All of us experienced gardeners can tell you, you are going to make mistakes! It’s inevitable. No matter how much planning or forethought you put into your garden you WILL make a mistake! How’s that for thinking positively? You positively will make a mistake, and you know what? That’s OK! We’ve all done it – … Read more
The weather here in Tennessee is nothing if not unpredictable. Some will even say that the only thing predictable about the weather is that it is unpredictable! So gardeners are left trying to figure out how to best mitigate harsh conditions of any extreme. Two years ago we were facing floods that washed out gardens, … Read more
It’s not often that I am so impressed by a nursery that I feel compelled to write about them. So many nurseries just do things the same way, the established way. I know it works well but when a nursery steps it up a notch it REALLY works. Growild Nursery in Fairview, Tennessee (7190 Hill Hughes … Read more
It’s been a while since I’ve written about our vegetable garden so I thought the end of April would be a good time for an update! There are a few disappointments but overall most of the garden is right on track. We’ve used raised beds for several years now but most of them have disintegrated. … Read more
Summer squash is one of our family’s favorite summer vegetables. A grilled yellow squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper is a simple and delicious treat when cooked along with some barbequed chicken! There are a few things to know about growing summer squashes in the garden whether they are yellow squash or zucchinis. Today’s … Read more
Creeping thyme or Thymus serpyllum makes a great ground cover that is very easy to grow. Once started it quickly grows and spread to fill out areas. Creeping thyme is an extremely easy plant to propagate. Why is propagating creeping thyme so easy? Let’s take a look! I planted three small seedlings of creeping thyme … Read more
This Sunday’s weather was gorgeous. A little cooler than we’ve been having but a great day to get out and get some big jobs done. I spent much of the day mowing and preparing the vegetable garden then went around taking pictures of the gardens. Things are coming along nicely but there was one issue … Read more
Tomato planting season is almost here for Middle Tennessee so I thought now would be the perfect time to share some things you need to know about growing a great tomato! Tomatoes have always been my favorite crop from the garden. I like tomatoes fresh, cooked, preserved – it doesn’t matter how – I like … Read more
In our front yard is a triangular shaped area that for now I’m calling the Iris Garden. In a week or so after the irises finish blooming I’ll have to change the name to something else but for now the Iris Garden works! I actually began this garden area as a winter color garden but … Read more
Last week I attended the Bloom N’ Garden Expo in Williamson County, TN. It’s a neat event held each year that offers garden speakers, display gardens, and (of course) plant vendors! I’ve been getting pickier in my plant selections over the past year or so because I want unique plants for my garden. I’m not … Read more
This weekend after all the garden related chores were done for the day, and just before sunset came, I took a few photographs of how our gardens look this April. I still have mulching, pruning, weeding, and many other things to do but I thought it would be a good time to share some of … Read more
It’s been a while since I’ve recapped any of the older posts here at Growing The Home Garden. Since today I’ll be at the Bloom N’ Garden Expo I thought I would put together a quick recap post for the Friday Fives. The posts listed in this post have been around for a while and … Read more
It that transitional time of the growing season where the spring weeds are coming to an end and the warm season weeds are beginning to arrive. This time of year is also when many of our warm season crops and plants are coming up too. Sometimes it isn’t easy to distinguish between a weed and … Read more
You may not believe me but snakes really can be a garden’s (and gardener’s) best friend! Many people carry a fear of these creatures. I can understand being afraid of poisonous snakes but the others are quite beneficial. Yesterday while I was outside near my vegetable garden putting in some outdoor plant shelves (made from … Read more
Native plants have many advantages over exotic plants. I thought for today’s Friday Fives Post I would mention five native plants that are pretty neat to have in your garden. First though let’s define the terms native and exotic. Exotic plants are those that are not indigenous to your region. They’ve either been brought from … Read more
It’s been a while since I posted about the corner shade garden. Last year it really wasn’t anything to write about, it was a mess. I neglected it due to other issues and now comes the time when I need to get it back into shape. A year of neglect in the garden can mean … Read more
I wish you could smell the garden right now. If I could bring you the scents of my garden through this post I would. What’s making my garden so fragrant? A combination of two plants: Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Mohawk’ and the irises! The combination of the two is bringing a honeysuckle like fragrance to the … Read more
There are few shrubs I like better than viburnums and truly the ‘Shasta’ Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tormentosum) is one of the more beautiful selections of viburnums. The viburnum pictured below is in its fourth year of growing in my garden and has never looked better! Loads of white lacecap flowers cover the branches in … Read more
I think in many ways people who garden in the “traditional” or “conventional” methods* don’t realize how easy it really can be to garden organically. In fact some of these organic ideas are probably done by everyone who gardens in some capacity. For this Friday’s Friday Five let’s take a look at 5 easy ways … Read more
If you follow Growing The Home Garden on Facebook you may have already seen some of these pictures! The garden is really coming alive thanks to the extra warm weather. This post is very garden picture heavy! See if you can identify the plants in each photo. Try not to cheat by looking at the … Read more
