Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

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 to root and maybe plant…

What looks great with coreopsis in the garden? The answer is coreopsis looks great with just about everything! Over the last two years I’ve acquired several types of coreopsis (also called tickseed) and experimented with it in different combinations and found it plays well by itself and with others. Here are few coreopsis companions from my garden. “Moonbeam” Coreopsis Here…

There are few structures in the garden more prominent than a gate. A good garden gate can invite a person into the garden, protect the garden from intruders, and becomes a feature to draw the eye. This weekend I put together a gate for my vegetable garden fence (which is still under construction). I managed to complete the majority of…

Here you are, up close and personal with a purple bearded iris.This is just one of many irises we we’re given by my parents. They had quite a few that they divided last year and didn’t have places for them all. They are definitely dressing up the landscape!

It’s that time of year when the fall blooming plants begin to start their show including Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora). This non-native clematis grows prolifically through the summer and gladly will climb and overtake any structure it meets then will bloom in the fall. I picked up two of these on the discount racks and even though I know…

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 worse. I want to say…

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. It’s a slow process, adding…

Broken branch of a crape myrtle Sometimes in gardening, as in life, we experience bad breaks. We don’t intend for these to happen, they just do. Whether caused by too much stress, mistakes, or happenstance the only power we have over these breaks is to clean up and hope for the best. Such is the case with one of my…

It’s time to highlight a few more neat posts from the garden blogging world! Let’s get right to it! If you’re a fan of paths (and I don’t know any gardener who isn’t) I noticed two posts this week about paths that might interest you. Carol of May Dreams Gardens recently decided to remodel her gardens and is incorporating  a…

April is here and with a new month and temperatures warming new garden tasks present themselves! Here is a garden chore list for April in zone 7. If you are in a different zone these items would be offset by a couple weeks. April Garden To Do List Continue sowing seeds indoors for summer crops of vegetables and flowers. It’s…

It’s been a little while since my last greenhouse shed update but things are coming along. It’s been difficult to deal with the cold temperatures and find suitable days to work but that’s the challenge of working on an outdoor project in the winter. Lately we’ve been focusing on applying siding to the solid areas of the building. I picked…

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 the tomato blossoms. The only…

In order to raise worms for worm composting (vermicomposting) you have to have a place to put the worms and the kitchen scraps. There are all kinds of composting bins that can be effective but they all work on the same idea. A box houses the worms, kitchen scraps, and bedding. As the worms eat they make their way through…

Frost on the lawn This weekend brought forth a significant event, the first mowing of 2012.  It’s a momentous event that means the active growing season is moving ever closer!  I know many of you probably don’t enjoy mowing the lawn like I do.  It’s probably a little crazy, I’ll admit it, but when I’m out there mowing I get…

Here’s just a quick update on the greenhouse-shed project. More work will ensue later in the week but several time consuming things have been done. The roof windows on the south-western side are somewhat framed, the plywood is attached and the shingles are up. The roof is one of the more shed-like aspects of this project. Since the south western…

I’ve been riding a gardening high since everything seemed to be going so well. The summer squash has been putting out squash prolifically and everyday there have been more cucumbers to pick. Things are changing. Now there are some pesky pests who are honing in on my vegetables. The squash vine borer and the cucumber beetle are the villains.These two…

I feel behind in my seed starting. The frost date passed about 10 days ago and I haven’t started my summer vegetable seeds yet. the spinach is looking great and so is the arugula – even the pak choi (‘Green fortune’) I got from Renee’s Garden is looking great (and is very yummy)! The lettuce is a little disappointing but…

Herb Garden Layout I’ve been debating on exactly what kind of herb garden to implement and after making up some rough sketches of various ideas on paper I decided to throw this basic design together. It has a somewhat formal look yet should be relatively easy to maintain. I was considering trying to do a knot herb garden but that…