Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Rather than continue with lyrics that will end up stuck in your head for the rest of the day, let me tell you why I say “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.”  The weather has turned back toward winter which brings with it clouds and cold, but the unseasonable warmth of the last month has led to earlier show…

Today and yesterday it rained. While it wasn’t the nice steady soaking rain that every gardener dreams of it also wasn’t the wimpy little sprinkles that tantalize the taste buds of the drought worried plant person. It was somewhere in between. Hopefully a little more rain will fall tomorrow as I can envision our tomatoes growing to the size of…

It really seems that spring has sprung already. The warm temperatures have brought everything to life, I only hope that the plants aren’t doomed by the next freeze happens to come along. It’s reminiscent of the spring of 2007. Back then we had an early warm-up followed by a hard freeze that damaged a significant number of Japanese maples and…

One of the locations in our yard that has the most fall color is the back tree line. We don’t have much in the way of mature trees throughout the rest of the yard but the back tree line makes up for it in the way of sassafras, walnut, maples and assorted other trees. One day this area will house…

My thoughts on gardening in 2020 2020 has been a crazy year so far hasn’t it? On the positive side it has introduced a host of new gardeners to the fun of home gardening. People these days are looking for ways to spend their time at home and maybe participate in a healthy activity that can offset some expenses with…

After you have a good list of the elements your edible landscape needs and you have pieced together a solid “To Grow” list you need to evaluate what you already have in your garden.  Some people might put this step first and that’s OK but if you do your evaluation after you decide what you want to grow you can…

I have repeatedly written about how awesome salvias are.  I hope you’re not tired of that kind of talk because your about to get another dose!  Salvias are one of the easiest to care for perennials around. During fall they bloom profusely. They aren’t bothered terribly by heat and in many cases thrive in dry environments where other perennials may…

Denise from Southern California has another great Fall Color Project post for us!  You might think that her region may not have much fall color to offer, but if you look you’ll find it!  Just take a glance at the muhlenbergia in full bloom, the ginko trees, or the sweetgum and you’ll see the fall color that comes to Southern California….

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 so minor that you might…

One of my favorite flowers to enjoy each year is coreopsis! It has an unfortunate nickname that may make you wary, but just because coreopsis is also called tickseed does not mean it will bring ticks! More on that later, but for now here is why coreopsis should be a plant in your garden. Why Coreopsis Is Great in the…

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about one of my favorite shrubs, the Japanese Dappled Willow ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ (Salix integra). It’s a fast growing variegated willow that works well as a privacy screen and is hardy in zones 4-9. It’s deciduous so it will be bare over the winter but the new growth in the spring time is fun…

Coming soon to a lawn or garden near you … Henbit (Lamium amplexicauli)! The cover-all-lawns-with-purple-spring-color ground cover. If you’re tired of the green look – consider purple. It’s easy care with absolutely no maintenance and pollinator friendly! You don’t even have to plant it as henbit will find its own way to your lawn. It’s a weed but sure is…

It’s been a week since my last Fall Color Project Update and the colors are only getting more colorful as we go! Charlotte told me about her Fall Color Project post last Friday with some very rich and colorful fall favorites. In fact the plants she has pictured are some of my personal favorites! Japanese maples and pyracantha are two…

It’s that time of year where the daylilies are becoming the showoffs of the garden. Daylilies (Hemerocallis) area very common collectable perennial here in the south. They propagate very easily through division and are a prime starter plant for people interested in learning how to hybridize plants. Here’s a look at a little of what is blooming in our garden…

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 in the garden, anytime during…

Another unforeseen issue has arisen in my garden: blister beetles!  These voracious beetles are systematically devouring the foliage of our plants.  So far they’ve taken turns tasting our tomatoes, tomatillos, and even a clematis.  I’m not heartbroken over the clematis as it’s a sweet autumn clematis that grows like a weed – it will come back.  But I do want…

Want to do something nice for the birds?  Feed them!  Here’s an easy way to do it! Get a grapefruit (any suitable citrus will work). Cut it in half. Eat the grapefruit. (Important step) Fill grapefruit halves with bird seed. Set grapefruit halves on a deck rail Enjoy watching the birds! Piece of cake – or rather a piece of fruit!

This week I started another batch of tomato seeds. For the last set of tomato seeds I used peat seed starting trays, this time I used washed mushroom containers, yogurt cups, and an old refrigerator plastic drawer! Not too long ago our refrigerator decided to quit and we had to replace it. I kept the plastic drawers from the old…