Dave 
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 … Read more
For those of us who garden in the summertime almost exclusively for the purpose of tasting that juicy red perfect tomato from the vegetable garden there’s a pretty good resource for you. It’s an Ebook called How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes written by Lucia Grimmer and Annette Welsford. Together the two tomato aficionados have … Read more
It’s that time of year where the tomatoes are coming in faster than I can pick them. That’s a good thing but I wonder sometimes if I’m in over my head trying to find ways to use all these tomatoes. I planted over 20 tomato plants this year which may have been too many but … Read more
Cosmos in the self-sowing garden framed by a decorative feature of the arbor. Also in the garden: Celosia, ‘Blue Bedder’ Salvia, Verbena bonariensis, sunflowers, coneflowers.
Schip laurels (pronounced Skip) are a very easy evergreen that you can propagate at home. I mentioned propagating cherry laurels a couple years ago but since it’s a good time of the year to take cuttings I thought I would revisit it. It will take a couple years before a cutting turns into a plant … Read more
Many years ago back when I was in college I brought home a lemon from the store. On a whim I decided that I would plant a couple of the seeds from that little lemon into a cup and see if I could grow a lemon tree. The seeds sprouted and several little lemon trees … Read more
I’ve written before about propagating Husker’s Red Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis) but thanks to a garden club friend of mine I learned a new method to propagate them. She was talking to Rita Randolph of Randolph Greenhouses who passed on this little trick that I’m about to share with you. It is as easy as it … Read more
Two Shasta daisy flowers covered in the morning dew. Early this morning (not too early maybe after 7 AM but much earlier than we’ve been getting up due to the new baby!) I went out with the camera to see what pictures I could find. Back by the greenhouse garden shed where my Russian sage, … Read more
You hear about it all the time crape myrtles being unceremoniously chopped off before they can become what they should be. This pruning method is best known as crape murder. The result of crape murder is a plant that ends up with lollipop like flowering tops with branches that flop all around in the slightest … Read more
Than a delicious, dark red, juicy sliced tomato? My turkey wrap sandwich was very happy this afternoon with the addition of this red fruit of the garden. Not too juicy and not too meaty, just perfect – the perfect tomato experience. The scent of the tomato after cutting it open was like taking in the … Read more
Yesterday’s post had many of the colorful plants I planted around the garden shed today’s post may be less colorful but hopefully still interesting! First let’s start off with a small stepping stone pathway. I bought some cheap 12″x12″ stepping stones to lay down for this little pathway. To the left of the pathway is … Read more
In my last post on the garden shed page I mentioned that I would show you in two parts the plantings. Well…I’m afraid I may have to expand that to three, we’ll see! After taking some pictures today and on previous days I’m happily astounded by the neat stuff I’m seeing. Please don’t take that … Read more
My last garden shed post was way back in June and I’m definitely overdue to share some more progress. This one has much more to do with gardening than building a shed so go take a look at the first part of two posts! The Gardens Around The Shed
It’s been a while since my last garden shed update and I’ve done a few more things. Not directly on the shed itself but around the shed. You’ll see in the pictures below that there are two distinct garden areas near the shed. One directly in front of the shed and the other to the … Read more
It appears that our local deer population has undergone a small expansion with the addition of a new fawn. Lately the deer have been keeping to the outskirts of the yard and haven’t been bothering the vegetable garden or any of our plants. Many of the plants in the other gardens have scented foliage and … Read more
About 6 weeks ago I was out limbing up a couple Yoshino cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis) . I couldn’t let the clippings just go to waste so I thought I would try my hand at rooting a Yoshino cherry from the greenwood cuttings. Previously I’ve only managed to root one Yoshino Cherry from a … Read more
