What You Need to Know about Milkweed BEFORE You Plant!
If you have spent any time in the gardening community over the last several years, you have have probably heard about the critical importance of growing milkweed to support declining monarch butterfly populations. It is an incredibly vital plant, serving as the sole evolutionary hostā¦
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¦
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
How to Save Coleus Over The Winter
Coleus (Solenostemon now PlectranthusĀ scutellarioides) is one of those lucky annuals that can be saved from a merciless death by frost and freeze. Coleus, which is actually a tropical perennial, can be kept indoors as a house plant then replanted outside in the spring once allā¦
Salvia farinacea (āBlue Bedderā) Mealy Cup Sage How to Grow and Propagate
Iāve said repeatedly that Iām a fan of salvias. Itās no wonder since they bloom prolifically, are easy to care for, and attract pollinators right and left. One salvia in my garden (among many) that Iāve accumulated is the āBlue Bedderā Salvia farinacea which isā¦
Germinating Japanese Maple Seeds in a Plastic Bag
I love a nice Japanese maple! Who doesnāt? There are Japanese maples Ā withĀ 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 alwaysĀ guaranteedĀ to be something special. Ā Theirā¦
How to Grow Heucheras (Coral Bells) from Seed
With all the nasty but necessary weather weāve been having lately itās been hard to get out in the garden to work. Whatās a gardener to do? Talk about the seedlings growing inside! Today Iām going to give you an update on how I amā¦
How to Propagate Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
Ninebark (Physocarpus) is a beautiful garden shrub that grows up to around 10 ft tall in the right location. Many varieties of ninebark have been developed for gardeners including āDiaboloāā¢/āDiabloāā¢ and āCoppertinaāā¢ and can be a great addition to add a nice copper color toā¦
How to Propagate Asiatic Lilies From Leaves
Asiatic lilies are a plant that in the right conditions can develop roots from leaf cuttings. Not all plants work this way but some lilies develop bulbils from the leaf area. This technique below uses that trait to help stimulate root growth from the endsā¦
Growing Home Vegetable Gardens
Articles with tips and ideas on how to grow a great vegetable garden.
A Few Garden Notes for Fall (Basil, Flowers, and Tomatoes)
As Labor Day has now past the feeling of fall is growing ever stronger. Each day the night comes sooner and lasts longer and as that light fades the plants begin closing down in preparation for the end of the growing season. During this time of the year there are many things you can do in the garden. Hereās aā¦
Why Planting Onions and Potatoes Together Makes Sense
Companion planting is a great technique for a successful gardening. There are many combinations of garden plants that work well together including onions and potatoes. Hereās why! What is Companion Planting? How does it work for Potatoes and Onions? Companion planting takes advantage of complementary plants that can offer each other benefits to aid in their growth. There are aā¦
Vegetable Garden Layout with Raised Beds for 2011
Another year comes and guess what ā I make more changes to my vegetable garden layout! I havenāt done anything yet but below youāll see what I intend to change from last yearās vegetable garden design. This is step one in altering my garden into what will eventually become an awesome parterre layout. I can envision it now ā brickā¦
5 Companion Plants and How They Help!
Iāve mentioned several times about the value of companion planting so today for the Friday Fives I thought Iād go a little more into detail with some specific plants.Ā Companion planting is an integrated planting technique where the plants benefit each other through pest repulsion or through other beneficial qualities.Ā 5 Companion Plants and How They Help Companion planting isā¦
Growing Mustard in the Home Vegetable Garden
Iām a huge fan of mustard. Ā There are few snacks I enjoy more than pretzels dipped in a delicious honey mustard. Ā I love it on sandwiches and as an ingredient in all sorts of things from chicken dishes to potato salad. Mustard is simply awesome. Ā Thatās my opinion anyway. Ā Itās also extremely easy to grow mustard in the garden. Howā¦
Marigolds are a Must Plant Annual, Hereās Why
This post will begin a series of several posts that I believe are āmust haveā garden plans! These are plants that I think are great for the garden in some way. Maybe they are beneficial for growing other plants, have some important benefits, maybe in the case of vegetable produce are delicious, or are simply beautiful plants to have around!ā¦