Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Finally the major air gap that lurked just beneath the roof line has been enclosed and trimmed up. It’s not air tight yet and needs sealing but the major 3.5 inch x 16 foot gaps are no longer open on the sides of the greenhouse. I’m not ready to open the champagne yet but I feel like a major weight…

Today I spent some time outdoors getting a raised bed put together for our back slope. It gives the slope a somewhat terraced visual effect but the wooden bed isn’t needed to hold the slope in place. It’s done fine on its own for several years! Here’s the view from one side with the garden shed to the left. The…

The cold temps are keeping you indoors and you are going stir crazy.  You need to do something in the garden, with the garden, or for the garden and the seed catalogs showing up in your mailbox just aren’t good enough to get your gardening fix.  Then do this – plant an indoor garden!  Recently I put together a small…

Over Thanksgiving we spent some time in Mt. Juliet at my in-laws home. I always enjoy traipsing around the woods near their house just to explore. I did that often as a kid at my grandfather’s house and I’ve always been fond of spending time in the great outdoors. Often I come home with rocks for my garden borders but…

When starting a new garden there are a million things you may be thinking about. While they may be important, or at least important to you, there are 3 key elements that are absolutely the most important things to consider when starting a new garden. I’m beginning the challenge to starting a brand new vegetable garden from scratch and these…

I went out yesterday morning with the camera and took some photos of the shade garden. Rather than stand back and shoot the whole scene I chose to take a few close up photos of the leaves. To me one of the most interesting parts of a plant is the foliage. Many plants have a limited time only policy on…

If you haven’t been to Blithewold lately you are missing out on a bunch of beautiful fall foliage! Kris just recently put a post up with all sorts of foliage perfection but it’s the Katsura photo that has me trying to figure out where to put one in our yard! Full moon Japanese maples, sourwood, and even large leaved hostas…

Sometimes we trap ourselves into thinking one notion and stereotype things accordingly. We tend to think of fall color as a time of changing leaves, which it is, but often we leave out the perennials and shrubbery that provide us with color throughout the fall. Asters, fall crocus, and eupatorium seed heads grant us readers a different perspective from the…

Today I went out and took a few quick photos of the birdbath garden. It’s come along way from it’s beginning three and a half years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday, all young and small, with barely a plant in the garden. It’s amazing how quickly they grow up! Here’s a look at the birdbath garden now….

It’s been a good while since I had a couple hours to “maintain” the vegetable garden. Ideally I would take 20 minutes each day to weed, search the garden for problems, weed, prune, weed, and tie up tomatoes. Yes you may have noticed quite a few weeds, let’s just say so did I! Today I did a little bit of…

Yet another use for my pickup load of stone the other day is a bench for the little people. No I’m not talking fairies, elves, or garden gnomes but my two girls.  Of course anyone else who might happen upon the bench and need to take a load off their feet is welcome to do so.  I was lucky to…

Most people got it right! The correct answer was the hemlock. The Canadian Hemlock or Tsuga canadesis is a great plant to use as an evergreen screen or a specimen tree. It has the potential to grow between 40-70 feet tall and could spread up between 25-35 feet in diameter. Its foliage is soft and feathery unlike many other evergreen…

Though it is listed in the invasive plants list for Tennessee the very quality that makes Miscanthis sinensis so invasive makes it fun to have in the garden, the seeds!  Ornamental grasses of all kinds add great fall color interest with their seed heads or tassels that wave in the wind. This particular variety is ‘Zebrinus’ or Zebra grass. If…

While the calendar says it is spring there are some other indicators of the season. I’ll name a few and you are welcome to add or comment on what you think some other signs of spring are!You know it’s spring when…the smell of grass clippings from a recent mowing wafts through your yard on the wind.the smell of onions wafts…

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and your family have a fantastic Thanksgiving filled with fun, family, and of course food!

The first major task I tackled this week with our patio project was this step landing. It was a problem that had to be fixed. When we had our home inspected before we purchased it the inspector noticed that the deck needed one more step to fit codes. That wasn’t the only problem here, the stairs led right out to…

This plant of the week resembling a swooping bird is known as Trillium grandiflorum! Trillium is a member of a group of plants called the ephemerals. And no, it is not some sort of new rock band, but a group of flowers that appear in late winter and go through a two month cycle. They flower, seed, and die back…

I’ve written several times before about raised beds.  I’m a fan, a huge fan of raised beds. With a raised bed you can control the soil, control the moisture, and garden virtually anywhere.  It makes sense that raised beds are a great option for every homeowner (here’s why: 8 Benefits to Gardening in Raised Beds).  The question though that new…