It’s almost always true that success in an endeavor brings excitement and enthusiasm for more and I’ve always found this true for plant propagation. If you’ve never tried propagating plants because you think it’s difficult or just too much work then think again! There are all sorts of plants out there that are very easy … Read more
For today’s issue of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day I can actually share with you some very nice flowers all thanks to the recent rains. The extra water perked up enough of the garden for it to be almost perfectly presentable just in time for the 15th of July. I hope you enjoy them as much … Read more
Mid July finds my garden a little bit rough around the edges. The need for more garden time is always present with gardens needing weeded, the lawn needing mowed and cleaned up, tomatoes that need re-staked, and many other garden chores. It’s not just the lack of garden time though, the weather has played a … Read more
Coneflowers are a work horse in many gardens including mine, but they aren’t completely issue free. Recently one of my coneflower plants began showing deformed flowers with a complete loss of color in the petals. The petals appeared stunted and pale. In some cases the deformed flowers mimic some new interesting variety of coneflower but … Read more
Yesterday we were finally the recipients of rainfall. It’s funny when you think about our weather situation. At the beginning of May we had way too much rain with some areas of Tennessee receiving 16-18 inches of rain and now we are just hoping for enough rain to wet the ground for a temporary reprieve … Read more
The Good: Cherokee Purple Tomato! Yum. This tomato delicious dark skinned tomato with the greenish shoulders is already gone, only the image remains to remember it by. And I’ll say again…Yum! The Good: Raindrops, although minimal, bring hope that more is to come tomorrow! The Bad: A sneaky deer peeking around the corner of the … Read more
To say that I am ashamed of certain spots in my garden is an understatement. Several gardens have become filled with weeds run amok and whether or not the weather is cooperative I have to get some work done. Today I spent some time outdoors in the 95 degree heat tackling a couple of the … Read more
The last thing I want to do in the heat of July is a list of chores but to help the garden through the blazing summer sun there are a few things I have to do. I suspect that you will be doing at least some of these things too! Watering: In the morning is … Read more
I’d like to say some great things right now about my nasturtiums. I’d like to tell you that they are taking off and look fantastic but about the best I can do is say that we’re hanging in there. It’s just been too darn hot to get anything to grow happily from seed. June was … Read more
Recently you may have noticed an unusual lack of posts, there’s a good reason for it! We’ve been a little busy around here since last Thursday when we welcomed Samuel David to the world! He was 7 lbs. and 10 oz. and 20 inches. Sam also arrived in record time as labor was under 1 … Read more
This afternoon the temperatures dropped enough for work outside to become “feasible.” Not ideal in any sense of the word simply feasible. Add to that this cough, sinus drainage, and a mild case of pink eye and you would think I would just stay indoors and rest. Not so for this dedicated (or dumb) gardener! … Read more
Recently a representative of Hartley Botanic asked if I would be interested in hosting a guest post. Since I knew of the beautiful designs for the Hartley collection of greenhouses I suggested she put together a post about how to choose a greenhouse. And here it is! Choosing the right greenhouse You would think that … Read more
I can proudly say that on today, June 28, 2010, I have found the first ripe tomatoes of the year! The tomato on the left is a Viva Italia but I forget the name of the one on the right (I really need to label the tomatoes I plant in the garden, my memory just … Read more
Neglected is possibly the worst word you could use to describe a garden. It happens for many different reasons but the result is the same: weeds growing unkempt and uncontrolled while plantings get covered. It is quite possibly the most frustrating thing a gardener has to deal with but deal with it he or she … Read more
A couple years ago I propagated a variegated hydrangea from a beautiful hydrangea that was in my wife’s aunt’s garden. Hydrangeas are extremely easy to propagate and well worth the effort but unfortunately the spot I chose to plant it wasn’t good enough. I had assumed that the location had morning sun and afternoon shade … Read more
