Dave “Sending out an S.O.S., a chipmunk in a bottle” Although not quite the words of Sting and The Police the alteration was definitely appropriate today. I was walking through the garage after having planted three small boxwoods and I heard a strange scratching sound. My first thought was that a lizard had gotten stuck in … Read more
As our gardening season draws to a close I thought I’d update you on the progress of some cuttings and how they look now. First up is an echinacea that was a propagation experiment. I took basal stem cuttings (which come from the crown of the root) in the spring. Once it rooted I planted … Read more
Kara in West Virginia, who blogs on the blog Garden Vines, posted a very nice shot of the West Virginia countryside in autumn. While we all know that fall colors can be hit or miss, Kara was able to capture a gorgeous view of the landscape despite the fall colors not being at their best. … Read more
Today I’m back to talking about the patio. I’ve been adding the finishing touches to the area just in time for cold weather! We’ll still be able to use it since cold weather in Tennessee tends to be tolerable weather. (I still use the grill even in the wintertime) Please ignore the overflowing trashcan in … Read more
Today I put the final touches on the birdbath garden for the 2008 gardening season. It’s come a long way since it’s inception last fall. In the beginning it was merely a birdbath with a couple plants next to it. A few irises, two coneflowers (‘Sunset’), and a butterfly bush made up the whole garden. … Read more
Elizabeth over at Gardenrant, a well known writer and garden blogger, has posted some picturesque fall photos for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project. What could epitomize fall more than cobblestone buildings and walls mixed with glorious maples in the rustic farmlands of Route 104 in New York. Farming implements and woodpiles appear in peaceful … Read more
One of the reasons so many people enjoy gardening as a hobby is to attract wildlife. All sorts of wildlife can enjoy you gardening from the butterflies and bees to the deer, but few kinds of wildlife are easier to attract than the birds. One of our most frequent fliers is the tufted titmouse (Baeolophus … Read more
Have you had enough of fall color yet? Not me! We have two more great examples of spectacular fall color from two more great bloggers. In Maine Sarah, a professional writer and blogger of Sarah Laurence Blog, takes us on a weekend hiking trip into the mountains of Maine. The photographs of fall colors in … Read more
Imagine my anguish when the other day I walked around the yard and saw strips of bark peeled off the trees due to the damaging effects of the deer. These furry four-legged creatures are so majestic to watch and observe as they scamper through the fields. The problem is our yard isn’t a field! You … Read more
I have always loved maples. When I was a kid I’d climb the maples at my grandfather’s house in Pennsylvania and watch them as they changed colors in the fall. The fall brilliance of a maple is something to be cherished and remembered. It is one of the greatest fall trees and Kim over in … Read more
Yesterday I commented on a post on Gardening Gone Wild written by Nan for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project and said how some people consider the Sassafras to be a junk tree. Inadvertently I may have given the impression that I believe it is. The truth is that while it may not make my … Read more
Here are two more updates for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project! I want to take a second to thank everyone who has submitted a post so far. I’ve seen so many interesting places with fantastic colors and scenery that I never would have been able to see in one season! If you haven’t submitted … Read more
There are probably a million things I could think of that need done around the yard and in our various gardens but here are a few that are bouncing around in my head at the moment. I’ve been distracted with the deer the last couple days and several things that need done haven’t been tackled … Read more
It’s time for another Fall Color Project Update! For those of you on Blotanical who haven’t seen The Home Garden for a while welcome back! The Feedburner issues with my blog have been resolved finally but unfortunately you’ve missed the announcement of my fall color project. To sum up the project I’m asking bloggers of … Read more
To say I’m furious tonight would be an understatement. The deer have struck again, and again this week, relentlessly. This week’s attacks have been the most brutal by far. I normally like the deer. It’s fun to see the fawns scamper through the backyard, or to watch the watchful mother and father deer looking after … Read more
In the world of plants there are few that are easier to root than a willow. Whether you have a weeping willow, contorted willow, or dappled willow they all root very easily. Rooting a dappled willow is extremely simple and can be done in a glass or vase of water. Rooting a Willow Tree To … Read more
