Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

One of my favorite flowers to enjoy each year is coreopsis! It has an unfortunate nickname that may make you wary, but just because coreopsis is also called tickseed does not mean it will bring ticks! More on that later, but for now here is why coreopsis should be a plant in your garden. Why Coreopsis Is Great in the…

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…

Coming soon to a lawn or garden near you … Henbit (Lamium amplexicauli)! The cover-all-lawns-with-purple-spring-color ground cover. If you’re tired of the green look – consider purple. It’s easy care with absolutely no maintenance and pollinator friendly! You don’t even have to plant it as henbit will find its own way to your lawn. It’s a weed but sure is…

I am a self-professed plant propagation nut and therefore I find plant propagation in all it’s forms very interesting. It was inevitable that I’d try my hand at hybridizing and what better place to start than daylilies? Daylilies have easy to find and manipulate reproductive parts (stamens and pistols). The stamen is the male part that contains the pollen and…

And here’s why I like the genus Prunus: Yoshino Cherry Blossoms (Prunus yedoensis): Purple Leaf Plum Blossoms (Prunus cerasifera):

When creating any kind of garden plan one of the most important considerations is the amount of light the garden receives. Vegetable gardens and ornamental gardens are both affected significantly by the amount of light in the garden. Light changes two major aspects to your garden design: first the amount of light in the garden changes the plant selections and…

It’s always fun to plant new plants in the garden! I’m sure you agree! Caryopteris has been one of my favorite perennials for a couple years now and I’ve gradually developed a hedge of caryopteris along one side of our yard. The hedge row was inspired by a picture I once saw of a caryopteris row at Longview Gardens. This…

Late this winter (or early this spring) I was contacted to try out some of John and Bob’s Organic Soil Amendments.  They have a variety of different formulations that contain humus, beneficial minerals, and microbes that help the soil do what it does best – feed the plants!  They sent me several things to test and I fully intended to…

Yesterday I put together a small vegetable layout plan for my raised bed garden. It’s just one of many possibilities for companion planting and it only deals with a small number of plants. This plan features tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and marigolds in a 4 foot by 8 foot bed. All of these plants are listed in various companion planting guides…

The redbuds are in bloom! Cercis canadensis is a beautiful native plant here in Tennessee and in other areas of the country. Redbuds are an understory tree that do best on the outskirts of forest areas or with partial shade locations. They don’t grow very tall, somewhere around 20-30 feet or so. Redbud flowers are very interesting because they appear…

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! These pictures were taken after a rare snowfall last December (2008). While we are celebrating the holiday I will be taking a break from blogging until the beginning of January. Of course I reserve the right to write whenever the mood strikes but don’t be surprised…

There’s no doubt about it but Bachelor’s buttons (also known as Cornflower, Centaurea cyanus) are beautiful flowers in the spring garden. They have amazing blue colored petals with a darker blue center. Bachelors buttons grow very easily from seeds and require no real care to proliferate – and that is where the problem is – they can spread like crazy!…

Today my little 2 year old daughter and I went out and planted daffodils. She did pretty good, dropping the bulb into the hole after I dug it out. Initially Grace kept trying to rearrange the bulbs all over the bed. Then she started taking the spade I was using to dig the holes. Eventually we got a process together…

Here are a few garden layouts, plans, and designs that I have put together for my garden. Some are landscape plans while others are diagrams of my vegetable garden. The herb garden layouts were never actually implemented in my garden as I went with the interplanting approach. Eventually I may incorporate a formal herb garden in our landscape. You are…

Recently I received an email asking me to review a video all about backyard food production systems. I was curious so I said sure. I grow a large vegetable garden in the backyard every year and if there were ideas inside this DVD that I could use and incorporate into my garden it might be worthwhile for others who read…

My gardens haven’t seen any rain for several weeks now.  The grass is brown and I even commented to my daughter that it sounds like crunchy snow.  Of course the reality couldn’t be further from the truth – it’s hot!  No snowball could survive in our back yard today with temperatures expected to rise into the triple digits.  Droughts do…

It seems like I’ve blinked and it’s gone from May to September!  This summer has been a complete blur to me, but that’s how life is sometimes. Needless to say there are many garden chores that are coming up that will need done this month.  Here’s my September garden chore list! Finish pruning trees and shrubs. Here in Tennessee we…

When you garden cheap (or try to) you look for all those little tricks that will help save a few dollars. Plant propagation is one of my favorite tricks but here’s another money saving trick that pops up from time to time: multiple plants! Sometimes plant propagators stick more than one cutting in a pot to increase the odds that…