Sometimes you’re really busy and other times less so but always busy! This week I dove headlong into my latest project. I’ve been talking about this one for … Read more
Today we had a light snow drop down over our gardens in Tennessee. It isn’t the craziest thing to happen but it’s not something that gardeners enjoy. We would much rather have the sunny and warm days that spring is known for! Here’s our garden after a light dusting. Grape hyacinths. Snow around the flower … Read more
I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesn’t? There are Japanese maples with variegated leaves, ones with deep burgundy colors, others with interesting shaped leaves that are highly dissected and many other kinds. The fall color on a Japanese is almost always guaranteed to be something special. Their highly ornamental nature makes them very popular trees in the … Read more
Today’s post is going to be a bit geeky. I hope you can get past that because I think one of the most important parts of running a successful nursery business (or any business) is good financial management. No matter how much you enjoy gardening you don’t want your business to lose money. Planning on … Read more
The first day of Spring is marked by gardeners everywhere. Unfortunately not everyone gets to experience warm days, growing plants, and all the wonders of spring at the same time. It’s different for every region but that doesn’t make it any less significant. The first day of spring symbolizes the beginning of the growing season … Read more
The last frost date is one of the most important dates for gardeners. The last frost date determines when to plant the vegetables and ornamentals at the best possible time for maximum growth over the season. Some plants like being planted before the frost date while others have to be planted afterward. Last year Spring … Read more
The garden is gearing up for growth are you ready? Have you prepared the garden and gotten everything set to grow? I haven’t but the warm weather is going to be here this weekend and I’ll be making some headway into my garden’s preparation. When to prepare the garden varies depending on where you live … Read more
Two weeks ago I posted about propagating plants for a nursery business but there are other ways to acquire plant materials for sale in your nursery. I personally enjoy the propagation process because it allows me to tell my customers exactly how they were grown, what products I have used to enhance growth, how to … Read more
Over the weekend I was able to do something that I never imagined I would be able to do and it was all because of blogging: I took a business trip for blogging. I received an email several weeks ago asking if I would be interested in working with Troy-Bilt to try out some of … Read more
Spring will be here very soon. The calendar gives us a date but that seems arbitrary. Spring is more of a feeling. The weather is warmer and plants are actively growing again. This coming weekend will be much warmer than it has been and should trigger a lot of action in the garden. Today I … Read more
Last week I wrote about my seed starting “mini-greenhouses” made from clear plastic cups so I thought I would share how my tomato seeds are doing so far. To sum things up I am very pleased with the results as I have very strong and healthy growing tomato seeds are in the mini-greenhouse cups. Some of … Read more
This time of year people are looking for answers to their gardening questions. Perhaps the most common gardening questions start with the word when. As gardeners we realize that time is a very important factor when planting plants because it can greatly effect how a plant grows in the garden. Here are a few gardening … Read more
