Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

This plant of the week resembling a swooping bird is known as Trillium grandiflorum! Trillium is a member of a group of plants called the ephemerals. And no, it is not some sort of new rock band, but a group of flowers that appear in late winter and go through a two month cycle. They flower, seed, and die back…

Hardwood cuttings are cuttings that are taken from trees and shrubs that are fully mature, dormant stems. These cuttings are normally taken during the late fall or over winter several weeks before spring growth will begin. Hardwood cuttings differ from softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings. While those are taken from soft, flexible new growth in spring and summer, hardwood cuttings are…

This week has been an interesting one! I’m amazed and astounded by the sheer number of comments generated for the compost bin giveaway from Clean Air Gardening. At the cut-off time for the drawing there were 120 valid entries (Nancy’s, of Leaping Greenly, doesn’t count since she’s Canadian but I always appreciate her comments!). Here’s how the drawing worked: I…

Eastern Redbud Cercis canadensis Unfortunately these pictures were taken in the fading light after rains had nearly washed us away the other evening, but you can see the craggy weather-worn structure of our old redbud in the back. Redbud trees are very common here in Tennessee and to me they are the ultimate symbol of spring’s arrival. Their blossoms range…

The gardening adventure is full of ups and downs. Of excitement and disappointments, of frustration and elation. It wouldn’t be exciting any other way I suppose but those low periods sure can be low. Take for instance the deer infultration this week. The vegetable garden is my main concern – I want to eat food from this garden – it…

Over the next several days I’ll be doing some minor changes to the site (emphasis on minor!) to help get better organized. I’ll just be making some posts that will house links to related posts to make things easier to find information. When I starting this blog I didn’t give a whole lot of thought on how to do things,…

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…

This is the first video update from the garden shed. Hopefully I’ll be able to add more videos to The Home Garden over time include how-to’s and mini-garden tours! I hope you enjoy the look inside my messy construction and plant filled shed. Please be forgiving, as always it is a work in progress! http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZgrlCzP0-oQ

For those of us who garden in the summertime almost exclusively for the purpose of tasting that juicy red perfect tomato from the vegetable garden there’s a pretty good resource for you. It’s an Ebook called How to Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes written by Lucia Grimmer and Annette Welsford. Together the two tomato aficionados have assembled a handy resource for…

Yesterday MeemsNYC asked me in the comment section of my What Would Thanksgiving Be Without the Nuts? Plant them of course! I gathered up a small box of acorns and brought them home with me from my in-law’s house. You’re probably wondering why would he gather up a bunch of acorns to plant when they self sow readily on their…

Rosemary is a wonderful plant for gardening. I love it as a ornamental shrub as well as an edible herb. The problem is it CAN be finicky. Sometimes the winter cold is too tough for rosemary and it sadly dies over the winter. Fortunately there are techniques you can use to make sure your rosemary comes back year after year….

Spring is hitting us early here in Tennessee and that means it’s time to get in the garden! We are still hitting cold temperatures at night but the daytime temperatures are regularly hitting the 60’s. Now is the time to start thinking of that spring vegetable garden. Preparing the Spring Garden For Planting When I think of prepping the spring…

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…

It’s time for my end of the year garden project review. In the remote case you don’t know what I mean I’ll explain. This is where I go back and see what I actually accomplished from among the lofty project goals I established on January 1, 2009. I’ll have a new set of projects for 2010 very soon but some…

May your Christmas be a time fill with friends, family, hope, and joy!

What plant or plants are you looking forward to planting this year? Do you have something new or is there something you planted last year that did really well and you want to try again?Our planting season last spring was almost entirely a bust due to our need to rehab our house. The carpets needed replaced, everything needed painted, and…

How would you like $100 to use in your garden? If you would then this might be your lucky day! Recently The Home Depot spotted me a little gift card to accomplish a little project in my yard and now they are offering one to you worth $100. I only have one card to give away so to decide who…

The other day I mentioned rosemary but another herb that I utilize often is mint. While mint is a great plant to have it also has a reputation. You see, once it gets established it grows fast – very fast. It can quickly overtake other plants that are near it. Some people wouldn’t plant it with a ten foot pole…