Maybe you’ve heard of this already or maybe you’ve seen it in the stores yourself but Triscuit is promoting the “home farming” movement. It’s an interesting idea that backyard gardeners have been doing for many many years. Simply put home farming is growing your own food in the home garden. While gardening may be an … Read more
Here are some pictures of what is blooming for today’s Wildflower Wednesday post which is hosted by Gail at Clay and Limestone. This June has been unusual in that the temperature has been 10+ degrees warmer than it should be. In fact the weather report this morning said that we have had 16 days in … Read more
At the request of a reader (xRay) on the original creatively pruned Japanese dappled willow post I thought I would show you how it looks now. It needs some touching up, especially around the base and a few more branches need to be thinned around the canopy but the overall form is in tact and … Read more
Just one really neat sight I saw this weekend was the monarch sipping nectar from the milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterflies which serves a very important role in the life of the fluttering favorites of backyard butterflies. Milkweed contains a chemical called glycosides which get consumed by the … Read more
I’ve finally gotten around to one of the chores I’ve been meaning to do for two years! Amazing how that works isn’t it? You intend to do a project in the garden then you get distracted with other projects and it becomes to late to accomplish. Today I finally mulched the west side of the … Read more
Yesterday evening we had storms. Heavy winds and rain knocked down sunflowers and pretty much every perennial planting over 2 feet tall that wasn’t staked up. If it could catch the wind – it did. Unfortunately our Bradford pears remained in tact – I’ve been looking for an excuse to take them down, one of … Read more
One of the great benefits to being a part of a garden club is being able to see other gardens. This past weekend the Spring Hill Garden Club took a tour of a very cool garden based all around everyone’s favorite shade plant: Hostas! We visited Cornelia’s garden who is the president of the Middle … Read more
It’s always fun to join in with Carol’s Garden Blogger Bloom Day every 15th of the month but the early summer day are some of the best for blooms. Some of the spring blooms are hanging on despite the extreme heat (it’s way to hot for June!) and the summer blooms are definitely getting into … Read more
You know how I am, if I grow it I see if I can root it! The challenge this time was to root a heuchera from a leaf cutting. It isn’t difficult if you take from the right part of the plant. Just taking a cutting from a leaf isn’t good enough as it won’t … Read more
The other day I wrote about the value of using echinacea in the garden. As it turns out that it’s not only valuable to us as an ornamental or as a pollen plant for beneficial insects but it also can be a host plant for the Silvery Checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis)! This weekend I discovered … Read more
The gardening adventure is full of ups and downs. Of excitement and disappointments, of frustration and elation. It wouldn’t be exciting any other way I suppose but those low periods sure can be low. Take for instance the deer infultration this week. The vegetable garden is my main concern – I want to eat food … Read more
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 … Read more
One of the reasons I enjoy gardening so much is the ability to experience nature. Today I was treated to a butterfly I’ve never noticed before. What caught my attention was the blue coloration on its wings but otherwise it looked very similar to a tiger swallowtail. It also had red markings on the underside … Read more
Cucumber Plant – Deer Damage I was startled the other day when the eventual invader leaped out from behind my shed and scampered off into the woods. I jumped because I thought the deer had gone. I thought that they had picked up and moved on after the neighbors behind us moved in with their … Read more
Since I havent’ shown the state of the front garden lately now seems like a good time! The daylilies are blooming like crazy (at least the yellow ones are). I’ll start with a long shot of the arbor from up the driveway. There are three moonflower vines planted at the base of the arbor that … Read more
I put another short shed update on the garden shed page yesterday. It’s short but if you’re interested in seeing what’s coming next for it feel free to take a look!
