Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

So on Wednesday of this coming week I’ll have had this blog open for a month. I find it interesting that about two weeks after I start articles all over pop up about garden blogging. Is it something that is catching on? Or is it publicity brought on by the talented folks who have paved the garden blogging way. The…

The other day I posted about the next evolution of my garden on its way to becoming a more formalized vegetable garden. Today I’ll show you the layout of what I hope the vegetable garden will eventually become. There are some distinct advantages to the layout changes that I am planning on making that I’ll share with you below the…

Healthy potato plants About a month before the last frost date is the best planting time for potatoes in my zone 7b garden. That starts the planting season for potatoes here in Tennessee in Mid March. If you need a better guide than that think of St. Patrick’s Day and plan around it within a few days. Potatoes are not…

Lately I’ve been thinking about my fall vegetable planting and since the time is upon us I thought I would put together a fall vegetable garden layout of how I might plant one of my 4’x8′ raised beds. While this vegetable garden design is not necessarily drawn to scale with regard to the number of plants possible it should show…

So what can you do while it’s under 20 degrees outside and you are stuck inside but still want to do something garden related? Extract seeds from ornamental peppers! That probably wasn’t the first thing on your mind but it works for me! Extracting the seeds from these ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental peppers was one of those small items on my…

It’s a simple fact of life that you will eventually make a mistake. You don’t know when or how, but sooner or later everyone will make a gardening goof or gaff! Mistakes range from the minor ones like forgetting to water your peace lily during the week (why do I keep repeating this one?) To cutting power lines or waterlines…

I like daffodils and tulips, but you know their foliage just isn’t much to get excited about. Once the flowers are done we all know the best thing to do is to cut back the flower stems to prevent them from going to seed (unless you are hybridizing or want to collect the seed) and leave the foliage to absorb…

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…

Another unforeseen issue has arisen in my garden: blister beetles!  These voracious beetles are systematically devouring the foliage of our plants.  So far they’ve taken turns tasting our tomatoes, tomatillos, and even a clematis.  I’m not heartbroken over the clematis as it’s a sweet autumn clematis that grows like a weed – it will come back.  But I do want…

One of the first things to greet anyone at our house is the mailbox garden. It’s the first thing that people see as they drive by or visit. It’s also about the only thing you can see of our gardens from a distance since our house sits down below the street level in a cul-de-sac that most people probably don’t…

Since Labor Day is the unofficial/official end of summer I guess that means it’s time to start thinking about fall! And what else do you think about with fall?  FALL COLOR!  Which means it’s time for The Home Garden’s annual Fall Color Project! Since 2008 The Fall Color Project has been bringing fall color from Canada, The United States, Germany…

Frost on the lawn This weekend brought forth a significant event, the first mowing of 2012.  It’s a momentous event that means the active growing season is moving ever closer!  I know many of you probably don’t enjoy mowing the lawn like I do.  It’s probably a little crazy, I’ll admit it, but when I’m out there mowing I get…

This is the first year in our garden that I’m trying corn. Last year we didn’t have the space but since we expanded the garden this year with my newest layout I have an 8’x10′ area for corn. I’m planting it in succession.  The first part is planting a small square of corn. Squares are efficient for corn because corn…

Today is the 15th of the month which means that it is also Garden Bloggers Bloom Day hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  Stop by to see a bounty of blooms from across the blogosphere.  Today here are a few things that are blooming in my Tennessee Garden. The irises are taking the stage. ‘Loop the Loop’ Unkown variety…

Each month on the last Wednesday Gail at Clay and Limestone hosts Wildflower Wednesday where bloggers can display and share their wildflower photos.  Here’s a little bit of the wildness that is my garden! Is there a wildflower more associated with fall than goldenrod? Scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea) is a self sowing annual here in my garden. Its beautiful scarlet…

As gardeners we deal with all kinds of issue that can make gardening frustrating and difficult.  One of those issues is pests.  Pests come in many forms from thousands of kinds of insects to birds and animals.  No method of pest control is 100% effective all the time so gardeners need be creative problem solvers in the garden.  The best…

Isn’t it great to have a few easy to propagate plants that you can grow to increase your garden? The plants in the video below are all easy to grow from cuttings. salvia catmint creeping phlox monarda lemon balm General Propagation Procedures for These Plants (and Many others) Before you Start Taking Cuttings As with all cuttings clean your pruners…

I’ve propagated many plants over the years and one of my favorite plants to propagate is Russian sage. Yesterday I was able to transplant several Russian sage cuttings (Perovskia atriplicifolia*) into pots to grow for a little while until I can plant them in the garden. In this post I’ll describe how I propagate Russian sage from cuttings. *Plant taxonomists…