Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

I took this picture over the weekend while the afternoon sun was beginning to descend. It was taken from the very back of our yard looking up toward the treetops of sassafras, dogwood, tulip poplar, and walnut. The fall colors are beginning their peak time and I know I’ll be loading my camera card with many more pictures than I…

One of the many things to consider when starting your own nursery business is the workload.  You probably really enjoy gardening (or else you wouldn’t even consider a nursery business!) but do you realize how much work goes into producing a plant for sale?  We aren’t just talking about one plant either.  We’re talking about lots of plants to make…

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…

Disclaimer: The following post is a sponsored review of the Troy-Bilt TB490 XP ™ 4×4 Self-Propelled mower. All opinions are solely the opinion of the author who in exchange for goods and compensation was asked to do this review. In my last post I told you a little bit about my trip to Savannah, Georgia with the Troy-Bilt Brand Ambassadors….

A few weeks ago Mr. Brownthumb posted an interview with the inventor of Rootcups on Treehugger. Rootcups are an easy to use propagation device that the home gardener can use to help propagate some of their favorite plants.  I contacted Mr. Brownthumb because I was curious about the product and and then got in touch with Mike who sent me…

It’s been warm here in TN.  Very warm. So warm that everything thinks it is indeed spring – including this gardener!  Essentially it is spring.  The weather is identical to a typical March, warm days, heavy rain showers coming through.  We’ve even had thunderstorms – in January.  It’s been a strange month.  But just because it feels like spring, looks…

This time of year I’m always overwhelmed by the massive amount of work that needs done in the garden. This blog sometimes helps me to keep organized when I put together a list of those garden things to do. 5 Fall Garden Chores I Need to Do in My Garden Clean up the vegetable garden. It’s overgrown from too many…

Well the end of my rock posts has come…for now! Here’s a quick summary of what we did this week with rocks. Feel free to take a look back if you missed anything. If you rocked this week tell me about it! Sunday (August 16, 2009): I’m a Fan of Rocks Monday (August 17, 2009): And the Rock is… Tuesday…

This plant is probably easily identifiable. In fact it’s a good bet that if you live in the south you have it in your yard, your neighbors yard, your school, your bank and pretty much everywhere you could think to put it! I saw rows of this at the home improvement store today which prompted me to make this post….

Marigolds are beautiful annual flowers that are great to plant in the garden for a number of reasons. They attract pollinators and beneficial insects while at the same time providing benefits for companion planting. Marigolds are extremely easy to grow and you can save the seed from them each year to start again year after year. Here’s more about growing…

I wanted to say thank you to Barbara Wise for an excellent container gardening presentation this past weekend at the Spring Hill Garden Club Meeting! The slides and photos of the work you do were fantastic and the garden club appreciated seeing the ideas created by a expert in the field of container gardening. It was definitely a perfect start…

When you plant a tree there are many things to consider about its location. The amount of sun it needs, the soil qualities and the size of the plant are some things that need to be considered. When you think about the size of the plant you need to think in three dimensions: the height of the tree, the diameter…

In our yard exist many corners that have not yet been cultivated. Most of these spots may never receive more than a cursory attempt at management. While I was mowing today I drove through one such area that completely caught me off guard. Along our back property line is an old fence that I’m sure was there before our subdivision…

The weather has turn hot and humid, of course this is normal for summers in Tennessee.  We are blessed with a very long growing season but our summers can be extremely warm.  Last year on a record setting June day we reached over 110 degrees.  Which also happened to be the day our air conditioner decided to quit!  We spent…

You can never have enough arbors can you?  Arbors are a design element for a garden that add vertical structure and can provide definition to garden areas.  Today I put together a very simple gateway arbor as an entrance to the shade garden I’ve built for Lowe’s Creative Ideas.  The last I built used gutters to create planters but this…

It’s been a little while since my last greenhouse shed update but things are coming along. It’s been difficult to deal with the cold temperatures and find suitable days to work but that’s the challenge of working on an outdoor project in the winter. Lately we’ve been focusing on applying siding to the solid areas of the building. I picked…

It was a pretty good weekend for me. You might even say it rocked! Of course that’s partly a play one words, can you guess why?Maybe I went to a concert.Nope. Once our kids came around exciting rock concerts were out of the picture. Not that I really mind I never was much for partying.Maybe I went rock climbing?Nope. I…

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