Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Below you will find six plants that are some of the easiest to care for and grow in the garden.  All are drought tolerant and are very seldom bothered very little by deer or rabbits (two of my greatest nemeses!) In addition to their drought tolerant and pest resistant properties these plants are very good at attracting beneficial insects like bees,…

Since it’s been raining and not much can be done outside, I’ll share a few pictures I took a couple weeks ago at my in-laws house. If you remember I did some wildflower hunting (Yellow Corydalis, False Garlic, Sedum puchellum) while we were there. Today I’ll show you the more cultivated side of their yard.Here are a couple blossoms off…

After two days of heavy rain fell, a veil of mist rose to met the sun.The sun’s rays beamed through the mist and illuminated the trees still mostly bare from their winter rest. With the sun comes the promise of warm spring days to come. The promise of new life, new growth and new experiences. The excitement of a new…

Last year I bought a packet of California poppy seeds. I planted the poppy seeds in the fall just like I do my red corn poppies and here they are now. The blooms are bright and nothing short of spectacular. The foliage isn’t too shabby either. It reminds me very much of the foliage of my ‘Powis castle’ artemisia, silvery…

This Garden Blogger fall Color Project Post is all about New Autumn, that is Autumn in New England and New York! If you travel to upstate New York to visit Kerri’s Garden at Colors of the Garden (a very appropriate name, don’t you think?) you will get a grand tour of the New York Countryside in October. Peak colors of…

It’s been rather hectic over the last couple weeks around here and I’m just now getting to my own Fall Color Project post! I figured a retrospective look back at the last few weeks would find the peak of the fall color season in my area. Way back on October 12, 2010 we had the first of the trees beginning…

This summer there will be another wedding in the family. My wife’s brother will be getting married to his longtime girlfriend on July 12th. What does this have to do with gardening? The ceremony is going to be help at my in-laws house in their backyard and I will need to help plan the landscaping for the area surrounding the…

Shirley Tulips in Bloom And here’s where you can find Shirley! The Front Sidewalk Garden. This is the third year the tulips have come back in this garden. I’ve heard people complain about tulips not returning but these have been very faithful. The front sidewalk garden is located on the north side of our house and receives little sunlight during…

I have many favorite plants (as all gardeners can attest to) but I am really a big fan of viburnums. Many viburnums have showy flowers in the spring, leafy green foliage throughout the growing season, and great fall color. Some are evergreen, many provide food for the birds in the form of berries, and they are definitely fun to grow!…

Last year I began what will become an annual tradition of laying out all the garden projects I plan to work on for the year. This way you can get an idea what I’ll be getting myself into even if I don’t! Last year’s list changed as I went through the year and inevitably this one will too. Sometimes projects…

Even though it’s been a short week we have lots of fall color to share for the Thanksgiving edition of the Fall Color Project! I won’t be posting for the Fall Color Project on Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday so I thought I would highlight these posts a little early! What could be more perfect than fancy foliage, a…

I had really planned to put up a different post tonight, all about gardening with children featuring my two year old daughter. Unfortunately that post will have to wait for tomorrow since I’m still seething over tonight’s discovery, a rabbit attack. This wasn’t some killer attack rabbit from Monty Python. On second thought maybe it was but plants, not people,…

One of the keys to attracting pollinators is to plant what they like. That means providing plants that give the pollinators food and shelter for all stages of development. Monarch butterflies one pollinator that can benefit from planting milkweed but there are many other insects and creatures that can benefit from the perennial. Also please keep in mind that milkweed…

This weekend found me still digging the greenhouse foundation out. Digging out a 10’x16′ area by yourself takes some time, especially when it rains more often than not. But in gardening, as in life, you take what comes and do the best you can with what you have. In three digging sessions I excavated three 4’x8′ areas to eventually remove…

Tuesday evening several of us Tennessee garden bloggers got together to meet. For some of us, including myself, it was the first time seeing the bloggers behind the screen. Our conversations ranged from garden topics, blogging topics, to air traffic control. So who was there? Who are the faces behind the blogs?Gail from Clay and Limestone is on the left…

Take a look at the new plant of the week! Here’s a small hint: It’s a tree. OK not much of a hint. See if you can guess it!

Since it doesn’t appear likely that we’ll experience much snow this year in Tennessee I’m importing some pictures of snow to look at. My brother in Flagstaff, Arizona took these pictures of their recent snowfall. They’ve had several significant snowfalls this year. It would be nice to have just one of them here!They had 6 inches of snow among the…

Technically my title is completely incorrect!  We did have snow in January and February but this is the first snowfall of the coming winter season.  And technically this isn’t even officially winter yet.  I’m just breaking all the rules for this post! I’m going wild! Anyway…yesterday we had a light snowfall.  It was the kind of snow that was so…