George in Vermont (The Vermont Gardener and Vermont Gardens) has posted some wonderful colors of the Vermont wilderness. Filled with maples, the hills appear to be on fire with the autumn foliage turning. With photos of places like Marshfield Pond and Osmore Pond you start to think thoughts of camping and sitting by a fireside … Read more
With every project comes some challenges. The biggest challenge for our backyard remodel and patio project was what to do with the septic line area since one of the most important things to remember with any major project is to avoid the utilities as best as you can. Unfortunately in our case the builder of … Read more
I officially nominate the pumpkin for vegetable of the month! Do I hear a second? I realize that the selection of a pumpkin may be predictable but it’s such a seasonally appropriate vegetable for October. After all could you have even think of fall harvests and Halloween without pumpkins? Whether they are turned into pies … Read more
Today we have three more submissions for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project! Nancy in Canada, TC in Pennsylvania and Liisa in Vermont. Take a road north to visit the wonderful fall colors in Nova Scotia with Nancy of Soliloquy. Canada is where the fall colors start their colorful journey to the south and we … Read more
It’s already time for another look at what’s blooming in my garden for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. It’s mid-October and the trees are just beginning to turn but there are still plenty of blooms to see. And if you’re interested in showing off your fall foliage colors then please participate in the Garden Blogger Fall … Read more
You may have noticed that the daily blogging has slowed down a little bit on weekends. It’s been for a very good reason: The Patio Project. My commenting on other blogs has suffered as well but everything should pick up once the final touches have been made on the backyard remodel. It’s become more than … Read more
Our second submission for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project comes to us from Anna who put together a really neat slide show of her trip. Anna’s trip to the Shanendoah Valley in Virgina is full of great Autumn photos from the old grist mill along Silver Lake to the mountains of Virginia. She also … Read more
You can feel fall in the air here in Tennessee. It’s in the wind and the air. The temperatures are cooler, the nights are coming sooner, and the shadows are longer. Fall is here. The days still are warm, in the 80’s, but the nights are getting cold. My early mornings are not necessarily spent … Read more
A morning sun picture taken on Saturday October 4th, 2008.
The rains finally came! I know gardeners everywhere in Tennessee were excited to get this latest blast of precipitation. The front moved through yesterday in the late morning and continued to sprinkle intermittent showers upon us but it wasn’t until the nighttime hours that the real rains washed away the dust of August and September. … Read more
I’m a little late on this post but here it is! What questions did people ask in September? Here’s a glimpse of what information some people were looking for and wound up here! How fast does Russian sage grow? Pretty fast! I put in two plants this spring from cuttings and they grew to full … Read more
I finally found some Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) to add to the garden. It’s been on my radar for a while and it was even more desired after seeing it in such impressive displays at Frances’ Garden! Yesterday I planted it in our Japanese maple garden next to the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ that I … Read more
Fall colors are certainly on their way. Here in Tennessee the trees are beginning the process but many people are worried that the colors will not be what they could be without the rain. Whatever the case we will be happy with whatever colors we do have and will enjoy watching all the colors around … Read more
We had another harvest of tomatoes this week! We’ve been loving the sheer volume of tomatoes this summer and are sadly lamenting the end of the harvest that will be coming soon. The weather is still warm enough for the tomatoes to produce and there will probably be another crop before the frosts but the … Read more
Saving seeds and cuttings in the fall is one additional way you can save a few bucks for the next gardening season. In the fall, plants produce their final batch of seeds and the thrifty gardener can take advantage of this! Seeds in general aren’t very expensive. You can find all sorts of mail order … Read more
There are very few gardens in Middle Tennessee that go without Chrysanthemums (Mums for short) or Asters for fall colors. With such a variety of colors there is one that can fit in nearly any garden. Both asters and chrysanthemums belong to the same family, Asteraceae, along with many other popular plants. In our garden … Read more
And now here comes my favorite part of the patio project so far. No project feels quite as complete as when you finally plant something. OK I suppose that only holds true for gardening projects but it really is the exciting part! Welcome to the Japanese Maple Garden! It’s a small raised bed made from … Read more