Potatoes are one easy vegetable that everyone should try. There are a quite a few kind of potatoes that are delicious on the dinner plant that have developed over the years. In our garden this year we’re growing Yukon Gold, red potatoes, and Adirondack Blue potatoes. The blue potatoes are new to our garden this … Read more
This time of year can be very confusing. Especially when the weather throws a few curve balls like extra warm temperatures! It almost makes you think it will be fine to plant those tomatoes four weeks early. I know why, everyone wants bragging rights about that first ripe tomato! I thought for today’s Friday Five … Read more
Yesterday brought in that first official day of spring but it sure seems that spring beat the calendar to the punch. The warm weather has brought many of our plants and trees much further along at this time of year than they should be. It has me concerned. I love the warm weather and the … Read more
I had one of those extremely busy weekends. The kind where you have so much to do you don’t know exactly where to start. When you finally do start you discover that to do one task you have to do another task first. Then when you finally get going you move from one job, to … Read more
This time of year the only thing us gardeners think about is the garden! Because “the garden” is such a broad subject in itself we are really thinking of all kinds of things like timing, soil, seeds, cuttings, and list could go on! One of the main tasks I need to accomplish is preparing my … Read more
I couldn’t help but snap the picture below. It’s white clover and it’s in my lawn. What lawn companies will tell you is that this little beautiful green plant that grows in patches is a weed. Don’t believe them. Clover is a useful little plant in many ways! First of all clover is a legume. … Read more
It’s time for a few herb cuttings! Surely you didn’t think it would be too long before the plant propagation posts began again? The warm weather is here – early – but the plants have responded and it’s time to take some stem tip cuttings. My wife finds these posts boring and floats right by … Read more
I’ve mentioned several times about the value of companion planting so today for the Friday Fives I thought I’d go a little more into detail with some specific plants. Companion planting is an integrated planting technique where the plants benefit each other through pest repulsion or through other beneficial qualities. 5 Companion Plants and How … Read more
Several weeks ago I planted Baptisia australis seeds. It’s also known as false indigo. It took some time but with bottom heat from my seedling heat mat and continued patience several of the seedlings have sprouted. It’s always exciting to see new plants come alive from seed. It took the Baptisia seeds about a month … Read more
Large cocoon on ninebark For several months I’ve been watching this strange cocoon attached to my ninebark. I was curious what might come from it, and a little apprehensive too, then yesterday I found a second one on a viburnum. What if it was something that would chow down on my garden? What if it … Read more
…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 … Read more
As gardeners we deal with all kinds of issue that can make gardening frustrating and difficult. One of those issues is pests. Pests come in many forms from thousands of kinds of insects to birds and animals. No method of pest control is 100% effective all the time so gardeners need be creative problem solvers … Read more
Every now and then I’ll be writing a post about the common weeds that we find in our yard and garden. I’ll save these posts for Wednesdays so we can have a bit of a creative alliterative effect by calling it “Weedy Wednesday”! I won’t be writing about weeds every Wednesday but I feel that … Read more
This weekend was a busy one in the garden! The weather was sunny, although with a fair amount of wind on Saturday but Sunday afternoon was very pleasant. This time of year is always exciting. Gardening activities are resuming in earnest and a lot can be done to prepare for a great gardening season. On … Read more
Let’s be real, foliage is more important than flowers! Foliage is there 3 out of the four seasons and unless you have some fantastic re-blooming plant that blooms incessantly from spouting to leaf drop you aren’t going to have something interesting all the time – unless you plant with foliage. Color, leaf texture, leaf shape, … Read more
This are warming up again around our Tennessee garden this February. While I’m writing this post spring-like storms are pouring down outside. February again seems more like March than February! But that’s how it is sometimes with our weather patterns in TN. We get some crazy stuff sometimes. The unseasonable warmth has given rise to … Read more
Frost on the lawn This weekend brought forth a significant event, the first mowing of 2012. It’s a momentous event that means the active growing season is moving ever closer! I know many of you probably don’t enjoy mowing the lawn like I do. It’s probably a little crazy, I’ll admit it, but when I’m … Read more
Cilantro is a delicious herb capable of adding so much flavor and character to your foods. While some people don’t enjoy it we love it in our cooking and always try to have some cilantro growing in the home garden. Growing beautiful cilantro plants isn’t a difficult thing but there are a couple things you … Read more
I couldn’t imagine my garden without herbs. Whether for making tea, utilizing in dinner, or a myriad of other uses herbs are an essential part of my garden. Some of the herbs in my garden are also excellent companion plants in addition to their culinary uses. Herbs are awesome and you should grow them if you aren’t … Read more
This winter has been bitterly cruel. Not bitterly cold, just bitterly cruel. It’s tempted us into believing that spring was almost here, then the ground hog predicted 6 more weeks of winter..and we laughed. The weather was warm and what do groundhogs really know about the weather? Do they have live Doppler radar in buried … Read more
A garden layout should be well designed with the convenience of the gardener and function of the garden in mind.
