Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Things are looking good for my butterfly bush cuttings. So far none have succumbed to damping off. Only one lost any leaves. One good sign of a cutting is when new growth starts to develop. As you can see on the closest cutting that new growth is starting to sprout. This usually means that roots have emerged! I’ll leave them…

The other day I was contacted by the folks at Workman Publishing. They had a new book that they wanted someone to look at so I said I’d be happy to check it out. The book is The Garden Primer: Second Edition by Barbara Damrosch. Some of you may be familiar with the original version of this gardening manual that…

Potatoes are one easy vegetable that everyone should try.  There are a quite a few kind of potatoes that are delicious on the dinner plant that have developed over the years.  In our garden this year we’re growing Yukon Gold, red potatoes, and Adirondack Blue potatoes.  The blue potatoes are new to our garden this year.  Yukon Gold is one…

One of my goals this year is to add more herbs to the gardens (not just the vegetable garden). Herbs have many different characteristics that can make the attractive as well as useful.Basil (Ocimum basilicum)Last year I became painfully aware that after making a delicious batch of pesto that we were out of fresh basil and it was the end…

Salvia is a excellent plant to put in a garden. They are drought tolerant (which is important in Tennessee) and look great. They also come in many colors including red, pink, white, orange, blue, and purple. Depending on where you live and the variety you choose it may be a perennial or an annual. According to the website Floridata, there…

Even though it’s been a short week we have lots of fall color to share for the Thanksgiving edition of the Fall Color Project! I won’t be posting for the Fall Color Project on Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday so I thought I would highlight these posts a little early! What could be more perfect than fancy foliage, a…

Another day is done for the greenhouse-shed project and a little bit more has been accomplished. It’s moving along at a good pace; not too fast or hurried but careful and methodical. Yesterday we finished setting the posts and today we ended construction by putting up most of the framing for the first large picture window.Before the window framing we…

It’s that time of year when the fall blooming plants begin to start their show including Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora). This non-native clematis grows prolifically through the summer and gladly will climb and overtake any structure it meets then will bloom in the fall. I picked up two of these on the discount racks and even though I know…

Summer squash is one of our family’s favorite summer vegetables.  A grilled yellow squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper is a simple and delicious treat when cooked along with some barbequed chicken!  There are a few things to know about growing summer squashes in the garden whether they are yellow squash or zucchinis.  Today’s Friday Fives will offer up…

Every year I put out a list of my intended gardening projects that I personally want to accomplish this year.  Then back at the end of the year I review them to see how I’ve done.  This year is a little tricky.  I have quite a few projects leftover from last year that I still want to accomplish in my…

The Nashville Lawn and Garden Show is coming up soon, here’s the info! Press Release: Tennessee’s Largest, Most Popular Gardening Event ! Thursday, March 3 – Sunday, March 6 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Live Gardens + Thousands of Blooming Plants + Free Lectures Floral Design Gallery + 250 Exhibit Booths Tickets are available now for purchase online at www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com….

It’s January but if you are like me you’ve been rapidly perusing the seed catalogs about as fast as they come in looking for new and exciting plants for this year. It seems that each day a new plant catalog comes in the mail and I see all kinds of plants that I’d love to have in my garden, but…

If you are like me and are always trying to find economical ways to improve your landscape and gardens then you should consider visiting a plant swap. Coming up next Saturday at Henry Horton State Park in Middle Tennessee is one such opportunity. The folks over at the GardenWeb: Tennessee community organized a plant swap that meets once a year…

Our garden sits precariously between zone 6b and 7.  We’re in a very borderline area with multiple micro-climates within the 1.3 acres of land we have around us.  We’re far enough into the warm season now that the frosts should not happen again until fall, but then we thought we were done with frosts over a month ago! This weekend…

Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons in the garden. Fall because I love the changing leaves, the cool crisp air, and the feeling of closure that comes with shutting down the garden. Spring is my other favorite because of the rebirth. All the spring flowers and foliage are emerging and everything is brand new again. It’s a really fun…

It’s been while since I showed larger scale pictures of the garden.  Mostly because it was such a mess over the summer. Today I’ll share a few photos of the various garden areas.  The resiliency of plants is simply amazing. With neglect, wet weather, dry weather, hot weather, and lack of time my plants seem to be doing fine! The…

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!

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…