Another part of our back yard patio project was fixing up the deck. I suppose you could almost call this project more of a backyard remodel. In my last post I showed you a step/landing I built to bridge the gap between our patio and the deck. Today’s post is all about (and around) the … Read more
The first major task I tackled this week with our patio project was this step landing. It was a problem that had to be fixed. When we had our home inspected before we purchased it the inspector noticed that the deck needed one more step to fit codes. That wasn’t the only problem here, the … Read more
This past week I have been diligently and furiously working on the big patio project. Everyday through the past month there has been a little progress but never more than this week. Maybe it’s just because I can see the project almost complete. Or maybe it’s because I’ve worked myself to death while trying to … Read more
Last weekend I brought home a few things from my in-laws house. I’m very fortunate to be able to take cuttings of anything they have around or to be able to gather rocks for edging in our garden. So what did I bring home last weekend? I’ve already told you about one thing, the pyracantha … Read more
Propagating plants by cuttings is by far the most common way I propagate plants. When you take a cutting from a plant you are making an exact genetic duplicate of the original plant. Essentially it’s a clone. No you won’t see any George Lucas movies about plant propagation (I don’t even want to think about … Read more
I had intended to continue my series of Thrifty Gardening Tips but unfortunately blogger ate my post. Or most of my post. I’m not sure what happened, half of it disappeared which of course was the half that took me a couple hours to write. So instead I’m showing you a couple pictures of the … Read more
While out of town this past weekend at my in-laws home I took the opportunity to take more cuttings from their pyracantha (Pyracantha augustifolia). It is a favorite of shrub for birds due to its bright orange berries and is has an appropriately named common name: Firethorn. Firethorn’s thorns are quite sharp and offer the … Read more
Recently I took a single cutting from an Oak Leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). Oak leaf hydrangeas are beautiful native plants with tall flower panicles. They are a planting choice that I highly recommend. They are more difficult to propagate than a Hydrangea macrophylla but they are definitely plant that a gardener can root from a … Read more
Tall ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) is one of the few non-yellow flowering wildflowers blooming right now here in Tennessee. This extremely tall and purple member of the aster family can be seen throughout roadsides and fields in much of the country during the late summer or early fall. It stands anywhere from 3 feet up to … Read more
As I mentioned earlier in the week I prepared a handout for my presentation at the Spring Hill Garden Club. It’s has some basic information on rooting cuttings. You are welcome to download it and use it for your personal use at home. It’s in a PDF file so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader … Read more
With fall almost here it’s time to start thinking about gardening chores and the task that most people have to do in some way is deal with the leaves. What do you do with the leaves is an important question. For way too long many people have burned them which to me is the worst … Read more
Part 11 of The Home Garden’s weekly series about gardening on a budget (aka gardening cheap!) Layering is a fantastic way to increase your plants with very little risk and a high rate of success. It is a simple method of plant propagation where roots are encouraged to develop by covering stems and branches with … Read more
With fall fast approaching and some areas of the world already beginning to see the shades of autumn leaves appearing I thought it might be a fun idea to track where the peak colors are changing. I hope you’ll jump in and participate in this project! Here’s the idea:1) Take pictures of the peak fall … Read more
The passage of time in relation to plants is an amazing thing. I was looking back the other day at some old pictures from this past spring and was amazed at how different everything looks today. What was once a nearly barren bed in the front of our house has grown tremendously. The tulips of … Read more
Welcome to my Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day Post for September 2008. On the 15th of each month Carol at May Dreams Gardens encourages her fellow garden bloggers to show what’s blooming in their garden. Please stop by her site to see what else is blooming around the blogosphere! We’ve made it through August and survived … Read more
It’s been a looong time since I’ve posted a new Name that Plant. This one was contributed by Lola a frequent visitor here who was wondering what this plant is in her yard. I have a suspicion of what it might be but I can’t say for 100% what it is. See if you can … Read more
