Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

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…

Without this world of blogging there are so many places I would never have seen or even known about. Thanks to VP at Veg Plotting I’ve just learned of one more place that if I’m ever in England I would have to visit. Go read about VP’s trip to the Westonbirt Arboretum and view some of the photos she took. …

You may not now this but there is a divine influence on the gardening world.  It is said that: When a gardener properly takes care of his lawn, allowing it to grow high, only cutting a third at a time, and takes care not to poison the earth with unnecessary fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that a sign will be given…

Fall is creeping closer and closer each day which brings to mind cool evening breezes, pumpkins, festivals, the Fall Color Project (more on that later), and of course the fall vegetable growing season.  Most gardeners seem to garden almost exclusively in the spring or summer and don’t even consider the fall.  It’s probably since starting plants this time of year…

I’m always excited to learn how to propagate something new. Recently I’ve managed to get a few cuttings of a dwarf chamaecyparis to successfully root. I started the cuttings back in the fall and kept them overwintered in the garden shed. I didn’t have any bottom heat even though I’m sure that would have sped the rooting process up significantly….

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…

Our youngest sprout!

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 the projects I’ve been cultivating this year is my self-sowing garden. Part of the motivation for this garden is due to its location. Nearby is a gas utility line and I didn’t want to plant anything here that I would feel bad about removing should the need arise, but I still wanted plants that looked great. Nearly every…

Fruiting Plum trees rooted through hardwood cuttings. Winter is officially here! If you’re reading this post you are probably thinking what I can do in the garden in winter? Well if you’re a fan of plant propagation you should try some winter plant propagation! What plants you can propagate and at what time of the year largely depends on the…

One of the most despised “weeds” in the lawn is the dandelion.  All sorts of chemical companies offer ways to get rid of them and get your “perfect” lawn.  It’s too bad that we seek to eliminate this little flower because they have so many healthy benefits!  What is a Dandelion good for?  I’m glad you asked! The Benefits of…

This bell may not make a sound but it sure strikes a chord with the chickadees and titmice.  We received the seed bell as a stocking stuffer for Christmas.  The birds must have loved it.  After two and a half days the seed bell is all gone!  At least I managed to get some nice shots of the chickadees. Unfortunately…

Elizabeth over at Gardenrant, a well known writer and garden blogger, has posted some picturesque fall photos for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project. What could epitomize fall more than cobblestone buildings and walls mixed with glorious maples in the rustic farmlands of Route 104 in New York. Farming implements and woodpiles appear in peaceful fall scenes. Just what we…

Today was another good work day in the vegetable garden. I managed to get all the mulch laid on the pathways and even added a few stepping stones in one section. I’ll add a few more every now and then and eventually I’ll have them around the whole garden. As I was working around the garden putting the mulch down…

Here is the second of the two hand drawn sketches of my winter garden layout. The first one was symmetrical. This layout uses mostly the same plants just puts them in different places. One addition to this plan is a miscanthus that I originally planted in the Japanese Maple garden. It was only placed there temporarily until a better spot…

By now you may have received your first seed catalog(s) in the mail. It’s a fun time of the year for gardeners. We get to sift through the pages, read the descriptions designed to entice us, and dream of what we will plant next year. When the weather is cold and dreary the catalogs give us something bright and hopeful…

If you happen to be wondering what my project is for the 48 Hour Blog Challenge I have a few hints for you.  I’ve included three pictures of a few materials we plan to utilize.  If you want to see what the project is you’ll have to check the BHG.com 48 Hour Blog Challenge Website on Friday! Now for the…

This morning I while out in the garden I found a couple cucumbers ready to be picked,and mutant squash! Apparently we had a Siamese squash growing on the vine. Each side of this vegetable anomaly appears like it could have been it’s own fruit.They are almost exactly the same length and size but completely connected on one side.Here is the…