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My Dad
Have I ever told you much about my dad? Probably not. I normally keep this blog close to the garden subject area. Sometimes I stray and talk about my kids, but there is usually a gardening slant. I suppose today will be no different because my dad has always been supportive of my gardening projects. He’s been there for most…
The Vegetable Garden in January
What can I say really? It’s January and my vegetable garden is awfully sad. The winter air has been colder than Tennessee cold should be. If I were by myself I might be brave enough to get outdoors but bringing my almost 7 month old son outdoors during the day really isn’t an option. He’ll get his fill of gardening…
The Greenhouse Project: I Need Braces
We managed to accomplish a little more on the greenhouse project this week. We ran into a small roadblock when we botched putting together the roofline and had to take the rafters down to reattach them to the center beam. I was trying to do things in a simple and easy way which turned out to be complicated and difficult,…
Salvia nemorosa, What a Sport!
It’s no secret I like salvia in the garden. It’s easy to grow and hardy here in Tennessee. Most importantly it never fails to produce great blooms. The foliage is nice but nothing spectacular, however today I saw something very interesting. It happens every now and then on various plants and is responsible for the creation of many variegated varieties,…
A Monarch Butterfly Visit
Yesterday we had the good fortune to witness a Monarch butterfly stopping by our ‘Clara Curtis’ mum for a fill-up. Monarchs are on their way south now to find their winter homes and have to stop for nourishment along the way. We usually see them a couple times a year passing through looking for places to lay their eggs or…
Adding Evergreens to the Garden
Yesterday in the garden I finally got around to adding more evergreen plants. When the deciduous trees drop their leaves every fall the garden is left bare with very few spots of color. The blank slate of yard we inherited over four years ago has grown and matured every year but there has always been the notable lack of evergreen…
Oak Leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
I’ve been a fan of oak leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) for a long time. The large oak shaped leaves and white flowering panicles are two of its best traits but in the fall its color changes are very nice too. The leaves change through a range of colors from the year round greens to the autumn golds and reds. Our…
The Arbor Plan
We made our official announcement this morning about building an arbor for the 48-hour Blog Challenge. An arbor has been in my mind to start the side corridor pathway to our backyard. Now we could go out and purchase the arbor and stick it up fairly easily but that wasn’t in our plan. We had to go and make the project more…
Growing Heirloom Hot Peppers
I love heirloom plants and hot peppers are no exception. The fact that the genetic makeup of a vegetable or fruit can be traced back in time many years makes the special. In some cases they have a historical context, but the main reason I like them is that heirloom peppers (and other plants) usually have a better flavor than…
Using a Wheelbarrow Planter for Displaying Fall Mums
Is there a flower more typical of fall than mums? Probably not! There are definitely some flowers worthy of autumnal appreciation but the mum is the most common one you’ll find this time of year. I put together a little project for Lowe’s Creative Ideas that uses mums and reuses my dad’s old wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow planter project was easy…
Making Plant Benches from Scrap Lumber
You can’t have a greenhouse garden shed without having a place to put the plants can you? I’ve finally gotten far enough along that I can assemble a long plant bench. Since I’ve collected scrap lumber from a variety of projects and people I decided to use that for this first plant bench. As money allows I may upgrade or…
Making A Dry Creek Bed Drainage Canal for Downspouts
What should we do with this sedum garden? That’s a question we asked ourselves several times. It was at one time a sedum garden but for some reason most of the sedum died over last summer. They may have been too wet, too dry, or both! The gutter from the garage roof gushes out water from at least 50% of…
Joining the Growing Challenge
Melinda over at Elements in Time has issued a challenge to bloggers to grow one more thing than they did last year and talk about it each week! I’d probably talk about it anyway but this seemed like a good idea to see what others are doing in their gardens. Go over and check out what it’s all about!
Symbols of Fall in the Garden
All the telltale signs of fall are upon us. The leaves are beginning their changes and one of the first to highlight the season is the sassafras. It’s a beautiful fast growing native tree here in Tennessee and as you can see sets up the wild areas of our yard with some fiery color. But leaves aren’t the only signs…
Russian Sage in the Garden
What a difference three years makes in the life of a plant. Welcome to my front sidewalk garden at the beginning of July. You will notice right off the bat several flowering perennials on the left side of the sidewalk that could use a little pruning. The Russian sages (Perovskia atriplicifolia) are towering over the walkway. In retrospect this probably…
Incorporating Herbs in the Garden
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…
I’ve Got Sunshine On a Cloudy Day
Rather than continue with lyrics that will end up stuck in your head for the rest of the day, let me tell you why I say “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.” The weather has turned back toward winter which brings with it clouds and cold, but the unseasonable warmth of the last month has led to earlier show…
A Little Green Roof
Now wouldn’t this be cool to have in the yard? No not the gnomes, the green roof! I took this picture last year at the Bloom’N Garden Expo in Williamson County last year. It’s a great example of nature and man working together to make something good for both. Green roofs are catching on all over because they help to…