As I mentioned yesterday I was asked to do a presentation at our local garden club. I’d like to thank all those who attended the meeting and gave me such a warm reception. I plan on going back soon! The presentation was on propagating plants from cuttings, something of which I have a lot of … Read more
Here are some pictures of our sky yesterday morning September 11th 2008. It was a beautiful morning that I spent (at least before 7:00 AM) potting up a couple demonstration plants for what else? A demonstration! I’ll be giving a demonstration at our local gardening club (Spring Hill, TN) about propagating plants from cuttings. I … Read more
For the 10th installment of The Home Garden’s series on thrifty gardening we’ll be talking about propagating plants by division! Learning how to divide plants is quite possibly one of the most useful skills that any gardener can learn to do. Many plants will eventually lose their vigor over time and dividing them is a … Read more
The hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is one popular bird in the garden. We have a couple of regulars around the yard. They seem to like almost any colorful flower in the yard but are especially attracted to the zinnias. I’ve not only seen them on the zinnias but also the morning glories, the salvias, and even … Read more
It’s a sure sign of fall when the goldenrod stands tall! These tall golden yellow plumes rise above most of the native grasses in our naturalized side yard. Unfortunately for this beautiful perennial flower it is commonly mistaken for a more insidious vegetative villain, ragweed. When you sneeze in the fall it isn’t goldenrod causing … Read more
I realized today that I left off a very important chore that I’ll need to do very soon, grass overseeding! Fall Grass Overseeding. I need to spread grass seed over our existing lawn. Last year I used Kentucky 31 fescue and our lawn looked great in the spring. It browned up over the summer since … Read more
Not to be confused with any other Dave’s top ten list. This is a list of the top ten chores that I need to to in my yard and garden from now until the middle of fall. They aren’t in any particular order and I will accomplish them in a similar fashion! 1. Clean up … Read more
Some days the rain gets you! Here’s one very wet cardinal finishing off the seed from our bird feeder in the rain.
This morning I walked out to get the newspaper through a soft drizzling rain and stood outside overlooking the backyard. Much needed and greatly welcomed, the rain felt fantastic. I observed the backyard and could almost, almost see the grass greening back up before my eyes for the cool season ahead. I’m looking forward to … Read more
Here is Part 9 of The Home Garden’s weekly series about gardening on a budget. Plant propagation, at last, my favorite subject! I was saving the plant propagation post for the last few segments of this series on gardening cheap. Plant propagation is one of the most inexpensive ways to make more plants and expand … Read more
Ahh, watermelon! The pure and sweet taste of summer. What summer in the south would be complete without this large juicy fruit in its predominant role as the picnic desert of choice? So here today I will show you the wonderful watermelon I have grown. The vine rests in our raised bed vegetable garden. In … Read more
The cobblestone patio is close to finished, very close, but not quite done yet. I had hoped to have the it done before my daughter’s third birthday (this past Wednesday) but Fay had other plans. The rains delayed my work for several days both while it was raining and afterward since I had to wait … Read more
Last month I put together a post based on search engine hits in the form of a question to The Home Garden and I thought I’d do the same for August. I picked out several questions that I thought were either interesting or important and hopefully both! August Garden Questions Q. How do you get … Read more
This could be a tense question for all those opinionated gardeners out there but which should you pick, native or exotic plants? There are definitely advantages to choosing native plants with tolerance to the climate being first and foremost. Natives are better for the indigenous wildlife as it provides the food and sustenance they are … Read more
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This ancient sentiment applies very well to the denizens of the garden. The tomato (tobacco) hornworm in the pictures is a being of great tomato destruction. This larval stage of the five-spotted hawkmoth is able to demolish whole tomato plants in a matter of days if not … Read more
Here is Part 8 of The Home Garden’s Weekly series about how to garden on a budget. I call it the Two Season Trick but there really isn’t much of a trick to it. Just plan in fall for spring and plan in spring for fall! Or as a general rule plan ahead at least … Read more
