Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

One of the great flowering summer trees of the south is the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica). They typically grow well in zones 6-9 (Tennessee generally falls in the zone 6 area with a few areas in the 7). One of the growing traits of a crape myrtle that makes them good for propagating by cuttings is their ability to sucker….

The seeds are sprouting pretty good so far. I need to get some pictures taken of them but haven’t had the time this week to do much. I have inspected them daily waiting eagerly for the next little green baby plant to say “hello!” I was getting a little bit of damping off but I took care of it with…

As everyone does I like bargains – especially when it comes to plants. I’m always looking for plant sales at local nurseries and of course the big box stores. Sometimes I find deals on the discount racks then try to save the wayward plant. Often those plants are just neglected and need a little TLC and they become good as…

Earlier this week I spent an afternoon outside with my oldest daughter who had a half day off from kindergarten. She was running around outside and playing on the swingset while her brother (our youngest) was napping in the stroller nearby. Since he rarely ever naps I was not even remotely tempted to tempt fate by moving him indoors and…

I mentioned several weeks ago (a couple months ago) that I was wanting to remodel my front garden. I was mostly speaking of the area directly in front of the house but since then an additional idea popped up. There is a small area around a Bradford pear tree that I envisioned an elongated oval shaped bed. Eventually that ornamental…

This weekend we ventured up to my wife’s parents house. I’m always looking for something plant or garden related to get into so I braved the 30 degree temperatures for a little while to see what I could find. I decided to take some more dwarf English Laurel Cuttings (Prunus laurocerasus popular varieties are ‘Otto Luyken’ and ‘Schip Laurels’.) in…

The Corner Shade Garden – April is when it all gets seriously growing. It’s not completely full of hosta foliage since the season has really just begun but as the days pass, the plants will grow, and the garden will fill in very nicely! Looking at the corner shade garden through the arbor you can see a Japanese maple that…

Over the weekend I put together a garden for the opposite side of my sidewalk. Here’s the layout of the garden. I did this layout after I planted the garden and it isn’t to scale. It is roughly 18-20 inches wide and probably 25 feet long. I only used plants that I could transplant from other locations in my yard…

This weekend I picked up some cuttings of a red flowering crape myrtle to propagate. I took 6 inch hardwood cuttings that were just beginning to leaf out. Since I didn’t have time to treat them right away I left them in a jar of water overnight to stay moist and treated them with rooting hormone the next day. For…

When to plant your vegetables is very important knowledge for all gardeners.  It can mean the difference between a great harvest, a late harvest, or no harvest!  It’s critical to know certain facts about the plants before you plant them. A little knowledge can go a long way to creating a great garden so let’s examine a little bit abut…

A few weeks ago I was asked to review a website of a commercial furniture manufacturer for garden furniture. I took a look around at The Oxford Garden website and from what I can tell they have some very nice furniture. The furniture has a classy yet casual look and whether you are looking for a nice bench to sit…

This past weekend I put together a small corner shade garden. We have a garden spot on one side of our house that only receives 3-4 hours of morning sun per day. We thought that the spot would be a perfect candidate for a shade garden. When I think of shade gardens I think of foliage. Colorful flowers don’t come…

Some days the rain gets you!Here’s one very wet cardinal finishing off the seed from our bird feeder in the rain.

Yesterday we attended the Bloom’N Garden Expo at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition. Center. It was fun to go to an event with so many garden related vendors. I spoke to the people at our local garden club, we visited a booth that was sponsored by a wildlife rescue group, and saw many many plants and other displays at the…

Today was one of those days where you just don’t seem to be able to get much done! The weather was unseasonably warm (in the 70’s) and was just great day to be outside with the exception of the high wind. Because of the billowing gusts we didn’t go outside until my youngest daughter (3 months now) went to sleep….

Every home gardener wants their plants to thrive and do well. Often there are little, easy to do things that can greatly improve the chances of plants in your garden succeeding. Here we are going to talk about one thing you can do to help your tomato and pepper plants grow great: pruning off the lower leaves or as I…

Another unforeseen issue has arisen in my garden: blister beetles!  These voracious beetles are systematically devouring the foliage of our plants.  So far they’ve taken turns tasting our tomatoes, tomatillos, and even a clematis.  I’m not heartbroken over the clematis as it’s a sweet autumn clematis that grows like a weed – it will come back.  But I do want…