Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

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…

I love our Japanese dappled willow hedgeline but in reality it is way overdue for a pruning. In fact 2 of the shrubs were completely dead. That was mostly due to the ever changing conditions in the garden. As the nearby birch trees grew they shaded out the smaller shrub willows. With little sunlight the dappled willows had no chance…

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to test out products from Troy-Bilt. Overall I’ve been very impressed with the quality and the power that they have produced for lawn equipment. Five years later years I still zip around and mow my 1.5 acre yard with the RZT (0 Turn Mower) and have really enjoyed that fact that I never…

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…

This Friday I thought I’d try something new…an open post!  I’d like to hear what you think about the garden, gardening ideas, projects, or just your thoughts on various issues.  So here’s what I’m going to do.  Every couple weeks I’ll host a Friday Free for All Post where you can comment on a subject and share what you think…

Here are some pictures that we have taken of 2008!Here is a snowfall on a very cold evening. I like how the white snowflakes are captured, frozen in time, by the reflected light of the flash. A visitor to our new bird feeder! This white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinesis) is cracking open the shell of a sunflower seed for his feast….

Several years ago I used to watch a cartoon called Earthworm Jim. (Yes I’ll admit I watched cartoons in college!) It was based on a video game that I never played but I guess was somewhat popular at the time.  In the cartoon Earthworm Jim was a space traveling superhero worm valiantly ridding the universe of bad guys like Professor…

Early last year I put together a rain garden in our yard to absorb some of the driveway drainage. Here are a few pictures of how it looks now! Inside the garden we have a variety of perennials that are generally carefree and tolerate a wide range of growing conditions. Plants like coneflowers. Echinacea purpurea is having a perfect year…

The first major task I tackled this week with our patio project was this step landing. It was a problem that had to be fixed. When we had our home inspected before we purchased it the inspector noticed that the deck needed one more step to fit codes. That wasn’t the only problem here, the stairs led right out to…

Who is this hiding among the Bradford Pear Blossoms?I didn’t notice the lady beetle before I took the picture. It was only after I was perusing pictures from today’s beautiful weather that I noticed the little orange and black insect hiding among the blossoms.

Scenes from nature often can offer inspiration and ideas for people to imitate. Here are some of nature’s water features.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday this Thanksgiving! Visit well, eat well, and most of all give thanks for all the wonders of life that we take for granted each and every day. I would like to thank everyone who reads this gardening blog for adding something extra to the enjoyment of my favorite pastime! Without the…

This year I invested some money into heat mat.  I’ve heard for years how bottom heat speeds up seedling and root growth and I thought it was high time I got my act in gear.  So toward the end of last year I ordered one. And let me say, I’m enjoying it already!  It’s not really time to start seeds,…

Before I show you the red, white and blue in my garden for this July 4th I’d like to take a moment to thank all the veterans and serviceman who have made our freedoms possible (Thanks Dad!). While Independence Day is a celebration of our declaration of freedom from Great Britain many have given their time and their lives to…

It that transitional time of the growing season where the spring weeds are coming to an end and the warm season weeds are beginning to arrive.  This time of year is also when many of our warm season crops and plants are coming up too.  Sometimes it isn’t easy to distinguish between a weed and a seedlings planted from seed…

This formerly beautiful coreopsis that I raised from seed last year was nearly completely devoured by leaf beetle larvae.  I don’t know enough about insects to identify which species of leaf beetle it is but I am positive it is a Calligrapha. The damage is pretty devastating. The leaves are spotted with holes and very few leaves have escaped untouched….

One of the most valuable resources you can have as a gardener is compost. I can tell you from experience that you can never have enough compost to meet all of your needs. Compost is essential for good soil building. As materials break down into smaller components through composting they turn into usable elements that plants can use for growth….

So many of us gardeners tend to think of one thing when it comes to the vegetable garden – tomatoes! I know I do, although in recent years I’ve become very partial to peppers. The garden doesn’t have to just be about those summer vegetables. In many areas you can continue to garden well into the winter months. Here in…