Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Today was the day of the Middle Tennessee Plant Swap at Henry Horton State Park. If you missed it I really can’t blame you. The weather was cold, wet, and pretty miserable. It reminded me of early December Christmas parades back when I was a band director, and I sure don’t miss standing around in that weather! My wife and…

Here’s an update from the vegetable garden! So far things are going pretty good. My tomato frost scare wasn’t as bad as I originally thought and since I have some spares to plant I should come out fine. I saw a scary 39 degrees on the forecast for Tuesday night but I’m prepared with coverings. I’m also starting a few…

During these gray overcast days of a winter almost past, seeing the first daffodils of spring bloom in our yard is like watching the sun sprout from the earth. Our garden is behind most at this point but that’s OK because it means that there will be more blooms overlapping each other than usual! When did your first daffodil bloom…

I’d like to thank all the participants of the Fall Color Project this year! We’ve been able to see lots of wonderful colors from across the country.  In a few days I’ll put together a wrap up post with all the participants listed but today I would like to take a moment to announce the winner of the solar water…

The moment I found out what that particularly green feathery weed in my yard was, it was war! RAGWEED! It was everywhere in our yard. The front, the back, the sides, underneath hollies in all the garden beds, and pretty much everywhere else you looked it was there. Like an alien entity overlooking our planet while planning its method of…

A few weeks ago I was asked to review a website of a commercial furniture manufacturer for garden furniture. I took a look around at The Oxford Garden website and from what I can tell they have some very nice furniture. The furniture has a classy yet casual look and whether you are looking for a nice bench to sit…

One of the great flowering summer trees of the south is the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). They typically grow well in zones 6-9 (Tennessee generally falls in the zone 6 area with a few areas in the 7). One of the growing traits of a crape myrtle that makes them good for propagating by cuttings is their ability to sucker….

Marigold ‘Yellow Splash’ It’s the second day of August which means it’s time to see how the GROW project seeds have fared since our July Update!  ‘Yellow Splash’ Marigolds As you can see in the picture to the right we’re starting to get a few flowers on the ‘Yellow Splash’ marigolds in the vegetable garden.  I started more seeds a…

Every year for the past 4 years Growing The Home Garden has hosted the Fall Color Project and now the leaves of the sassafras trees, the golden rod and cooler weather are telling me that its time to begin with the 5th year of The Fall Color Project!  It’s always exciting to see the fall color changes.  Each day brings…

I thought the deer were gone but I was wrong. After a house was built behind the woods that skirts the edge of our property I thought the deer had left but when I returned home last weekend from my trip I discovered that the deer made a return.While they could easily make it into my vegetable garden they haven’t…

Thanksgiving is coming up next week and soon those turkeys will be filling our homes with the savory scents of a delicious dinner to be enjoyed among friends and family (and perhaps a nap to follow).  A lot of preparation goes into preparing that perfect Thanksgiving dinner and this being a gardening blog we aren’t talking turkey here but rather –…

To say that I’m excited about the completion of our Arbor project is an understatement. In many ways it turned out better than I had hoped. From the plants we used to the materials and the design nearly everything went according to plan. Of course I spent a good deal of time before the project began planning this arbor. I…

In my last post on the garden shed page I mentioned that I would show you in two parts the plantings. Well…I’m afraid I may have to expand that to three, we’ll see! After taking some pictures today and on previous days I’m happily astounded by the neat stuff I’m seeing. Please don’t take that as bragging since most of…

When gift giving holidays are upon us (and happen during the growing season) I like to find gifts that can be planted in the ground and will give back the pleasure of the first gift many times over. I did that again this year with Valentine’s Day. My usual gift to my wife is the sweetly scented hyacinth.  The flowers…

This little chickadee was seen on my back deck going after some birdseed.  It’s always fun to watch the chickadees fly around. They seem fearless and will often just land a few feet way while I’m working in the garden. I didn’t participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count last weekend but I think next year I’ll jump in and…

Last week I attended the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show.  I’ve been very busy planting seeds and getting the garden ready and I haven’t had a lot of time to post lately so I thought I would share a few short posts with your from the show that had some clever design ideas that you may want to consider for…

While I haven’t written about it in quite some time we have a large hillside that so far we’ve left pretty natural. Over the last two years I’ve gradually cut into the slope in an attempt to cut down on the worst of all weeds, ragweed. Right now the slope has large pathways cut into the top that have natural…