Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

For the last part of my Winter Garden series I have a special treat planned. I arranged for snow to fall upon Middle Tennessee so I could illustrate how great a winter garden looks! OK, of course I’m joking but snow is very cool to look at on the garden (please forgive the pun). The weather forecast called for chances…

One major reason many of us garden is to enjoy seeing wildlife. I think it’s pretty rare to find a gardener who doesn’t also enjoy a little bird watching. Birds can be great to have around the garden as well. Kingsyard recently sent me a squirrel proof bird feeder and a bluebird house to put up in my garden. I…

At my parent’s house there is a small garden location where the contemplative gardener can go to relax. Nestled between the cherry trees the garden bench that my dad and I built for my mom several years ago. What I thought made this scene so special was the fallen cherry blossom petals from the nearby Kwanzan cherry tree. Statue of…

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 unique colors but I think…

Beware gardeners for danger may lurk beneath a rock. Though a rock may be a home to many creatures there are few that rival the venomous Black Widow spider. This spider is one of only two spiders gardeners in Tennessee have to watch out for, the other is the brown recluse. The black widow loves to lurk underneath rocks and…

This past weekend while the weather was looking pretty close to awesome we re-made the roof window on my greenhouse shed. The first attempt was leaking in a couple small spots which prompted me to re-think the whole design before the project was too far along. I found out while I was removing the first attempt that if I had…

Skeeter has brought us our latest Fall Color Project post!  Skeeter teams up with Tina at In the Garden and offers up her garden experiences from Georgia for readers to share.  Go visit Skeeter as she strolls the Augusta Canal with the beautiful Savannah River in view. You know how spectacular fall colors and water scenes can be so go…

Recently I ordered plants (which I’ll cover in another post) and while choosing the plants I used a few criteria to guide my selections.  I wouldn’t rule out purchasing plants just because they might miss one or two of these characteristics but I do know that when all five can be found in the same plant I’ve got a winner!…

Several years ago I built a patio using paving stones. I intended to complete the patio by adding a sidewalk that would bring the paved surface area all the way around to the garage and driveway. This weekend I finally made major progress on this neglected project. Making a paving stone patio, sidewalk, or pathway is not an easy task….

It’s that time again! One of my favorite seasons of the year when the leaves change color and begin their graceful decent from the treetops. It’s bittersweet to be sure, since it symbolizes the end of the growing season, but it’s also a time of renewal as those leaves become compost and nourish our beloved trees and plants in future…

Another second of the month has arrived and it’s time for an update on my seeds for the 2011 GROW project! Here’s the Italian Cameo Basil – I have it planted in a container but I suspect the soil mix is too heavy for the basil. Its growth has been fairly limited over the last month and I may need…

December brings us to the end of another year. As a gardener you know that just because the calendar year may be ending our work (fun) is just beginning. It’s time to plan your 2019 Vegetable Garden. To me planning is the fun part. During the planning process I get to look for new varieties of seeds to try, think…

One of the best times to work out in the garden is the early morning before 7:30 AM. Anytime thereafter the temperature and humidity skyrockets, at least here in Tennessee. Early morning is also one of the best times for watering. It gives the plants water in the coolest part of the day when they can absorb the most since…

I find Garden Tours fun to put together. It’s an opportunity incessantly talk about plants, plans, and ideas and that is one of my favorite things to do! I put together a garden tour of our current garden on YouTube which you can watch down below. To summarize the year so far we moved in November of 2023 to our…

Fads come and go and garden fads do the same thing.  What I like today might be different in 10 years, 5 years, or even 1 year!  But for this Friday Five post I thought I’d tell you a little about the plants I really like right now.  While this list contains some specific plants it also contains a types…

The economy is still in disarray and all of us are trying to find ways to do things cheaper and more efficiently even in the garden.  Fortunately gardeners are experts at finding ways to be cheap.  Let’s look at some easy to do ideas that can help keep your garden budget as low as it can go! 5 Money saving…

There is a trend emerging, a very good trend, toward homeowners filling their garden with edible plantings. Homeowners are trading out ornamental plants for the practical plants that produce food and nourishment for themselves.  How does a gardener begin with changing their landscape into a practical edible garden? You might be surprised. Try creating your “foodscape” by starting at the…

In the spring time one ground cover really stands out due to its prolific flowering. Creeping phlox or Phlox subulata really punches out the color for a couple weeks in spring then fades into a nice lush and green carpet of foliage. You can use it on slopes, around mailboxes or as a low growing front border plant. It has…