Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Every year in the garden is different. Sometimes it’s warmer than normal, sometimes colder. We may have more rain than usual or we may be in a drought. All of these factors affect how the plants grow, what comes up, and when they make their first appearance. One special event I like to notate each year on this garden blog…

There are few fall performers more majestic than the beautyberry.  My beautyberry is Callicarpa dichtoma ‘Early Amethyst’ and is a native of Asia.  It’s a beautiful shrub with tiny white flowers in the summer that become loaded with clusters of purple berries in the fall.  When I say loaded, I mean loaded! The berries last throughout the fall and typically…

I know most people have already put their tools away and their beds are ready for winter. It may be too early to even think about next year, but the off season (winter) is planning time for next year. It’s time to figure out what worked for the 2007 season and think about what to plant in 2008. The University…

The month of June brings many new blooms to the garden. Summer blooming perennials are filling the garden with color. Everywhere you look plants are flowering. Here are a few perennial photos of what is blooming in the garden right now! Beautyberry BushThe beautyberry bush is well known for it’s berries but those berries have to start somewhere. This beautyberry…

While out of town this past weekend at my in-laws home I took the opportunity to take more cuttings from their pyracantha (Pyracantha augustifolia). It is a favorite of shrub for birds due to its bright orange berries and is has an appropriately named common name: Firethorn. Firethorn’s thorns are quite sharp and offer the plant good protection from would…

The fall season is a busy one.  We’re all busy cleaning up the outside areas of our homes and gardens to prepare for colder days ahead.  The list of things to do this fall isn’t a short one but if you can fit a few more items to your list you will save yourself some time in the spring!  Let’s…

Do you want to dig a little deeper into the science behind the magical fall colors we see each fall? Or maybe you just want to take a peak at the fall show of a Continus coggygria (Smoke Tree). Either way stop over and visit Joco in the UK at Joco Serious. Joco posted a very detailed and thorough explanation…

They finally came! My experiment with Arbor Day has begun. Earlier in the year I ordered several trees from the National Arbor Day Society. I also got a few free trees with my order. I know many people have had mixed results when ordering from Arbor Day. They either have trees that don’t make it through the winter, receive dead…

Spring is in full swing here in Tennessee and that means people everywhere are headed outdoors.  Some to play, some to work, and others to just hang out on the front porch with glass of sweet tea.  That’s what we do here in the south, sweet tea on the front porch.  This week I put together two small and very…

“There has been an awakening, have you felt it?” – Supreme Leader Snoke Yes, indeed we have. While Star Wars and Gardening are not necessarily tied together I felt that this quote is so appropriate for describing the spring garden. It is an awakening. The warmer weather and longer days combine to encourage plants to come alive again from dormancy….

Cilantro is a delicious herb capable of adding so much flavor and character to your foods. While some people don’t enjoy it we love it in our cooking and always try to have some cilantro growing in the home garden. Growing beautiful cilantro plants isn’t a difficult thing but there are a couple things you should know to maximize your…

The last week has been extremely busy and there are a mountain of fun things to talk about that sprang from it as well as quite a few neat things that will be coming down the road for the garden.  Of course right now we have results of the last of this winter’s oppressive ice storms, Titan, hanging around to…

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…

This time of the year it seems like there are a million and one choices for seeds.  The catalogs have been rolling in at record paces enticing us with beautiful pictures of what we could have in our gardens but how do you figure out what you need to buy especially if your trying to save money?  The first step…

The gardens are closing down for the winter and fall color is nearly peaking. Frosty mornings are here again. I’ll miss the warm temperatures, the yummy tomatoes, and the fresh air that comes with working in the garden. Every season has it’s own interesting things to enjoy and the fall-winter seasons are no exception. The first heavy frost hit us…

One of the easiest ways to make a new plant is layering. Layering is where you allow the plant to create new roots on a branch while still connected to the mother plant. The advantage to layering is the connection to the mother plant. It continues to feed the offshoot branch allowing it to form the new roots to sustain…

This weekend I partially accomplished one of the major garden chores of the fall The Fall Vegetable Garden Cleanup! There’s a second section of the vegetable garden that needs cleaned up still but I really wanted to leave the tomatoes alone for now so that maybe, just maybe they could ripen up a few more before the end of the…