Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

I mostly use raised beds for my vegetables but the truth is almost any plant can do great in a raised bed. Herbs, flowers, and ornamentals can all thrive in raised beds.  What makes a raised bed an awesome growing method is the soil that it uses.  You can mix the perfect soil mixture for any plant you want to…

Friday we had thunderstorms rolling through Middle Tennessee. The rain came down fast with the accompanying winds. This storm cleated tornadoes that tore apart homes one county south of us. Here are some pictures I took of the storm coming. The rain fell very quickly. Our rain gauge measured at least half an inch of rain in 15 to 20…

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…

Today we have three more submissions for the Garden Blogger Fall Color Project! Nancy in Canada, TC in Pennsylvania and Liisa in Vermont.Take a road north to visit the wonderful fall colors in Nova Scotia with Nancy of Soliloquy. Canada is where the fall colors start their colorful journey to the south and we are lucky to have Nancy to…

Fall vegetable gardening can certainly be interesting in Tennessee!  You never quite know how the weather is going to shape up.  Is it going to frost early?  Late?  Will the temperatures be normal or extra warm like we’ll be having this week?  You just never know.  For gardening weather this October we’ve had a couple light frosts but nothing damaging…

Insect pests (like aphids) are always frustrating to find on your plants. I’ve dealt with aphids many times before but I still never like to find them again. Inevitably I do. Aphids are one of the most common insect pests in every garden. If you garden you will eventually find them on one of your plants. I’ve had them on…

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…

This week is greenhouse week! My wife took the kids to her parent’s house and left me to work on my greenhouse project.  While I have no illusions of getting the project completed I do hope I get a major chunk of the groundwork done so that I can tinker throughout the fall until it’s finished, hopefully just in time…

Disclaimer: The following post is a sponsored review of the Troy-Bilt 3100 PSI Pressure Washer. All opinions are solely the opinion of the author who in exchange for goods and compensation was asked to do this review. There comes a time in the home garden when the house needs some work too. The house is (usually) the biggest structure in…

It’s that planning time of the year still for most plants and I want to mention something I think is important, herbs! Herbs go great in the vegetable garden mixed in with other plants like tomatoes and peppers. As companion plants go herbs are said to prevent various insects from effecting your plants. (Darla had an interesting post about companion…

The daffodils are officially in bloom here in my Tennessee Garden! Every year I like to mark the beginning of the daffodil blooms as it is one of the many signs of spring. (Coming very soon: Forsythia) It’s hard not to get excited about spring’s arrival after such a cold winter isn’t it? The first daffodil of 2009 was photographed…

Part 11 of The Home Garden’s weekly series about gardening on a budget (aka gardening cheap!)Layering is a fantastic way to increase your plants with very little risk and a high rate of success. It is a simple method of plant propagation where roots are encouraged to develop by covering stems and branches with soil or other mediums. There are…

Can you identify this plant? We shot this shrub in California in June of 2005 . It was at the entrance of an airplane museum at Edward’s Air Force Base.

When you are planning your gardens for 2010 and begin to think of what annuals to put in it give cosmos a look. It comes up easily from seed, blooms prolifically, seems to have few pest problems, attracts pollinators, and looks pretty darn good! The flowers in the above and below pictures are from the same plant just taken at…

It’s a good thing I took several pictures toward the end of last week since the rain and dreary weather has dampened much of the garden. Sunny days are ahead but until then all we have are a few photos of flowers from the gardens. That will just have to do! Up first we have some achillea. Also called yarrow…

I was pruning the lawn on Tuesday night (aka mowing) and as usual I spent that time contemplating my yard and garden. It’s a nice time to relax and observe places in your yard that you may not go to frequently for various reasons. Think about it, when you are riding around on your lawnmower you end up seeing almost…

While the girls were at their grandparent’s house today I was able to get quite a bit done in the yard. Here’s the list of accomplishments in no particular order: Picked a handful of beans (this morning.) Mowed the yard with the riding mower, the trim mower and trimmed with the weedeater. Mowed a new pathway into our slope area…

With summers in Tennessee you never know exactly what your going to get. Usually you expect dry and hot. That’s a pretty safe bet.  But lately the temperatures have reminded me of fall. The scents are on the wind.  Fall blooming plants like goldenrod and ironweed are beginning to flower. The smell of fall is in the air – but summer isn’t over yet. When…