The weather this past weekend was perfect. No rain, lots of sun and warm temperatures have given all the plants the kick they need to break their dormancy. Hopefully they will remain safe from any heavy frosts. I’m looking forward to seeing the blooms on this Sargent Crab Apple (Malus sargentii). It was a just … Read more
Saturday was one of those days that you had to be outside. Sunny and in the 70’s the weather was nothing less than pure perfection. It was truely a spring weather day. The kind of day that you take in from dawn until dusk without ever wanting to come back inside. All days end but … Read more
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.
My daughter and I recently did a little project. We took materials that were lying around the house and put together a mini-seed starting greenhouse. It was a simple and easy project to work on with my 3 and a half year old daughter. Read on to see what we did. Materials: Paper roll tubes, … Read more
Spring is saying “hello I’m coming” this weekend which means time to get into the garden and get a few things done before she arrives! Wet weather is expected on Sunday evening so Saturday is the day. I’ll be skipping the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show this year to work on my own edible landscape … Read more
If you live in an area with plenty of trees you are blessed with adequate building materials for trellises and posts. They may be rustic in appearance but they can function pretty good. Today I’ll show you my new trellis for my sugar snap peas. It’s made from 5 pieces of dead wood that fell … Read more
Last year I wrote a post called What is Your Gardening Niche? It was a little post about how every gardener has their one area either of expertise or interest (most likely both) that he or she just can’t get enough of. I remember several people decided to write their own posts based on it … Read more
Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is indeed easy to propagate from hardwood cuttings. In fact taking hardwood cuttings may prove more reliable than from softwood cuttings. I’ll continue with both methods at the appropriate times of the year but the hardwood cuttings have not had any trouble with rotting or any other signs of problems. In … Read more
Today was a snow day. The kind of day that happens here in Tennessee on occasion where 6-8 inches of snow fall upon us and whiten up the landscape for a few hours. It melts fast which is good for those who need to travel but unfortunately not for those who attend school! This little … Read more
On Friday my daughter and I planted another set of seeds. These were all for the vegetable garden and they were all even in the same family, nightshade. We planted a several varieties of tomatoes and peppers in our peat pot system. We’re still waiting on a few more seeds to come in through the … Read more
Our bird bath garden will always be in my mind the bird bath garden, but it has also become something of a memorial garden to our recently deceased feline friend, Amber. I won’t go into detail about Amber in this post as I did that back in December but she was a good friend who … Read more
I bet when you read the first three words “Bradford Pears breaking” you immediately though of another kind of breaking. One of the reasons they are on my least favorite ornamental tree list is because the trees frequently break in storms. These trees grow so fast that the wood suffers and they just can’t muster … Read more
A couple weeks ago I was sent a copy of William Woys Weaver’s Heirloom Vegetable Gardening from Mother Earth News. I’m always excited to get more information on a favorite subject of mine, vegetables! The book was first published in 1997 and is now available on CD. Unfortunately you don’t get the tactile sensation of … Read more
Now wouldn’t this be cool to have in the yard? No not the gnomes, the green roof! I took this picture last year at the Bloom’N Garden Expo in Williamson County last year. It’s a great example of nature and man working together to make something good for both. Green roofs are catching on all … Read more
Spring is coming. Really. Signs of the coming gardening season are beginning to appear all over from the daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths beginning to emerge to the swelling buds on the trees. Very soon warmer weather will begin again and we will be fully emersed in the garden once again. In anticipation of the coming … Read more
