Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

It’s no secret that this has been a challenging year for our family. My father’s health issues and fight with cancer completely drained our enthusiasm and many things have suffered.  That is one reason why this fall is so welcome.  Fall represents the closing of the growing season. Winter will come soon after and gardening chores and projects will become…

I’ve been curious lately about the scientific names of plants and their origins. How are they put together? What do they mean?What’s in a Name?One name I see frequently is sinenis. Camellia sinensis and Miscanthus sinensis are two plants that use sinensis in their name but there are many others. Camellia sinensis is the plant that makes tea. Green tea…

No matter where I go when I see seeds that are ripe I’m tempted to collect them. That was the case when walking around Knoxville last year and seeing some ripe magnolia seeds on some Sweetbay magnolia plants. Sweetbay magnolias have several names including: sweetbay magnolia, laurel magnolia, swamp magnolia, white bay magnolia, (simply) bay magnolia, or even beaver tree….

When the opportunity presents itself I take cuttings. Who am I kidding? I make the opportunity to take cuttings! When I successfully get a new plant to root it’s like finding gold. OK, not really, but it really does save a few dollars. Think about it for a second, if a perennial at the store costs $6 but instead you…

Here’s a list of this year’s gardening events that you don’t want to miss! Click on the links for more informationNashville Lawn and Garden Show – March 5-8, 2009Bloom ‘n’ Garden Expo – April 3-5, 2009Perennial Plant Society Plant Sale – April 4, 2009Middle Tennessee Hosta Society – Annual Hosta Sale – May 9, 2009Middle Tennessee Spring Plant Swap –…

One of the plants I was looking for at the plant swap this weekend was sedum. We have a small area between our driveway and our sidewalk that I want to convert into a sedum bed. We already had three varieties of sedum (‘Blue Spruce’, ‘Autumn Joy’, and another unidentified sedum) and we wanted a few more to add to…

And now here comes my favorite part of the patio project so far. No project feels quite as complete as when you finally plant something. OK I suppose that only holds true for gardening projects but it really is the exciting part! Welcome to the Japanese Maple Garden! It’s a small raised bed made from the edging stones that I…

Fall colors are certainly on their way. Here in Tennessee the trees are beginning the process but many people are worried that the colors will not be what they could be without the rain. Whatever the case we will be happy with whatever colors we do have and will enjoy watching all the colors around the continent as the color…

A few weeks ago I planted our fall greens from seed in the vegetable garden.  I planted a mix of kale, chard, lettuce, spinach, pak choi, and Brussels sprouts.  The seedlings are all located in one of my long 10’x3′ beds made from scrap lumber. They were originally meant to be 10’x2′ like in this raised bed layout but I…

I’ve written about Tennessee’s state tree, the Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) before but I decided in order to show as many fall colors as possible I needed to split my pictures into several posts. Yes I really took that many pictures! That’s the danger of the digital world, I haven’t worried about wasting film in years. This particular tree stands…

I’ve been spending a lot of time dreaming about what is to come for our family, our new house, and the gardens. It’s easy to come up with ideas but always much more challenging to implement them. I’ve designed a potential house plan and I know how we would site it on the property. There is still a lot of…

Recently I was sent three products to take a look at that could be used in the garden world fro various functions. Fortepromo.com specializes in customizing various products for companies and groups to make unique individual promotional products. The three items they sent me to look at were a tape measure, a water bottle, and a garden bag that is…

Could there a be a plant more touchable than Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina zones 4-10)? The soft fuzzy texture of its pale silvery tinted foliage just invites passing people to pet its leaves. It grows fast, likes full sun, and can easily take over a garden bed so be prepared if you plant it to make many divisions to give…

Have you been wondering for months what ever became of Dave’s Japanese maple seedlings? I bet you have…er well maybe not but I’ll show you even if you weren’t wondering all winter about my Japanese maple seedlings!  In case you are wondering how to grow Japanese maples from seed the big secret is stratification. Stratification is where you expose a…

Here are some pictures that we have taken of 2008!Here is a snowfall on a very cold evening. I like how the white snowflakes are captured, frozen in time, by the reflected light of the flash. A visitor to our new bird feeder! This white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinesis) is cracking open the shell of a sunflower seed for his feast….

What do you do when cute little furry bunnies that eat your strawberries? Good question! I’m not sure I have the best answer and maybe you have some suggestions for this issue but over the weekend I found a solution that so far seems to have worked.  First let me share with you how I found bunnies in my garden….

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia or Salvia yangii), is an absolutely awesome perennial plant that I have always enjoyed in my garden. With its silvery-green foliage and tall spires of lavender-blue flowers, Russian Sage has a knack for standing out among the perennials. It has serrated feathery leaves and aromatic scent that make it a popular choice for those looking to…