Coral Bark Japanese Maple ā Overview of the āSango Kakuā Maple
Usually when I buy plants for the garden I buy smaller 1 gallon pots and wait (sometimes for years) for the trees grow up. But occasionally, I want something that has a more immediate impact. I recently splurged $200 on a 7 foot tall āSangoā¦
Stunning Flowers and Foliage: Why the Onondaga Viburnum is a Must-Have!
If there is one shrub I would recommend to every home gardener for spring color, itās the āOnondagaā Viburnum (Viburnum sargentii āOnondagaā). This spring our āOnondagaā viburnum is just beginning to put on itās seasonal show, and itās awesome! In the spring its most notableā¦
15 Gardening Tasks for April!
April is an amazing time of year to get in the garden. The weather is better, the soil is warming up, and the plants are coming alive from their winter rest. April is the time of year when gardeners need to be going full speedā¦
March Gardening To-Do List: Getting Ready for Spring in Zone 7
March is a awesome month here in Middle Tennessee for gardeners. Zone 7, this is the time to shift from planning to actually getting in the garden. Iāve been out in my front garden tackling some essential chores to ensure a productive and beautiful growingā¦
Ice and Trees: Can Your Trees Recover?
Ice and trees do not mix well. A fact that weāre seeing all over Tennessee. The recent ice storm that barraged the state left people all over in varying states. A lot of people lost power due to fallen trees and ice. A lot ofā¦
Stop Losing Cuttings! 10 Tips for Success with Hardwood Cuttings
Have you tried rooting hardwood cuttings only to have them rot or fail to grow? Donāt give up just yet. Hardwood propagation is one of the most rewarding ways to grow your garden for free, but there are a few āmake or breakā steps thatā¦
32 Plants You Can Propagate from Hardwood Cuttings
Hardwood cuttings are cuttings that are taken from trees and shrubs that are fully mature, dormant stems. These cuttings are normally taken during the late fall or over winter several weeks before spring growth will begin. Hardwood cuttings differ from softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings. Whileā¦
Starting Tree Seeds Outdoors: A Simple Guide to Diverse Landscapes
Trees are the anchors of our landscapes. They enrich the soil, provide oxygen, offer shelter and food for wildlife, and deliver incredible seasonal beauty. My goal is to diversify our property by replacing invasive plants with a variety of beautiful, beneficial trees and shrubs. Inā¦
How to Start Tree and Shrub Seeds in the Fall (Seed Prep)
Fall is the perfect time to start preparing tree and shrub seeds that need a period of cold weather before theyāll sprout. When seed starting tree and shrub seeds I use two techniques that help to trigger better germination rates. The first technique is simplyā¦
American Beautyberry ā Callicarpa americana
Every so often, I come across a plant Iāve been hunting for and I get pretty excited. That was the case this week when I finally tracked down American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) a native shrub thatās been on my wish list for quite a whileā¦.
With Dogwood Tree Cuttings Shorter Cuttings Work Best
A couple months ago I managed to root a dogwood tree from cuttings. Only 1 of 3 cuttings rooted but I still considered it a success. After all it was the first time I had managed to root a dogwood tree from a cutting. Youā¦
āOctober Gloryā Maple Tree (Acer rubrum)
Over the weekend I planted an āOctober Gloryā maple tree. I chose this tree as one of my first fall plantings of 2025 for a several reasons. One of those reasons was a little sentimental. You see when my wife and I bought our firstā¦
Thank you for visiting Growing The Home Garden! I started Growing The Home Garden in 2007 as a way to chronicle my experiences in the garden.
All the content here is based on my personal experiences and research. A lot of my content is focused onĀ raised bed gardeningĀ andĀ plant propagation.
There is also a YouTube Channel for Growing the Home Garden which is over 38,000 subscribers (as of March 2024) that has a lot of gardening videos you may find helpful.Ā Growing The Home Garden on YouTube. Thanks for reading and watching!
Raised Bed Gardening
How Deep do Raised Garden Beds Need To Be?
Raised beds are a great option for gardeners but how deep do they really need to be? The depth of a raised garden bed is an important factor to consider because it can greatly impact the health and productivity of your plants. The true answer to How deep do raised gardens need to be really is it depends! What theā¦
Raised Bed Garden Ideas (Planning for the New Garden)
Pretty soon weāll be relocating to our new home. Our family is very excited about this but it also means starting the garden all over again. Everything including raised beds, sheds, and arbors will have to be rebuilt. While this is a tremendous amount of work I think itās a great opportunity to start again and redevelop our garden withā¦
How to Fill Raised Beds Cheap!