Yesterday I gave you a sneak peek at one of my favorite perennials that I decided to try and grow from seed this year, the heuchera! The seeds came from our corner shade garden which contains a small variety of heucheras like ‘Palace Purple’, ‘Mocha’, ‘Melting Fire’, ‘Fireworks’, and a heucherella named ‘Stoplight.’ Even in … Read more
I know what this little seedling is, do you? See if you can guess what it is. This perennial does well in almost any setting and is sought after for its foliage, not necessarily its flowers. Although I find the flowers very interesting in a light and airy way. This particular seedling was collected from … Read more
I did several little things in the garden this week that weren’t worthy of individual posts but when grouped together give me a little something to talk about. Planted seeds for rudbeckia ‘Cappuccino’, gaillardia ‘Arizona Sun’, Verbena bonariensis, mixed heucheras, Panicum virgatum. Constructed a suspended staking system out of fallen poplar branches for our sugar … Read more
The signs of spring are coming up all over if you know where to look. In some cases like with the daffodils it’s obvious. Bright yellow flowers and buds are beginning to stand up for us to take notice. Other plants, like sedums, are beginning to show elements of growth. On the left is an … Read more
Yesterday I asked people what varieties of vegetables they would recommend from their own experiences. My goal is to add a few new vegetables each year just to try something new. Some vegetables are tried and true and will always be in my garden but there are so many types of vegetables out there that … Read more
As real gardening time approaches and we stop planning and dreaming to actually begin planting we have to know what we are going to do with our gardens. The big thing on my mind lately has been the vegetable garden. I miss the tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers that came out of our garden fresh everyday. … Read more
Things are going well with the vegetable garden remodel even though the pictures may not fully illustrate it (see the layout to get an idea as to what it will look like). Right now it looks kind of like a war zone complete with with bunkers, foxholes, and fencing but soon it will come together. … Read more
Recently I was asked some questions about gardening with children and while there are certainly quite a few tips I could mention about the subject there is one idea that stands out above all others in my mind. Do what the kids love! Every kid is different and each one has as many different ideas … Read more
I’m amazed this year by the blooms I actually have in the garden. Maybe it was the warm snap, or maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have some great blooms each and every February. My feature plant today is one that comes every spring much to the chagrin of the lawn lover. Tiny purple flowers … Read more
Happy Valentine’s Day! I gave these to my wife but thought I’d also share them with you. Too bad you can’t smell them!
The other day I had an idea. Instead of taking my pruned Russian sage branches and just dumping them in the compost, I thought what if I tried to make cuttings from them? I’ve propagated Russian sage cuttings very easily in the spring from softwood cuttings and even some during the summer but I’ve never … Read more
Who would have thought? A daffodil (Narcissus) blooming in mid-February! The little sprouts are coming up all over but this one and a couple others like it have decided they like the weather. It could be that they are in a slightly warmer micro-climate near concrete but mostly it’s because of the extremely unseasonably warm … Read more
In my last post I mentioned 11 Things to Think About When Designing Your Raised Bed Vegetable Garden. Here are a few more ideas suggested by commenters! Think about a fence (From Tina). Whether for aesthetics or for function fences are good for the garden. Different fences can solve different issues. A simple wire fence … Read more
Raised beds are a great way to garden! Here are 11 raised bed garden tips to help you design a great vegetable garden layout.
