Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

This past weekend I jumped headlong into the patio paving construction process. I mentioned this project in my August project post and here’s how it all begins. My first step was laying out the edging stones to figure out the layout of the patio. Now you might ask “wouldn’t it be better to draw a layout of the patio first?”…

This weekend a reader emailed me a few questions she had about my post 5 Fall Things To Do to Prepare the Vegetable Garden for Spring.  I thought that other gardeners may be interested in hearing the answers to those questions as well so for today we’ll begin an intermittent series of garden questions and answers!  Feel free to chime…

Sometimes there comes along a plant that is just a gardener’s dream. Beautiful during the growing season, native, great for pollinators, great for birds, useful in the landscape, and overall easy to care for. I’ve got you hooked already don’t I? This plant would be a member of one of my favorite groups of plants: the viburnums. Viburnum dentatum aka…

Fall colors are certainly on their way. Here in Tennessee the trees are beginning the process but many people are worried that the colors will not be what they could be without the rain. Whatever the case we will be happy with whatever colors we do have and will enjoy watching all the colors around the continent as the color…

…spring is here!  Spring is happening all over the place.  The trees are blooming, the bulbs are coming up all over, and of course the weeds are growing too! Daffodils and hyacinths are in full bloom and other flowers are well on their way to a beautiful spring.  Here’s a little of what we get to see in our garden:…

In 2007 I started this blog on gardening.  I didn’t know where I was going with it, or what I was really doing to begin with, but I knew I wanted to talk more about gardening with other gardeners.  I was constantly talking about gardening and garden ideas with my family, and I’m sure they got tired of my incessant…

One of the more unusual vegetables I am growing this years is the ‘Trombetta’ climbing squash. Its name is derived from the Italian word for bugle or trumpet which is the shape it resembles. ‘Trombetta’ is a climbing squash that when ideally placed has the strong support of an arbor or trellis on which to grow.  The squash itself gets…

It’s kind of an odd subject to bring up during spring but propagating mums for profit takes time. Spring is when you have to get started for fall mum sales. For the purposes of this article we are talking about the common chrysanthemum you find in stores everywhere during the fall. Also for this discussion it is important to note…

Today I went out and took a few quick photos of the birdbath garden. It’s come along way from it’s beginning three and a half years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday, all young and small, with barely a plant in the garden. It’s amazing how quickly they grow up! Here’s a look at the birdbath garden now….

I like the look of rocks for bordering my garden beds.  Rocks define the border between the garden area and the walkways, help keep mulch in place, and give the garden bed a structural element.  I’ve gathered rocks from several places over the years and brought them to my garden.  It’s not easy work but I like the end result….

I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesn’t? There are Japanese maples  with variegated leaves, ones with deep burgundy colors, others with interesting shaped leaves that are highly dissected and many other kinds. The fall color on a Japanese is almost always guaranteed to be something special.  Their highly ornamental nature makes them very popular trees in the landscape. Last summer I gathered…

Is this the ultimate fall flower? Yellow Mums According to Robert Bornstein via Twitter and Stephanie via Facebook Or is this it? Goldenrod (Solidago) According to Suzy via Twitter Or is this it? Shasta Daisy According to Joyce via Facebook Or is it something else? What is the ultimate fall flower? Bloggers please remember the Fall Color Project!!!

Yesterday’s post had many of the colorful plants I planted around the garden shed today’s post may be less colorful but hopefully still interesting! First let’s start off with a small stepping stone pathway. I bought some cheap 12″x12″ stepping stones to lay down for this little pathway. To the left of the pathway is an area that still needs…

This was a historic day. It was the first day I’ve ever seen a frog in my garden. I’ve seen a toad or two but never an actual frog! Amphibians are a good indicator of the heath of an environment. They are kind of like environmental canaries in a coal mine, if something is wrong they are one of the…

The recent blast of cold that barreled through our country last week caused lots of plant damage. It was unavoidable. The temperature dropped from the 50’s to -3° F in a matter of a few hours. That is a very significant temperature drop that wreaked havoc on our gardens. But don’t look at your brown and black leaf damage and…

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…

We all know that Christmas is on it’s way and the gift buying season has commenced! Fortunately gardeners are easy to please with presents! Just find them something they can use in the garden and they will be thrilled! Below are some easy gift ideas for gardeners that you can use to give those with green thumbs something for Christmas!…

I sadly saw yesterday a weather report that mentioned the “F” word – FROST.  It’s coming very soon, most likely Sunday and/or Monday nights.  While there are some good feelings about this – like a rest period for the gardener – it’s also a time I dread.  Those fresh tomatoes from the garden will soon be a thing of the…