Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

I’ve been lax on the lists lately. There are always things that need done and projects that need tackled and this weekend is no exception. Here’s a quick list of the fall chores and projects that I hope to start and maybe even complete this weekend! Attend the Spring Hill Country Ham Festival – This festival benefits the Tennessee Children’s…

The historic dryness finally gave way to some rain on Halloween. About 0.83 inches came down that day give us a good soaking. We still need more rain, and regular rain but it definitely helps. I’ve been concerned about the lack rain and the fall color potential but fortunately some trees have done really well despite the lack of rain….

Here’s a quick look at the front of the greenhouse. My idea is to have the front side or the view from the house appear to be a small cottage in the backyard. The windows on the front were originally from one sliding window that I separated into 2 approximately 20 inch wide windows.  I say approximately because one is…

Today I spent some time outdoors getting a raised bed put together for our back slope. It gives the slope a somewhat terraced visual effect but the wooden bed isn’t needed to hold the slope in place. It’s done fine on its own for several years! Here’s the view from one side with the garden shed to the left. The…

This is the first year in our garden that I’m trying corn. Last year we didn’t have the space but since we expanded the garden this year with my newest layout I have an 8’x10′ area for corn. I’m planting it in succession.  The first part is planting a small square of corn. Squares are efficient for corn because corn…

Lately around our house we’ve really been getting into the lettuce from the vegetable garden – in fact quite literally! This red Romaine lettuce called Rouge d’Hiver is a very tasty selection we made from Baker’s Creek. The red coloring is fading as the temperatures are beginning to warm. It won’t be long before this heirloom vegetable begins to bolt…

This winter I gathered some seed from a yucca (Yucca filamentosa) and saved it. I’m not sure exactly why other than I thought it might be interesting to see how they grow. I do that sometimes, where I just attempt something for the sake of attempting it (I once planted lemon seeds from a store bought lemon to see if…

It’s taken a few years before my premonitions came to fruition. It’s not that I wanted it to happen I just expected it.  It was inevitable and couldn’t be avoided.  The ‘Bradford’ Pear tree in my front yard split. No storm brought damaging high winds that would wreak havoc among many species of trees. There were no diseases making the…

Every year I notice these little green insects, aphids.  Well, sometimes they aren’t green, I’ve seen them in orange and yellow and they come in red, brown, and black too.  Whatever fashion sense these insects display one thing is for sure: you don’t really want aphids on your plants!  Aphids are a soft-bodied insect that love to suck on the…

Our current garden is still a work in progress, as every garden will ever be, but sometimes I like to think about what my next garden will be like.  We have no immediate plans to move but one day our growing family will need more room in the house (and with two girls probably more bathrooms!) When that day comes…

It’s been a while since I joined in with Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day so I thought I’d share you a little of what is blooming in the gardens around our home.  For our garden this year it’s the usual suspects who are in flowering.  Daffodils, crocuses, and winter jasmine are coming along strong while other early spring/late winter flowers are…

The signs of spring are showing themselves all over the garden. It’s not just in the flowers the bees and bugs are all coming out of their winter nesting places to sip on nectar and gain strength for another growing season. Here are a few pictures of the flowers I’ve seen over the week. The daffodils are coming up everywhere….

Fall is the perfect time to start preparing tree and shrub seeds that need a period of cold weather before they’ll sprout. When seed starting tree and shrub seeds I use two techniques that help to trigger better germination rates. The first technique is simply soaking the seeds. The second process is called stratification and mimics the natural cycle seeds…

One of the greatest places to find fall color is on the campuses of our country’s learning institutions. Each of these beacons of knowledge are aesthetically landscaped to entice new students to come and to give the students and faculty that attend a sense of nature to enhance their education. This idea is alive at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. At…

Gardeners in Tennessee should be wary of planting anything this weekend. I know the temptation to put things in the ground is great (it’s eating away at me too) but just look below at the temperatures for Sunday and Monday night. According to The Weather Channel it dips very close to freezing. A much better day to plant would be…

Ninebark (Physocarpus) is a beautiful garden shrub that grows up to around 10 ft tall in the right location. Many varieties of ninebark have been developed for gardeners including ‘Diabolo’™/’Diablo’™ and ‘Coppertina’™ and can be a great addition to add a nice copper color to your garden foliage. Ninebark can also be very easy to propagate more of from cuttings….

Fall web worms (tent caterpillars) appear this time of year but it doesn’t have to be a problem. You don’t need chemical sprays to remove them, just one simple thing – a stick! Use the stick to stab open the caterpillar web to break it open. Give it a twist like you are turning cotton candy at the fair. It’s…

I’m definitely ready for warmer days ahead. How about you? ‘Forest Pansy’ Redbud Cercis canadensis Here’s just a quick picture from our ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud (Cercis canadensis) taken back in May. The purple foliage reverts to a greenish foliage in the summertime. These are usually propagated by grafting the ‘Forest Pansy’ scion onto seed grown root stock. I haven’t ventured…