What a weekend! You don’t get weather like we had very often. The thermometer hit the 70’s for the first time in a long while and we took advantage of it. We spent very little time indoors, how could we? After being cooped up in the house since fall any outside opportunity had to be … Read more
To kick this Garden Blogger Seed Swap off I’ll share with you what I have to offer! Anyone is invited to join in even if you don’t have a blog. Just post what you would like to trade for and what you have to offer in the comments or drop me an email! I will … Read more
I know, it’s early to start seed but I have a plan and just couldn’t resist. Inside of a walk-in closet I put up a grow light and suspended it about 12-14 inches above the seed starting spot. The lights are 48″ fluorescent shop lights that I used last year to start my seedlings. I … Read more
Yet again I found myself taking more cuttings of a Japanese dappled willow (Salix integra). Sometimes I just can’t help myself. Or maybe I do help myself? Whatever the case I brought home with us a bunch of willow branches for propagating. They came off of the sides of the mother plant because it had … Read more
What’s not to like about moss? It’s green, soft, fuzzy, grows well in shade, and is as resilient as they come! While gathering rocks over the weekend I stumbled upon (not literally) loads of mossy cover rocks. This little ground covering plant attaches itself and needs no soil. It gathers its nutrients from the air … Read more
Do you need another reason to like Red Twig Dogwoods? Take a look at these pictures from Ann Althouse. These pictures illustrate exactly why I like them as much as I do! The fiery stems really add color to the snowy landscape. More on Red Twig Dogwoods: Red Twig Dogwood Propagation Red Twig Dogwoods (Cornus … Read more
It was a pretty good weekend for me. You might even say it rocked! Of course that’s partly a play one words, can you guess why? Maybe I went to a concert. Nope. Once our kids came around exciting rock concerts were out of the picture. Not that I really mind I never was much … Read more
I had an idea a while back that needed a little more refining before I posted on it: A Seed Swap! At first I thought I would just offer a couple types of seed to trade among anyone who follows this blog but then I thought a little bigger. I thought “What if a bunch … Read more
In times like these can you afford not to garden? The other day I was thinking about the actual value of a garden. What do you get out of it? Not just the sense of satisfaction of eating the greatest tomato ever grown. That’s pretty valuable in itself. Not just the pleasure of being able … Read more
It’s been days since we’ve seen any sign of the sun. He was back today and even a little yesterday. I don’t think I’m alone in missing my friend the sun, am I?
The other day I was out and about (as happens often) when I was surprised by the sight of a couple hyacinths coming up. It’s not that I’m surprised that the hyacinths are emerging but rather that I didn’t realize they where there to begin with! This would be one of those time where plant … Read more
I was outside on Tuesday afternoon walking around the yard while a thirty minute window in the clouds opened to allow the sun to shine down. It was a short respite from the rainy weather but this time of year any respite is a good respite. While walking about I was struck by how white … Read more
Over the last year I’ve been enthralled with heucheras. I see a new one and I have to add it to the garden! If you are looking for a versatile foliage perennial then definitely take a look at the heucheras (Coral Bells). There are many varieties so far I have at least 5 different kinds … Read more
I’ve mentioned that with my newly redesigned garden layout that I would like to put a fence around it. Partly to keep the rabbits and groundhogs out but also to add an air of formality around the garden. I have two ideas in mind that I’d like to gather some opinions about. In the drawing … Read more
Over this weekend our travels found us at one of the local big box stores looking for shelving hardware for our downstairs closet (another project but not one that will make it to the garden blog). While there I went through the seed kiosks looking for the plants that made my master list for seed … Read more
This time of the year it seems like there are a million and one choices for seeds. The catalogs have been rolling in at record paces enticing us with beautiful pictures of what we could have in our gardens but how do you figure out what you need to buy especially if your trying to … Read more
My recent fascination with the snowy owl visiting our town isn’t something new, I’ve always been interested in birds and wildlife. Gardening and nature to me are so closely woven together in the tapestry of life that you don’t get one without the other, and if you do you’re doing something wrong. Nature in all … Read more
I got a few more pictures this morning of the Snowy Owl here in Spring Hill, TN from Pete. The first one can only be described as spectacular with a sunrise in the background. He also managed to get a few close-ups! Related Snowy Owl Posts: A Snowy Owl Story Snowy Owl Visits … Read more
After my post yesterday about the Snowy Owl Visit to Spring Hill, TN, Pete sent me a few of his pictures of the owl. He was able to get much closer to the bird than I could and his pictures are fantastic! He prefaced the pictures with a story that I’ll share with you in … Read more
We’ve had an unusual visitor here in Spring Hill, TN. A snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) flew in with the arctic air that’s been hanging over our state. I had heard rumors of the visiting bird through the Nashville news stations (OK that’s a little more than a rumor) and set out today to investigate. My … Read more