I’ve been gradually tinkering away at the garden shed. A few tasks are underway that are necessary before the next big step for the outside – painting! I’ve been busy sealing up the cracks around all the openings with caulk. I think I’m just over halfway done with the caulking on the outside. The caulking … Read more
Things are growing very nicely in the vegetable garden. The tomatoes (which are our favorite crop no matter what else we try) are growing like crazy, the zucchini has almost produced it’s first zucchini, and the cabbage are …well…you’ll see… Here are two of my raised beds full of tomatoes. The bed on the left … Read more
Sometimes everything is grand and the garden grows so well that the gardener efforts are minimal but other times the garden seems to want to thwart the will of the gardener. The latter case is true at least so far for my nasturtiums. When I last mentioned our rising protagonists they were planted surrounding the … Read more
This week has been an interesting one! I’m amazed and astounded by the sheer number of comments generated for the compost bin giveaway from Clean Air Gardening. At the cut-off time for the drawing there were 120 valid entries (Nancy’s, of Leaping Greenly, doesn’t count since she’s Canadian but I always appreciate her comments!). Here’s … Read more
Today I went out and took a few quick photos of the birdbath garden. It’s come along way from it’s beginning three and a half years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday, all young and small, with barely a plant in the garden. It’s amazing how quickly they grow up! Here’s a look … Read more
Tomato Blossoms In my ultimate wisdom I know that doing daily garden chores is definitely the way to go. If I accomplish just a few things every day I can keep ahead everything that needs done and maintain my sanity. But I also know in my ultimate wisdom that daily garden chores are not always … Read more
Don’t forget that Friday is the last day to enter the compost tumbler giveaway sponsored by Clean Air Gardening. At the time of my writing this reminder there are 95 entries and the competition is fierce! It just shows that gardeners know how important composting is for our gardens. I do want to thank Clean … Read more
I’ll admit the title is a bit misleading. You would think that the first tomatoes I would be talking about would be the first ripe tomatoes, I’m sorry to say that it isn’t so! I would love to be able to tell you about how wonderfully tasty those ripe red Roma tomatoes are, how full … Read more
This winter I gathered some seed from a yucca (Yucca filamentosa) and saved it. I’m not sure exactly why other than I thought it might be interesting to see how they grow. I do that sometimes, where I just attempt something for the sake of attempting it (I once planted lemon seeds from a store … Read more
Today I have a very cool giveaway to tell you about. The folks at Clean Air Gardening are providing a 60 Gallon Spin Bin made from recycled materials for one lucky winner here on The Home Garden. To enter into the drawing all you need to do is comment on this post before 11:59 PM … Read more
Here’s a just a short update with what’s going on with my garden shed. Bought three colors of paint (two gallons of the main paint and one each for trim and doors). I’ll let you know what the color scheme will be later but it will blend with our house. Bought glazing to fix and … Read more
Memorial Day isn’t about cookouts or backyard BBQs. It’s not about the fireworks or vacations either. It’s about paying tribute to the memory of those who have given their lives in the service of their country. Originally it was meant to honor those who died in the Civil War and eventually changed to honor those … Read more
Today I actually found myself in a home improvement store looking for paint for the garden shed. How I found myself or more importantly how I got lost there I’ll never know but I ended up coming home with four gallons of paint. The colors will be revealed at a later date. They aren’t groundbreakingly … Read more
This Vegetable Garden To-Do list may or may not be relevant to you. If you’re in zone 6-7 it probably is, if not it might be useful later – or maybe you already did it! It’s just a collection of things that I desperately need to complete in the vegetable garden. Maybe desperate it too … Read more
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 … Read more
Have you ever stood in one place to take a few pictures in all the different directions of your garden? It’s a great way to observe the progress of your garden from slightly different perspectives. (Click on any of the below pictures to enlarge them.) We’ll start here against the house. Up close there is … Read more
