Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

There’s not much happening on the greenhouse right now – it’s too cold! I walked out this afternoon to see if I could add some weather stripping to the front windows but it was too cold to add them as it needed to be higher than 40 degrees, or so said the packaging. This time of the year it should…

The mockingbird has been causing trouble again. The suet was the issue of contention in the backyard because our resident Mockingbird King claimed it and all the surrounding territory. No other birds were allowed near the feeders, even if they only wanted sunflower seed for which the king has no desire. When the mockingbird gave us (or more importantly, the…

In 2003 we didn’t have a house or a garden that we owned but we treated the Great Smoky Mountains as our garden. We traveled frequently to the park and took pictures of anything that caught our interest. As part of the Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop: Color in the Garden at Gardening Gone Wild I thought I’d contribute some photos…

Rosemary is one of my favorite plants in the garden. This amazing evergreen herb is well known for fragrant aroma and culinary uses. Rosemary grows very will in a variety of conditions including pots, in gardens, in raised beds, or even indoors! You might be wondering “Can you propagate more rosemary from your garden?” Yes you can! In fact it’s…

It’s been a while since I’ve written about our vegetable garden so I thought the end of April would be a good time for an update!  There are a few disappointments but overall most of the garden is right on track.  We’ve used raised beds for several years now but most of them have disintegrated.  I’ve replaced some with concrete…

Recently you may have noticed an unusual lack of posts, there’s a good reason for it! We’ve been a little busy around here since last Thursday when we welcomed Samuel David to the world! He was 7 lbs. and 10 oz. and 20 inches. Sam also arrived in record time as labor was under 1 hour and 30 minutes! Mommy…

If you live in an area with plenty of trees you are blessed with adequate building materials for trellises and posts. They may be rustic in appearance but they can function pretty good.  Today I’ll show you my new trellis for my sugar snap peas.  It’s made from 5 pieces of dead wood that fell from our tulip poplar tree. …

Last week I received the seeds I orders from two different companies. I was very impressed with the delivery time from both Wildseed Farms and Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds. I made my order from Baker’s Creek last Monday and received all the seeds I ordered plus a bonus packet by Wednesday! That was very fast service. The crazy thing to…

Not many plants bloom in the dead of winter but you can count on Mediterranean White Heath (Erica x darleyensis) to put on a subtle show.  It blooms with tiny little snow colored blossoms that (at least in my Tennessee garden) emerge during January and February.  I have five of these little winter gems located throughout our front garden and…

Three years ago I redid a corner spot along our house and turned it into a shade garden. Two plants were present when I started to install the shade garden: a privet (ligustrum) and a cedar tree. I removed the privet mostly because I didn’t like it and removed the cedar due to a bagworm infestation I had early last…

Last week I caught my first glimpse of something I have never seen before, a fox in my backyard.  There was a little doubt in my mind when I saw it.  Was it some sort of dog that resembled a fox or did I really seen one?  I’ve never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild just in…

Dave, I had a Yoshino Cherry Tree planted in late May and I’m noticing holes in most of the leaves. I am asking you if you know what pest may be attacking it…and if it is under attack, what treatment does it need? The answer to your question is leaf spot disease, not exactly a pest of the insect kind…

For several years now I’ve written about the value of planting in raised beds.  One of the most viewed posts on Growing The Home Garden is my post Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden: 11 Things to Think About.  It has 11 design tips that will help your vegetable garden layout achieve its maximum potential.  Hopefully you’ll find them useful! …

Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) is an amazing plant with unique characteristics that make it an awesome choice for gardeners. This phlox is an evergreen or semi-evergreen plant that has a creeping habit with needle-like foliage, adding texture and interest to any garden landscape. One of the most noticeable features of Moss Phlox is its mass of star-shaped flowers, which come…

Can you ever have too many sunset pictures? Here a picture of a sunset I took from Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies, taken about 3 years ago.

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. The rain gauge picked up…

I couldn’t imagine my garden without herbs. Whether for making tea, utilizing in dinner, or a myriad of other uses herbs are an essential part of my garden. Some of the herbs in my garden are also excellent companion plants in addition to their culinary uses. Herbs are awesome and you should grow them if you aren’t already. What herbs do I grow…

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…