Last year we designed, built, and grew our first vegetable garden in our new home. The garden was made of two large beds that were subdivided into 3 smaller conjoined beds in an “L” shape. Unfortunately the vegetable garden layout we designed was built more around aesthetics than around function. Since then I’ve realized something: … Read more
There is a kind of magic in making cuttings. Watching something as simple and unremarkable as a little twig come to life with roots and branches all of its own can only be fascinating to the gardener. Several weeks ago I planted my Winter Garden with various plants which included three red twig dogwoods (Cornus … Read more
Where do I find the seeds for my gardening activities? Lot’s of places! The most obvious location is in a store, either online or one of the old fashioned brick and mortar stores. The local Co-op always has seed to find as do the box stores (they have already begun putting out seeds for spring. … Read more
It’s January but if you are like me you’ve been rapidly perusing the seed catalogs about as fast as they come in looking for new and exciting plants for this year. It seems that each day a new plant catalog comes in the mail and I see all kinds of plants that I’d love to … Read more
Part of my worm bin composter is finished. This really is a very simple project that anyone can do at home. To complete this part of the composter it only took about 30 minutes which also included the time to gather the materials and to put them away. Since the weather outside this week is … Read more
What do winter blooms, buds, bark and branches all have in common? You will have to look at the end of this post to find out. See if you can guess! The Winter Blooms The henbit in our area is beginning to show signs of blooming. Masses of little tiny flowers will over take yards … Read more
The cold weather combined with morning clouds and the light of a new dawning day create a genuine tapestry of light. Six minutes later (after scraping the ice off my wife’s car) the sky changed palettes to include more gold. Mother Nature’s paintings are ever changing which is probably why we appreciate them. … Read more
In order to raise worms for worm composting (vermicomposting) you have to have a place to put the worms and the kitchen scraps. There are all kinds of composting bins that can be effective but they all work on the same idea. A box houses the worms, kitchen scraps, and bedding. As the worms eat … Read more
Here’s a list of this year’s gardening events that you don’t want to miss! Click on the links for more information Nashville Lawn and Garden Show – March 5-8, 2009Bloom ‘n’ Garden Expo – April 3-5, 2009Perennial Plant Society Plant Sale – April 4, 2009Middle Tennessee Hosta Society – Annual Hosta Sale – May 9, … Read more
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 … Read more
…digging the rain garden. I looked back at the January 12, 2008 post to see what I wrote about one year ago. During that week I was heavily entrenched (forgive the pun) in digging the rain garden. Today I’m very pleased with how well it functions. This January we’ve had at least 3 inches of … Read more
As previously mentioned in my 2009 garden project list I am working on a self sowing garden. I mentioned the advantages to a self sowing garden earlier in the week and my own personal reasons for wanting to plant it and now it’s time for the next step…seeds. But first, what are self sowing plants? … Read more
I was looking back at photographs of the past year in the garden and found these shots of the front sidewalk garden. When the weather is cold and rainy outside it’s nice to look back sometimes and see how things were where they were in bloom. The sidewalk skirts the garage portion of our house … Read more
This blog does receive a small amount of revenue from advertising that enables it to function, grow and hopefully make it more interesting. Funds gained through advertising are used for projects, plants, and other things that will are discussed on The Home Garden and The Home Garden ~ In The Greenhouse. At no time will … Read more
This bell may not make a sound but it sure strikes a chord with the chickadees and titmice. We received the seed bell as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. The birds must have loved it. After two and a half days the seed bell is all gone! At least I managed to get some nice … Read more
Please bear with me while I make a few cosmetic changes! I’ve been wanting to find a new look for the blog that is more functional and I think I have found a template that works. There will be some minor tweaks and repairs over the next few days. All the content and comments should … Read more
A springtime flowering favorite of mine is the Yoshino cherry tree (Prunus x yedoensis). I’ve written about these trees several times in the past and I know I’ll write about it again as it is such a valuable tree in the landscape for it’s ornamental beauty. I’ve never been able to root this tree…until now! … Read more
One of my projects this year is a self seeding garden. I showed you in yesterday’s post what I’ve done so far and I mentioned a few of my personal reasons for planting a self sowing garden but since that post I thought of a few more general ideas why someone might want to consider … Read more
It won’t be long before the warm weather approaches (or at least I keep telling myself this) and gardening begins for the 2009 season in earnest. One of the projects I have planned this season is the self sowing garden. A self sowing garden is pretty self explanatory, it has plants that seed themselves year … Read more
While we were away last weekend picking pecans I snapped some photos of the setting sun. Sometimes I think wintertime sunsets are trying to make up for the lack of color in the garden and elsewhere during this season. This picture was taken overlooking one of the fields near my wife’s grandmother’s home.