Rooted Cuttings – Potted up Perhaps I should have titled this post “Here’s What I Potted Up Today” but rooting is more exciting don’t you think? Anyway this morning I potted several different kinds of cuttings that I’ve been propagating inside the house. This isn’t the end of the propagation process since they still need … Read more
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 … Read more
This morning I attended the Middle Tennessee Plant Swap at Henry Horton State Park. If you’ve never been to a plant swap before you really should consider going to at least one. It’s a fantastic way to expand the plant varieties in your garden on the extremely cheap side. The concept is simple, bring any … Read more
Achillea millifolium is one of the easiest perennials to grow. Almost no care, very little maintenance, and bright punches of color make it a very good plant for low-maintenance gardens. In our garden we have 4-5 varieties which unfortunately are mostly unnamed but their colors include red, yellow, white, and pink. The only thing I … Read more
One of my favorite little garden spots is the shade garden. It’s nestled into a little corner created by the layout of our house. When I began gardening here I knew I wanted a shade garden somewhere but our options were extremely limited. Most of the yard was full sun back then, but that’s changing. … Read more
It’s been a few days since any real vegetable garden update so I figured it was time to show you a little of what’s going on out there in veggie land! The cucumbers: I always direct sow cucumbers, squash, and other cucurbits. Unless you have them in biodegradable pots they don’t always transplant well. I … Read more
One area that I’m extremely unhappy with in my yard is the front porch garden. To put it simply, it’s a mess! It’s not just the weeds that I haven’t had time to pull it’s the plantings and the way they are arranged. In the front of the beds I’ve planted severla things over the … Read more
Here is what blooms in my Tennessee garden in May 2010. There’s always a lot to see this time of year and I’m sure I’ve missed some things but here we go! Red Achillea Patio Garden – Garden Shed in the background Achillea, Phlox pilosa, and Catmint Combination Deck Garden – The irises here are … Read more
We all know the tale about that famous gardener who is protective of his garden and the hungry and curious little Peter Rabbit. The silly rabbit invades Mr. McGregor’s garden (not to be confused with Mr. McGregor’s daughter’s garden) to gorge himself on the fruits of the gardener’s labor, then loses his clothes in the … Read more
In the south it’s a necessity to get up early to get outside for gardening. Any delay into the mid-morning will result in unnecessary suffering due to the heat and humidity! This morning was already very humid before 8 AM. In the summer it is much worse and this morning’s humidity is just a sign … Read more
Tonight while mowing I had no fear of the myriad of carpenter/bumblebees that were hovering through the garden. I was on my riding mower and said to the bumbles “my buzz is bigger than yours.”
Lately around our house we’ve really been getting into the lettuce from the vegetable garden – in fact quite literally! This red Romaine lettuce called Rouge d’Hiver is a very tasty selection we made from Baker’s Creek. The red coloring is fading as the temperatures are beginning to warm. It won’t be long before this … Read more
Every gardener likes a hydrangea in the garden. Likewise every gardener likes having more hydrangeas in the garden! So why not propagate a few more hydrangeas for your garden? Of course you have to have a suitable spot for one but if you have a garden location with dappled morning sun and afternoon shade you … Read more
I’m a sucker for cheap perennials – annuals too for that matter. If I go to a nursery I look first at the shrubs and trees just to look – to see what they have. Then I hang out and hover over the perennials, herbs, and even the annuals. I gravitate to the cheap prices … Read more
Last year I spotted a little plant coming up in one of my garden beds. I left it alone to grow as I had a suspicion about what it wasn’t but still couldn’t quite remember what seeds I planted in that location. This spring has brought me confirmation – it must be a magnolia! A … Read more
This past Sunday was Mother’s Day. I discovered that one very good advantage to being a gardener is the continuous stock of ready to cut flowers for arrangements. It only took a few minutes to put together these two arrangements one for my wife and one for my mother. Each arrangement contains ‘Caradonna’ Salvia, Irises, … Read more
I wrote a short update post on the garden shed. It’s progressing, albeit slowly due to other gardening tasks that need attention. I do need some paint color suggestions so if you have ideas feel free to comment!