Could there be anything so easy to grow as a Morning Glory (Ipomoea)? Once a seed sprouts the vine will happily climb whatever structure it lies adjacent to whether it be a tree, shrub, trellis or post. It’s not picky! Of course there is the issue of Ipomoea invasiveness. Morning Glories are rapid growers and … Read more
The other day I went out to the garden and picked one of the best cantaloupes we’ve ever eaten. The taste of a store bought melon can never beat that of one that is homegrown! Cantaloupes are actually muskmelons (Cucumis melo ‘reticulatus’) that are given the name cantaloupe to sound more palatable. Musk just refers … Read more
Here’s look at where I’m at with my cobblestone patio project. It’s still not quite finished but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been a couple weeks since my last update on the patio and my progress has been very intermittent. Last week I woke up on Wednesday morning … Read more
Here’s another question for another Sunday! What are the best ornamental grasses in your garden? Ornamental grasses are great plants to use whether as a background or as a feature plant. There are all kinds of ornamental grasses to choose from; some are native and some exotic. In our garden we only have two varieties … Read more
When people think of plants native to Tennessee the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa) probably doesn’t come immediately to mind. Still it is one of many of the unique plants you can find in our diverse state. This particular cactus was found in Mt. Juliet, TN in cedar glade conditions but you could find it … Read more
Tuesday evening several of us Tennessee garden bloggers got together to meet. For some of us, including myself, it was the first time seeing the bloggers behind the screen. Our conversations ranged from garden topics, blogging topics, to air traffic control. So who was there? Who are the faces behind the blogs? Gail from Clay … Read more
You probably know rosemary as a fantastic herb for your garden. It’s great for seasoning chicken, fish, and (my personal favorite) used in an olive oil dip for bread; but what about in the garden as a landscape planting? I have two rosemary plants framing the front steps to our house. They help to define … Read more
This past Sunday I asked a for some inspiration on perennials for fall plantings. Here is a summary of what people suggested. I’ve simplified this post to show only the specific perennials themselves but those who commented offered some great ideas for where to use these perennials and some other options like trees and shrubs … Read more
Fall is fast approaching us here in Tennessee whether it feels like it or not (to me it feels like September) and I’ve started thinking about what to plant. Perennials are perfect for fall plantings since their roots grow slowly over the winter to become established root systems by spring. Then in spring the root … Read more
The other day while my youngest daughter was taking her morning nap my other daughter and I went out to play in the garden. It was a nice August day, very atypical as it was comfortably in the 80’s. Our first stop was down to her garden. It was full of the zinnias and sunflowers … Read more
The fifteenth of every month is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day hosted and originated by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Please take a look at the plants blooming in our garden then go see what’s blooming in other gardens across the world! The trees and shrubs: Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) Propagating crape myrtles Butterfly Bush (Buddleia … Read more
Thursday I got my new camera and of course I couldn’t wait to get outside and take a few pictures to test it! Let me just say that I am impressed with this Nikon D40. The pictures are much more clear and precise. The camera just functions better than our old Olympus. I’ll still use … Read more
Here is Part 7 of The Home Garden’s weekly series of posts about gardening on a budget. Last week I talked about making lists for your garden. I mentioned lists for plants you want, plants that did well and didn’t, project lists, and the consolidated list, but another good way to save money while gardening … Read more
Even though Zinnias begin with the letter “Z” they shouldn’t be your last thought for your garden. I’ve found that zinnias rival any other flower for attractive hummingbirds and butterflies. Hummingbirds love them, so much so that feeders are unnecessary. They are easy to grow, just sprinkle some seed where you want them and keep … Read more
Here is your dose of plant propagation for the day! Eight cuttings with roots (more or less) potted up and ready to go. I was very happy to find roots on the stem of my snowball viburnum cutting. I added three more ‘Purple Homestead’ verbenas to the collection. Here’s that new snowball viburnum. This variety … Read more
Today I went tomato harvesting in our vegetable garden. We had quite a crop! They ranged from the little Sweet 100’s to some very large 16 ounce tomatoes. This wasn’t our first large harvest. We’ve had a steady diet of the red wonder fruits throughout this summer. We’ve eaten them sliced on turkey sandwiches with … Read more