Over the holidays we went to the West Tennessee town of Trenton to visit my wife’s grandmother. Her home rests in the middle of several acres of rich Tennessee farmland where they typically grow either soybeans, corn, or winter wheat depending upon the whim of the farmer. The crop is most likely determined through a … Read more
Not many plants bloom in the dead of winter but you can count on Mediterranean White Heath (Erica x darleyensis) to put on a subtle show. It blooms with tiny little snow colored blossoms that (at least in my Tennessee garden) emerge during January and February. I have five of these little winter gems located … Read more
Rather than talk about useless resolutions for 2009 I thought I would discuss my project plans for the garden. I do have one goal that encompasses all things gardening and in my life that could be considered a resolution: to do all things better than I did the last time. That one statement covers pretty … Read more
Today is the last day of 2008 but unless you’ve never seen a calander you probably knew that already. As one year ends and new one begins. It’s time for a short look back at 2008 and a glance into the future. 2008 was the first full growing year that we really had in the … Read more
OK, I wouldn’t have titled the article with Pimp My Yard (I’m really not cool enough to do that) but there’s a very good article on Slate about garden coaching as an emerging horticultural profession. Garden coaches offer guidance for do-it-yourselfers who want to learn how to garden better. For more information beyond the Slate … Read more
The Plant of the Month for December over at Gardening Gone Wild is all about sedums! Sedums (also called stonecrop) are a type of succulent and are capable of storing water in their leaves which makes them very drought tolerant here in Tennessee. We have several kinds of sedum in our garden with one of … Read more
The gardener returned to the garden today from his voyage across Tennessee. From his home, to the lands of the cedar glades, and to the western lowlands he crossed the miles in only trio of days. Friends from long ago were coming to visit from the northern winterlands and he had to return in time … Read more
One of my favorite shrubs is the Japanese dappled willow (Salix integra). In the springtime its new foliage emerges with variegated green and cream leaves that persist through the fall. The leaves darken some as they grow older (or for those who prefer different terminology “grow more mature”) until they bare themselves when the light … Read more
Here’s a quick look at the view from Mt. Juliet, TN where we spent our Christmas Eve. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!
We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Posting over the next week will be irregular as we celebrate the Christmas season with our family.
