Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Sometimes I plan really well and gardens come together perfectly, sometimes I don’t, — and sometimes I get lucky! Luck is the case with the combination of Achillea and Asiatic Lily that I’m about to show you. Maybe I was thinking that because both plants started with the letter ‘A’ that they would go well together…I don’t think so. It…

It’s planting time in many areas of the country and many gardeners are just starting their first gardens.  Figuring out just what to do in the garden can get a little overwhelming for beginning gardeners so here are 5 essential garden chores that gardeners can do to maximize their success! 11 Things to Consider When Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable…

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…

I often heard stories from people about their gardening experience when they were children.  Usually the story has something to do with the person being forced to pull mountains of weeds. The quickest way for kids to lose their interest in gardening is to force them to do laborious and monotonous tasks, like weeding. When asked which garden task we…

We’ve all done it before, put something off to do later. We justify it as we don’t have time or come up with other reasons that may cover our laziness. Sometimes it’s not laziness but life that interrupts things we want to get done. Really who could blame someone for not doing a gardening task in the middle of the…

Fall vegetable gardening can certainly be interesting in Tennessee!  You never quite know how the weather is going to shape up.  Is it going to frost early?  Late?  Will the temperatures be normal or extra warm like we’ll be having this week?  You just never know.  For gardening weather this October we’ve had a couple light frosts but nothing damaging…

I think it’s important for anyone interested in gardening to visit the local garden shows every now and then. Nashville’s Lawn and Garden Show was this past weekend and I stopped up to pay a visit. Overall it was a nice show but I have to say I wasn’t as impressed with it as I was last year. The display…

The plant of the week this past week was correctly guessed by several people. It is a honeysuckle vine. This particular one is sprawling up the lamp post outside my parent’s home. I suspect that it is a trumpet honeysuckle or coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). It was there before they purchased the house so I can’t be 100% sure of…

The fall season is a busy one.  We’re all busy cleaning up the outside areas of our homes and gardens to prepare for colder days ahead.  The list of things to do this fall isn’t a short one but if you can fit a few more items to your list you will save yourself some time in the spring!  Let’s…

This afternoon I went outdoors in the beautiful 60 degree weather and harvested our potato crop.  Truth be told its a rather small harvest of potatoes but considering that I didn’t intentionally plant them I am quite pleased!  When you leave behind a few potatoes from the spring/early summer harvest they grow into a nice fall crop.  Growing potatoes is…

Pyracantha with root Here are some rooted cuttings of Pyracantha augustifolia also known as Firethorn. This is a very good plant to use in the landscape for privacy hedges and for attracting wildlife. Birds and insects both love this plant. Insects for its white flowers in late spring and the birds for the bright orange berries in fall and winter….

Due to mowing last evening a more detailed post about plant propagation was not possible – coming soon though! For now enjoy the poppy! For more poppy pictures look here: Performance of the Poppies! And check out Nell Jean’s Poppy post at Secrets of a seed Scatterer!

We are told all the time about what you can do to be “greener.” Things ranging from changing the light bulbs in your home to setting the heat back a few degrees are common tips we hear but what about in the garden?  There are several things we can do to enhance our environmental “greenness” in the garden and here’s…

The vegetable garden is finally taking off! Even though it feels like things have been moving slowly, we’re already seeing exciting progress — tomato plants are starting to flower, and our pepper plants are showing off their first baby peppers. This year, I planted around 36–38 tomato plants of various types and a generous amount of both sweet and hot…

Here are some pictures of what is blooming for today’s Wildflower Wednesday post which is hosted by Gail at Clay and Limestone. This June has been unusual in that the temperature has been 10+ degrees warmer than it should be. In fact the weather report this morning said that we have had 16 days in the 90’s which is much…

It may not be obvious, or maybe it is, but I think in 2013 vegetable gardening will be more important than ever.  There are a myriad of reasons why I believe this and you can pretty much observe it everywhere you go, some sign that points to the importance of gardening.  Let’s examine a few of signs of the growing…

A springtime flowering favorite of mine is the Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis).  I’ve written about these trees several times in the past and I know I’ll write about it again as it is such a valuable tree in the landscape for it’s ornamental beauty. I’ve never been able to root this tree…until now!  A couple months ago I…

Spring will be here very soon.  The calendar gives us a date but that seems arbitrary.  Spring is more of a feeling.  The weather is warmer and plants are actively growing again.  This coming weekend will be much warmer than it has been and should trigger a lot of action in the garden.  Today I went out and checked around…