This week we’ve gotten some serious work done on the patio area but there is quite a lot still to do; isn’t there always? Thursday I brought a truckload of sand to cover the gravel. The sand helps when setting the stones in place by creating a soft layer that is easily manipulated for leveling … Read more
With a slight fog in the air the sun’s rays illuminated those morning mists. The dew glistened on the Silver mound artemisia in the front sidewalk garden. A purple Mother’s Day rose with its leaves frosted by the morning dew. If you look close enough you can see the spider web waving in the air. … Read more
Today I did something I’ve been thinking about for a while, I ordered a new camera! My old camera has been great, it’s an Olympus D-560, but I’ve been thinking that it was about time for an upgrade. I began taking quite a few garden pictures when I started up this blog back in October … Read more
Here is Part Six of The Home Garden’s series of posts on how to garden on a budget. I began planning this post with the intention of talking about the importance of planning a garden. After typing and typing I realized that this is a subject so large that it really needed to be broken … Read more
Here’s a look back at a December Skyscape of almost the same location. Some other sunsets:Clingman’s Dome – Great Smoky Mountains National ParkMt. Juliet, TN
This past weekend I jumped headlong into the patio paving construction process. I mentioned this project in my August project post and here’s how it all begins. My first step was laying out the edging stones to figure out the layout of the patio. Now you might ask “wouldn’t it be better to draw a … Read more
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 … Read more
August isn’t a great month for planting plants here in Tennessee but it is a good time to get other projects done. That is if you can stand the heat! I have several things that I would like to get finished before the beginning of fall and I thought I would write a list to … Read more
Over the past month quite a few people have hit this blog searching for information on various topics. Sometimes their searches are in the form of a question and I thought it would be fun to go back and answer the questions. Most people looked for information with the word “how” but a few used … Read more
Here is Part 5 of The Home Garden’s series of tips on how to garden on a budget. One of the best fertilizers has to be compost. It’s cheap, easy to create, and makes plants grow like crazy. With compost you can replace most of your fertilizer use! Now why don’t more people do it? … Read more
Even though the summer is upon us it’s still a good time to propagate plants. The key is to keep cuttings moist and at a steady temperature until roots have formed. Then they can be easily acclimated to outdoor temperatures. I do all of my cuttings inside our house on the windowsills or under a … Read more
Back in June was the last time I posted about my birdbath garden. I thought I’d take a moment to go way back to the beginning of the garden and show you where it came from and where it might be going. The picture on the left was taken just after I completed the birdbath … Read more
One of the greatest pleasures of the garden is being able to see wildlife. While there are many kinds of wildlife from birds to bunnies and squirrels to deer that are regulars around us, the most common form of wildlife in our garden are the butterflies. Butterflies belong to the Lepidoptera order of insects and … Read more
Here is Part 4 in The Home Garden’s series of posts about how to garden on a budget. Often when people go to the plant nursery they look around and see what they can get for that immediate impact in their landscape. They see larger more established plants and can easily see how they will … Read more
I’ve talked about Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) before (with propagating) but good things are always worth a second look! Our Russian sage is in full bloom in our front garden and should continue to burst forth with a bounty of purple blooms throughout the summer. These powerful perennials are drought tolerant and have been extremely … Read more
I suppose this summer I’ve concentrated my efforts in a couple areas, my vegetable garden and the front sidewalk garden. While we want bunches of fresh vegetables this year we also want our home to look nice for anyone who happens to come by. I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made on the front sidewalk … Read more
This month’s Garden Design workshop at Gardening Gone Wild is all about Whimsy in the Garden. Unfortunately my garden is not the most whimsical that you will find, in fact far from it. My sense of whimsical garden implements dodges the garden gnomes and household items that other gardeners are prone to plant amongst the … Read more
We’re home again! For the last week we’ve been on the road and away from home which means that not much gardening was happening. I was away teaching at a band camp and my family was staying at the grandparent’s house. It was a busy and tiring week at band camp and now that both … Read more