For a quick, easy, and cheap stocking stuffer gift idea try a homemade seed packet! I learned how to put together these seed packets that use a technique of paper folding from Nancy Ondra’s blog Hayefield House. Go take a look at her post titled Origami for Seed Savers to learn how. The only thing … Read more
How cold was it this morning? The wireless thermometer said 15.5 Degrees Fahrenheit at 8:00 AM. That’s pretty cold! The low last night in our little nook on the hillside was somewhere around 3-4 degrees! But really, how cold is that? Cold enough that the bird’s won’t receive any enjoyment out of the birdbath in … Read more
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a dogwood (Cornus florida) seed looks like? If you read yesterday’s Name that Seed post you caught a glimpse of some dogwood seeds that were cleaned off by the birds. Many birds enjoy eating the berries that form on flowering trees. In this case the bird ate … Read more
This week’s name that seed might be a challenge. The seeds are in the exact state that I found them in however they do not look exactly like they would if they were freshly formed on a tree. Here is your one clue: the tree prefers shade. All answers should be posted by the morning … Read more
We had a short reprieve from the cold winter temperatures we’ve been having. It reached nearly 70 degrees and we actually saw the sun for the first time in days. It felt good to be outside this afternoon tending to some minor garden chores. My first task was to pot up some more Purple leaf … Read more
Just recently I checked some cuttings of Densiformis Yew (Taxus x media; also Taxus cuspidata) and found roots! Densiformis Yew is also known as a spreading yew and is a common evergreen shrub in landscape plantings. It makes an attractive foundation planting with its dark green needles. If you have animals fond of chewing on … Read more
Today I was stumbling through Stumble Upon and happened to come across a great tutorial on building a $50 greenhouse! What is especially cool is that the author of the blog (The Door Garden) who wrote the tutorial is also a Tennessean (Cookeville). The greenhouse he built is a hoop house made from PVC and … Read more
Even in winter gardeners in Tennessee need to keep up with the weeds. Cool season weeds like chickweed and henbit can easily take over while you aren’t watching your garden beds. I actually like the look of henbit in the lawn but not in the garden beds. If you have a warm winter day get … Read more
It was springtime in 1999. The day was warm and the windows were open in my college apartment. I was in my upstairs bedroom reading a book and had left the backdoor open to create a cross flow of air through the apartment. Motion in my bedroom door caught my eye and the little tortoiseshell … Read more
Plant propagation can continue at almost every time of the year, the winter is no exception. This is especially true if you have a little space in your house to put your cuttings or can manage to manipulate them into interesting centerpieces! In this post you will see how to propagate Leyland cypress from cuttings. … Read more
If you like Heucheras or Coral Bells as much as I do then take a look at this video from Fine Gardening Magazine. In it Alan Armitage talks about the heucheras in the trial gardens at the University of Georgia. Heuchera ‘Silver Scrolls’ and Heuchera ‘Rave On’ stand out as two perennials I will have … Read more
Since I have very little to show for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day in December I’ll display a review of each Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post over 2008 that I’ve done. Inside this post you will see one or two pictures from each post that in my view are the best of the blooms. Unfortunately I … Read more
The answer to today’s Name that Seed is the White Ash! The White Ash is a dioecious deciduous shade tree that grows to nearly 80 feet tall. Dioecious means that individual trees (or plants) are either male or female and not both, very similar to hollies. Last week I featured the Persimmon in a Name … Read more
I’m starting a new theme for Sundays that will last through winter until Spring time after all the seeds have been planted. Seed Sundays will be all about seeds! Seed planning, plotting, planting, and any other seed related subject that can be thought of and written about. You’re welcome to join in if you wish … Read more
Though I have not told her, I have officially named my wife’s snowman Gumdrop. You will see why when you look at the picture! The snow was dry and hard to pack. At least it was for a while, later in the day it melted some and snowmen of various shapes and sizes appeared through … Read more
It was a moment of pure beauty early this morning. We awoke to find the landscape covered in snow and with a winter wonderland waiting before us. I was out just before dawn to catch the sunrise and take some pictures in a setting that I very rarely get to photograph. I’m especially pleased with … Read more
For the last part of my Winter Garden series I have a special treat planned. I arranged for snow to fall upon Middle Tennessee so I could illustrate how great a winter garden looks! OK, of course I’m joking but snow is very cool to look at on the garden (please forgive the pun). The … Read more
I managed to plant all the plants for my new winter garden on what was a warm December day. With temperatures in the 50’s it was somewhat pleasant, which is about the best you can expected from December in Tennessee. You’re probably wondering which plan I decided to go with, the Symmetrical Plan or the … Read more
For those of you who took a stab at the Name that Seed post they were seeds from a Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)! In the fall you can see these fruit trees laden with orange pulpy fruit. According to my Field Guide to Trees from the National Audubon Society persimmon trees grow up to 70 … Read more