I love gardening in raised beds. It is one of the simplest ways to have success with a vegetable garden. That doesnāt take anything away from all the other methods of gardening, only that I believe that raised beds are a great way for gardeners of all backgrounds and skill levels to garden successfully. The best reason to like raisedā¦
Common Raised Bed Garden Questions Answered
Raised beds are one of the absolute BEST ways to grow a garden but there can be challenges to growing in raised beds. Often gardeners have questions about the best methods to grow in a raised bed. In this post Iāve taken some common raised bed garden questions and put together some answers based on my experience. Iāve grown inā¦
Plant Propagation Information
Plant propagation is one of my favorite things to do in the garden! Below are some articles on how to propagate various plants. You can also check this page out with specific info on plant propagation: Plant Propagation for Home Gardens
Propagating Grape Vines with Greenwood Cuttings
Iām always looking for new plants to experiment on to see if I can get them to root.Ā Yesterday I took some cuttings from a grape vine at my momās house.Ā Grape vines are pretty popular with home gardeners who want to grow their ownā¦
How to Propagate Rosemary in Water from Cuttings
Rosemary is an herb we use frequently in our cooking, at least when we have it around. In years past Iāve been able to walk out the front door and cut a few sprigs off the large rosemary bushes in front of our steps. Iā¦
Growing a Beautiful Japanese Dappled Willow (Salix integra) in the Garden
Several weeks ago I wrote a post about one of my favorite shrubs, the Japanese Dappled Willow āHakuro Nishikiā (Salix integra). Itās a fast growing variegated willow that works well as a privacy screen and is hardy in zones 4-9. Itās deciduous so it willā¦
How to Grow Plants from Hardwood Cuttings (Winter Plant Propagation)
Iāve always been one to enjoy experimenting with plant propagation in the garden. This past weekend, since the weather was so pleasant, I went onĀ hardwood cutting spree.Ā Hardwood cuttings are very easy to do. The success rate varies quite a lot depending on theā¦
How to Propagate Crape Myrtles: Step by Step
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 didnāt have time to treat them right away I left them in a jar ofā¦
Rooting Heuchera through Cuttings
You know how I am, if I grow it I see if I can root it! The challenge this time was to root a heuchera from a leaf cutting. It isnāt difficult if you take from the right part of the plant. Just taking aā¦
Growing Home Vegetable Gardens
Articles with tips and ideas on how to grow a great vegetable garden.
How to Save Seeds from Ornamental Peppers
So what can you do while itās under 20 degrees outside and you are stuck inside but still want to do something garden related? Extract seeds from ornamental peppers! That probably wasnāt the first thing on your mind but it works for me! Extracting the seeds from these āBlack Pearlā ornamental peppers was one of those small items on myā¦
Edible Landscaping for Beginners: Evaluate Your Garden
After you have a good list of the elements your edible landscape needs and you have pieced together a solid āTo Growā list you need to evaluate what you already have in your garden. Ā Some people might put this step first and thatās OK but if you do your evaluation after you decide what you want to grow you canā¦
Starting Tomato and Pepper Plants from Seeds
I find that there are few things more rewarding in gardening than growing plants from seed. It saves money and lets you grow a variety of really cool plants that arenāt locally available. More than that though there is a feeling of satisfaction you get when you harvest from those plants you grew. Starting tomato and pepper plants from seedā¦
5 Vegetables I Will Always Grow In My Garden
It probably seems early and with scattered snow it certain feels early but itās never too early to start thinking about the vegetable garden! Store bought vegetables just donāt thrill me the way the fresh garden picked varieties do. It makes sense when you consider that garden grown vegetables donāt have to be picked days before use just to beā¦
5 Reasons Why Growing Organically in the Home Garden is Better
By now youāve probably heard about the study that says organically grown vegetables are not any healthier than their āconventionallyā grown counterparts. Ā If you havenāt Iāll sum it up in a nutshell. The study examined the nutrients and vitamins present in organic produce and compared it to conventionally grown vegetables and didnāt find a significant difference between the two.Ā This mightā¦
How to Save Tomato Seeds from the Garden through Fermentation
Seed shortages on our minds saving seeds from your garden is more important than ever. So how do you save tomato seeds? There are a couple of methods that can be successful but one way you can do this is through fermentation of tomato seeds. This is not a hard process so donāt let it intimidate you! Iāve described theā¦