Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Imagine my surprise when I looked out of the back door and saw an accipter yesterday! That’s a member of the Acciptridae family which are birds of prey like hawks. Don’t worry I didn’t know that either until now. I looked into what kind of hawk-falcon this bird was and finally settled on a Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) after comparing…

If you’re looking for a versatile, wildlife-friendly shrub with four-season appeal, Viburnum nudum absolutely deserves a spot in your garden. Commonly called possumhaw viburnum, raisin tree, or witherod viburnum, this native plant brings glossy green leaves, colorful fall foliage, and clusters of berries that both birds and pollinators love. Best of all, viburnums are great a native replacement for many…

Maybe you’ve seen the picture that is floating around the internet.  In the picture there are two peppers. One has three lobes and the other four with captions that claim one is female and the other is male.  It also claims that the male produces fewer seeds than the female.  This completely incorrect information. In other word the pepper gender…

The other day I wrote a post about protecting your plants from a freeze. I followed what I preached and came through with no frost damage on my covered plants. I think Tennessee is now officially in the clear! I came away with these interesting shots. A new kind of pot garden?

There really is more in my garden than tomatoes, really! I know, the one vegetable I talk about the most is the tomato but I do try to diversify my garden. I dabble with the herbs, I really dig ornamentals, but you might also say I like a mean melon. Unfortunately this year my melons haven’t been as perfect as…

You might think that peppers are one of those seed only grown plants.  For many gardeners they are, but what if you want an exact copy of a favorite pepper plant?  With peppers we typically sow the seeds in late winter and grow the seedlings on to plant out in the spring. Through cuttings we have another way to grow…

I’ve mentioned that with my newly redesigned garden layout that I would like to put a fence around it. Partly to keep the rabbits and groundhogs out but also to add an air of formality around the garden. I have two ideas in mind that I’d like to gather some opinions about. In the drawing below I have a standard…

While I didn’t intend to talk about weeds today I was out weeding the vegetable garden last night and had some thoughts on the weeds that I thought I would share. Worst Weed Wednesday was last week but with weeds there is always more to say so here are 5 things weeds do! Weeds: Crowd out plants Propagate like crazy…

I really like plants that decide to take the work away from the gardener and sow their own seeds! Of course even the best plant that self sows could technically become a weed if planted in the wrong place, but since most are easily moved I really don’t mind.  Today’s Seed Sowing Saturday post is all about the self sowing…

I just posted another greenhouse update that includes pictures of the new trim that is enclosing the eaves and along roof line. It’s progressing nicely and the roof is all enclosed! Post: Greenhouse Roof Finally Enclosed

If you are looking for daylilies in Middle TN then you need to check out the new farm my friend Nicole has started! Bluebird Springs Farm has a wonderful array of daylilies and other perennials just outside of Shelbyville, TN. Nicole and her husband have been working on the farm for only a couple years now and even built the…

This time of year the only thing us gardeners think about is the garden!  Because “the garden” is such a broad subject in itself we are really thinking of all kinds of things like timing, soil, seeds, cuttings, and list could go on!  One of the main tasks I need to accomplish is preparing my vegetable garden.  Preparing the vegetable…

It’s that time of year when the fall blooming plants begin to start their show including Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora). This non-native clematis grows prolifically through the summer and gladly will climb and overtake any structure it meets then will bloom in the fall. I picked up two of these on the discount racks and even though I know…

The weather this past weekend was perfect.  No rain, lots of sun and warm temperatures have given all the plants the kick they need to break their dormancy.  Hopefully they will remain safe from any heavy frosts.  I’m looking forward to seeing the blooms on this Sargent Crab Apple (Malus sargentii).  It was a just sapling a few years ago…

This week I put together a container planting as a present for my mother on Mother’s Day. I couldn’t talk about it here as a post until after today since she checks my site regularly. This was my first real attempt at arranging a decorative container. I’ve gardened in pots for a long time but it was usually vegetables with…

Once you have your seedlings growing strong and you’ve properly hardened them off (more on that next week) it is time to plant your seedlings in the garden.  But where should you plant them?  It may seem like a given that you’ll just go out and stick them in a hole and watch them grow, but it’s not always that…

There are few structures in the garden more prominent than a gate. A good garden gate can invite a person into the garden, protect the garden from intruders, and becomes a feature to draw the eye. This weekend I put together a gate for my vegetable garden fence (which is still under construction). I managed to complete the majority of…

Daylilies are one of those plants every garden should have. Unfortunately I’ve been lax in adding daylilies to the garden over the years. I’m not sure why really. It might be the fact that daylilies in the garden centers aren’t all that thrilling and that is where I do most of my shopping. I’ve perused catalogs for various online nurseries…