Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Newly formed Oak Leaf Hydrangea leaves stretch skyward as if they were hands imploring the coming cold temperatures to be gentle.

The first daffodil blooms of 2012 are now on display in my garden!  Every year I like to track the first daffodil of the season.  It amazing how much each year can differ.  The warmer the weather the earlier the flowers appear.  We’re almost a month earlier than last year’s daffodil blooms! Here’s a look back at the dates and…

I’d like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! And please, for the sake of this fellow and his friends here, take it easy on the turkey! I usually fill up on the sides anyway!

Magic is something I’ve been fascinated with since I was a kid. Not card tricks, rabbits out of hats, and other birthday party magic.  It’s the stories from fairy tales and King Arthur to the myths and legends of various cultures have always caught my attention. I’ll admit it, I’m a science fiction and fantasy junkie. I suppose I’m drawn…

One of my favorite tools that I use in my garden is the scuffle hoe. That’s what I call it at least but it goes by other names like the stirrup hoe or hula hoe and even action hoe. The scuffle hoe is something you absolutely will love having and using in the garden. I use it almost daily and…

I’m in a bit of a pickle. Sorry if you thought I was handing out pickles with my post title. In this case the pickle refers to a dilemma or situation. It’s not a bad situation by any means. Something I suspected since we moved into our house was confirmed to me yesterday.While outside doing some winter sowing I thought…

I’ve mentioned several times about the value of companion planting so today for the Friday Fives I thought I’d go a little more into detail with some specific plants.  Companion planting is an integrated planting technique where the plants benefit each other through pest repulsion or through other beneficial qualities.  5 Companion Plants and How They Help Companion planting is…

It’s time to take a trip up to Washington and visit Tatyana.  She went on a visit to one of her favorite nurseries that has a heavy emphasis on Japanese maples!  Japanese maples can be one of the spectacular trees for fall color.  While throughout the year Japanese maple colors can range from variegated white and green to deep reds the fall…

I always enjoying seeing spider webs in the garden. It means there is some natural pest control happening! Anything interesting come out of your garden lately?

Maybe you can help us figure something out. Jaime sent me this picture of a plant growing where she wanted to plant zinnias. If the plant growing there is something good then she’d like to see it grow to flower but if it’s a weed well, you know what she’ll do to that weed! I’ve checked out several weed pictures…

It’s getting close now. Can you feel it? Seed starting time! In preparation for my seed starting activities of 2020 I thought it would be fun to tell you about my favorite tomato and pepper varieties for Growing The Home Garden. In this video I go through some of my tried and try peppers and tomato varieties. They may not…

This past weekend the weather was perfect for what else? Gardening! I spent most of my time outdoors getting the garden ready for the growing season. There’s always a lot to do in the spring to prepare the garden for a great year. The most frustrating thing about this weekend was my riding mower battery. When I went to start…

Recently I was asked some questions about gardening with children and while there are certainly quite a few tips I could mention about the subject there is one idea that stands out above all others in my mind. Do what the kids love!  Every kid is different and each one has as many different ideas as to what makes a…

A little more guessing fun on this first day of winter! Do you know this evergreen tree with the black berries? I’ll give you a hint – I’ve written about it before! No links – that would be too easy! No rhymes either – that would be too cheesy! Oops… Yesterday’s post “What Seeds are We?” were the  seeds of the…

Since fall is approaching at breakneck speed it’s worth taking time to mention one of the most important aspects of fall – the leaves!  Or more specifically what to do with them! First here’s what not to do with your fall leaves: Don’t burn them – the most wasteful thing you can do.  Don’t bag them and put them by the…

Schip laurels (pronounced Skip) are a very easy evergreen that you can propagate at home. I mentioned propagating cherry laurels a couple years ago but since it’s a good time of the year to take cuttings I thought I would revisit it. It will take a couple years before a cutting turns into a plant large enough for a foundation…

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…

Here is a list of 10 plants that are very easy to propagate for your garden that I have found to be extremely easy to root. There are many plants that could be on this list but I decided to stick with some that I have done and know for a fact that their root development is very reliable. I’ve…