Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

It’s amazing how fast time flies, isn’t it? It seems like just a short time ago I posted my 2010 garden project list (which I can never fully complete!) Soon it will be time to write a new project list and bring back some of those projects that have been hanging around for years! I’ll have that list up after…

Early morning is the best time for so many things including plant propagation. Taking cuttings when it is cool prevents them from drying out and losing too much moisture before they get prepared. If a cutting dries out it very well could be the end of the road for your potentially propagated plant! This morning, as I always try to…

Since I bought my new toy (a Sony Handycam HDR-CX130) I’ve been playing around with filming my garden in different areas. I have to admit – talking to a camera by oneself while wandering around your garden is a weird sensation. I’m convinced that my neighbors already think I’m crazy and I doubt video recording my garden is going to…

If you look in the garden you won’t see my nasturtiums. That is because they have developed a rare sort of variation called invisibility. No matter how hard you look you will not find them. They have developed a superpower beyond the ability of all creatures to completely evade detection! At least that’s what I’m telling myself… Well… I tried,…

This fall I took a scraggly looking branch off a little burning bush I had. The botanical name is Euonymous alata. These bushes are green during most of the growing season but turn fiery red in the fall before they lose their leaves. It is for this reason that people plant them. Yesterday I checked the cutting’s progress. I wasn’t…

Yes you read the title right. My greenhouse shed project is mostly screwed. Rather than use nails to hold everything together we’re using coated deck screws as they tend to hold things much better and if you mess something up it’s easier to fix!  The three disadvantages of this is it takes longer, the drill eventually runs out of power…

In my second year with our garden I experienced the joys and wonders of living with deer. In the three and a half years since I’ve learned a lot about protecting plants from deer but I still suffer from their exploits frequently. Most notably this year the deer discovered my vegetable garden for the first time. Maybe you noticed the…

Recently I was given some natural stone to add to my landscape by a local gardener.  Some of the stone was large and flat while other stones were rough edged and angular. Today I’ll show you how I used the large flat stones in three areas of my yard. First I’ll tell you how I set the stones. I didn’t…

I just posted an update on the greenhouse shed. I re-installed the roof window over the weekend. Hop on over the greenhouse shed page and see what I did!

Some plants are determined. Something in their genetic make-up decided long ago that nothing would get them down and nothing ever does. Take this river birch (Betula nigra) for instance. I received it from the Arbor Day Foundation but this isn’t one of the 10 “free” trees I received with my donation. I actually purchased this one. It was one…

I’ve talked about Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) before (with propagating) but good things are always worth a second look! Our Russian sage is in full bloom in our front garden and should continue to burst forth with a bounty of purple blooms throughout the summer. These powerful perennials are drought tolerant and have been extremely pest free. Our Varieties of…

It was a moment of pure beauty early this morning. We awoke to find the landscape covered in snow and with a winter wonderland waiting before us. I was out just before dawn to catch the sunrise and take some pictures in a setting that I very rarely get to photograph. I’m especially pleased with the first picture. It’s a…

On Saturday we went up to visit the in-laws for Easter. The day was cool but sunny with a little wind and with the right amount of layering was quite pleasant. It was one of those spring days that almost, just almost felt like spring. It still had the cool sentiments of our Tennessee winters. After visiting for a little…

It’s a good thing I took several pictures toward the end of last week since the rain and dreary weather has dampened much of the garden. Sunny days are ahead but until then all we have are a few photos of flowers from the gardens. That will just have to do! Up first we have some achillea. Also called yarrow…

Today we worked a little more on the greenhouse project and managed to get another milestone accomplished: the bracing. Unfortunately due to the end of daylight savings time darkness descended too quickly for me to snap some good photos. Besides braces aren’t very interesting, just functional. We put braces on the joists that connect them to the rafters, braces on…

It’s a horticultural crime.  A serious crime.  One with lasting repercussions on the garden and your landscape. What is crape murder? It is the unnatural and unsightly mass pruning of wonderful crape myrtle trees.  These garden trees are hacked down in the prime of life destroying what could potentially be an amazing tree.  Why do people desecrate such a noble…

Thank you to everyone who entered the drawing for the ‘Woodle Orange’ Heirloom tomato seeds. You WILL enjoy these next year or I’ll give you your money back! (Oh wait you didn’t pay anything – oh well ;)) The winners as randomly selected by Random.org are can be seen below in the picture. Just count down the commenters until you…

It’s always fun to join in with Carol’s Garden Blogger Bloom Day every 15th of the month but the early summer day are some of the best for blooms. Some of the spring blooms are hanging on despite the extreme heat (it’s way to hot for June!) and the summer blooms are definitely getting into gear. Today I’ll show you…