Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Sweet gum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua) are beautiful trees and are great to have around for wildlife. The seeds of the sweet gum tree are eaten by small mammals like squirrels and chipmunks as well as a number of birds including finches, ducks, quail, chickadees, sparrows, towhees, and Carolina wrens. With all that wildlife enjoying the sweetgum trees I can easily…

First let me apologize for not getting these posts up sooner.  This weekend has been a fun filled hectic one with carpet cleaning and a surprise leak that required a new kitchen faucet replacement.  The two events were not related unless you count the fact that they took time away from the computer! Skeeter is at it again at In…

Our youngest sprout!

It’s amazing how much is growing right now. I feel like all of a sudden everything has emerged in one moment of synchronicity. From the trees and shrubs to the perennials – something is happening everywhere I look. It’s exciting, yet exasperating as there just isn’t enough time to get everything done or talk about a fraction of everything happening…

A plant holding bed is a luxury that anyone who propagates plants might find very useful. (I know I will!) A plant holding bed can function as a coldframe or just as an out of the way spot set aside for plants to rest in while they grow. For me I just have too many propagated plants to continue storing…

I’ve written several times before about raised beds.  I’m a fan, a huge fan of raised beds. With a raised bed you can control the soil, control the moisture, and garden virtually anywhere.  It makes sense that raised beds are a great option for every homeowner (here’s why: 8 Benefits to Gardening in Raised Beds).  The question though that new…

What else would you expect with garden blogs but to be growing? Two newcomers are on the scene for Tennessee growing the total to five (that I know about). Gail at Clay and Limestone and Craig at Harvistry. Both blogs appear to have unique content that is worth a look!Gail’s title refers to the content of most soil in Tennessee….

No this isn’t some heavy weight boxing fight over on pay-per-view.  This is a garden blog after all!  This is a comparison between two very similar fall flowering perennials that really are heavy weight garden stand outs!  This battle is between ‘Sheffield Pink’ and ‘Clara Curtis’ – the pink mums! In this corner we have ‘Clara Curtis’ sporting pink petals…

This time of year it isn’t unusual to see the garden in a crystallized form.  Wet winter weather insures that enough moisture is around to turn the landscape into a frosted garden.  The unique appearance of the frosted garden gives the gardener a great opportunity to play around with some photography.  Here are a few photos from this morning at…

Rudbeckia is a great perennial for the garden. Low in pests problems and high in visual interest it never fails to provide an impressive display in the late summer. It reseeds easy and is especially good for problem areas and wildflower gardens. It’s seeds nourish the birds in the fall while it’s petals nourish the eyes of the gardener in…

Several weeks ago I planted Baptisia australis seeds. It’s also known as false indigo. It took some time but with bottom heat from my seedling heat mat and continued patience several of the seedlings have sprouted.  It’s always exciting to see new plants come alive from seed.  It took the Baptisia seeds about a month to germinate.  Please note one…

If you like Heucheras or Coral Bells as much as I do then take a look at this video from Fine Gardening Magazine. In it Alan Armitage talks about the heucheras in the trial gardens at the University of Georgia. Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’ and Heuchera ‘Rave On’ stand out as two perennials I will have to add to my garden…

With the growing season coming to a close its time to start planning for next year’s landscape. Every now and then I like to design landscapes for people. Here is a sample of a small garden design that I made for a couple friends of ours. Its actually a memorial garden and is suitable for almost any corner of a…

Here is a quick list of things that need done in our June garden.  Keep in mind that we’re located in Spring Hill, TN in a zone 6b-7 area and these chores may not correspond with the growing season in your area.  You’ll need to do many of these tasks too but at different times. Sucker those tomatoes!  Removing the…

I’ve been fascinated (as have many people lately) with the green roofs that are quickly become very popular. Originally when I wanted to build my shed I wanted to cover the all of the non-transparent roof surfaces with plants. I realized that to build a green roof over the whole structure would be both time and labor intensive. I would…

Did you ever realize that you could go to Florida and see Tennessee fall colors? Well you can today, since Meems brought fall colors from Tennessee to her blog Hoe and Shovel! She recently came here to TN to visit her sister and went to visit the beautiful gardens of Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. She put the pictures together in a…

In yesterday’s post on propagating switchgrasses I left out the picture of the ‘Northwind’ Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Also I didn’t post any details about the two switchgrasses that I mentioned. So here’s a little more about switchgrasses! Switchgrasses are native to the United States and flourish during the warm season. In my observations they are later to emerge from winter…

I’m always trying to start something new, usually I bite off more than I can chew but in this case I’m taking our back ornamental garden at a casual pace. In other words I’m not pushing myself to get it done but just doing what I can when I can.  It fits a general long range goal I have at…