Corner Trim on Garden Shed Every day that I get a few minutes to work on the garden shed I get a little closer to finished. Of course I’m still not close enough for my tastes but I’ll keep plugging away at it and eventually it will get completed. A couple weeks ago I managed … Read more
The other day I mentioned rosemary but another herb that I utilize often is mint. While mint is a great plant to have it also has a reputation. You see, once it gets established it grows fast – very fast. It can quickly overtake other plants that are near it. Some people wouldn’t plant it … Read more
Last Sunday I should have posted about the Grow Project with the Nasturtium seeds but unfortunately our internet connection was out and the weather didn’t let up until Sunday night. There’s only so much blogging you can do without computer/internet access! I’ll update you on the progress of the ‘Spitfire’ Nasturtiums again in the future … Read more
Rosemary is an herb we use frequently in our cooking, at least when we have it around. In years past I’ve been able to walk out the front door and cut a few sprigs off the large rosemary bushes in front of our steps. I love how easy rosemary is to propagate. In fact rosemary … Read more
In my last post about the irises of May in my garden I showed you several of my irises. Today a new one opened up that we just planted this spring. It’s also a hand me down and has no real identity but it’s nifty to look at! I planted it with several others in … Read more
May is a great time in the garden. The plants are full of growth, flowers are coming alive, the weather is good (except when it’s not 😉 ) and the irises are blooming! Lots of other things are blooming too but the irises are the standouts of the moment. The iris flowers even withstood the … Read more
Here are a couple videos that I pieced together of our backyard during the recent flooding rains. I do want to reiterate from my post yesterday that my experience was insignificant compared to how this flood has changed the lives of many fellow Tennesseans. We are doing fine with very few problems in our yard … Read more
Please forgive this short ranting post you are about to read. My next post for this afternoon will have a couple videos of the flooding in our backyard then I’ll get back to gardening but I wanted to say a few words about a subject that is really irritating me. The rant is below. It’s … Read more
As I’m sure you are aware by now (especially if you’re in Tennessee) that we have experienced record levels of rainfall with subsequent flooding this past weekend. Unfortunately our internet connection has been down until now and this is the first opportunity I’ve had to post since Friday. Things could have been worse – much … Read more
The other day I took this photo of a pot my mom put together of pansies and violas. I’m not much of a potted plant person so most of my plants go in the ground but I thought this easy to put together arrangement of annuals was perfect. The larger pansies went in the center … Read more
Heuchera, also called Coral Bells, are by far one of my favorite plants for shade gardens. Not only are they beautiful plants but in my garden (where deer and rabbits roam) have been very pest free. They don’t require much water to maintain once they are established and will pretty much take care of themselves. … Read more
Recently I was asked to take a look at some reusable plant tags from the Allsop Home & Garden company. The idea sounded pretty neat – plant tags that can be written on, washed off, and then reused. They would make great markers for herb gardens or vegetable gardens. In the mail I received six … Read more
Here’s a quick look at the backyard from our side yard area. Of course the ugly but necessary heat/AC unit sits on the right so please ignore that now that I’ve pointed it out and drawn your attention to it. 😉 On the left is a rain garden with a river birch and ornamental grasses. … Read more
I don’t think it would be false to say that Japanese maples are one of the most popular plants in the landscape today. With all the interesting leaf shapes and colors it’s easy to see why people like them. I consider myself a fan of Japanese maples and have two young trees in our gardens … Read more
I know you’ve done it before. You walk into your local box store and head straight for the bargain plant rack. You peak around at all the bargain plants they’re trying to get rid of. You look over at the half dead shrubs, the pots that are so far gone that it’s more of a … Read more
Here’s an update from the vegetable garden! So far things are going pretty good. My tomato frost scare wasn’t as bad as I originally thought and since I have some spares to plant I should come out fine. I saw a scary 39 degrees on the forecast for Tuesday night but I’m prepared with coverings. … Read more
Fortunately I’m not one to be squeamish with the natural side of the garden. The wasps usually don’t bother me, nor do the spiders, and neither do the snakes. I know many people can’t even stand the sight of snakes whether they are dangerous or not. It’s probably the fear that they could be poisonous … Read more
Finally some rain! This weekend is bringing us some much needed rain, unfortunately it’s in the form of thunderstorms. I guess that’s better than nothing. The last few weeks have been much drier than a normal April. “April showers” is the well known cliche but it just hasn’t seemed to work out that way. So … Read more
Coral Red honeysuckle or Lonicera sempervirens is the honeysuckle you want – I mean really want– not the other kind. You probably have honeysuckle somewhere near you right now. It’s white, smells pretty good, and it may even be right behind you as you read this, don’t look! Lonicera japonica knows you are there, it’s … Read more