One of my greatest gardening pleasures is that of making a new plant, for free! Well I don’t actually do the work the plant does, but knowing how to give the plant the optimum conditions for rooting is important for success! The plants I’m listing today for The Friday Fives are easy to propagate plants … Read more
Rather than continue with lyrics that will end up stuck in your head for the rest of the day, let me tell you why I say “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.” The weather has turned back toward winter which brings with it clouds and cold, but the unseasonable warmth of the last month … Read more
It’s bound to be an exciting year for the vegetable garden! In fact every year I get excited by the potential new varieties of seeds to try. The catalogs are full of amazing, mouthwatering, and delicious pictures and descriptions. (Don’t worry I’m not eating the catalog – although I’ll bet you thought about it too!) … Read more
The garden is coming alive now that February is in full swing. The extra warm winter is supposed to become much more normal over the next week but that won’t stop our spring growth. Yesterday I saw the ‘Okame’ cherries beginning to bloom. Unfortunately I don’t have any here in our garden to show you … Read more
The rainy weather and “normal” temperatures seem to be headed back our way, so why not take a look back at some sunny blooms from summer’s past? These flowers all came from the July of 2009 version of my garden, some are annuals and others are perennials and some are somewhere in between! The in … Read more
The complete and total elimination of garden weeds is every gardener’s dream! And to do so organically or naturally just makes it all the more thrilling! While I’ll share with you some methods for eliminating weeds naturally for The Friday Fives, please keep in mind that the battle with weeds is perpetual struggle between gardener … Read more
Sometimes certain plants can be tricky to germinate from seed. When germinating Baptisia australis seeds you will find that the seeds have an extremely hard coat that will require some external actions to penetrate the hard outer shell that will allow the embryo to get water. There are several methods for getting underneath that hard … Read more
It’s been warm here in TN. Very warm. So warm that everything thinks it is indeed spring – including this gardener! Essentially it is spring. The weather is identical to a typical March, warm days, heavy rain showers coming through. We’ve even had thunderstorms – in January. It’s been a strange month. But just because … Read more
Once your seeds have grown big enough to plant out in the garden it’s time to find a way to get them into the garden. Direct sowed seeds have a big advantage in this area as they have grown from the start in the great outdoors are are already well adapted to the weather. Seedlings … Read more
The first daffodil blooms of 2012 are now on display in my garden! Every year I like to track the first daffodil of the season. It amazing how much each year can differ. The warmer the weather the earlier the flowers appear. We’re almost a month earlier than last year’s daffodil blooms! Here’s a look … Read more
By now I’m sure you’ve heard all about the National Wildlife Federation and their new found friend Scott’s. There are quite a few people upset about this arrangement since many of Scott’s products are made from ingredients none of us would rather see in the environment. The NWF exists to promote and help wildlife but … Read more
Ever been to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show? Here’s the info for 2012: Gardens Past, Present & Future Will Be Celebrated March 1-4 at the 2012 Nashville Lawn & Garden Show Discussion of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gardens among the many free presentations at the show Nashville, TN – The timeless appeal, importance and fun … Read more
Last year I put together the circular raised bed in my vegetable garden. It’s in the center of the garden layout which is in the parterre style garden layout I planned last year. Of course my plans are changing a little this year too. It never fails, the only thing I don’t change in my … Read more
In case you are wondering about where exactly you are situated in the USDA plant hardiness zone maps here are a couple to look at. One is the national map and the other is the Tennessee State map. The maps are useful when determining which plants to plant in your area. The zone map shows … Read more
Once you have your seedlings growing strong and you’ve properly hardened them off (more on that next week) it is time to plant your seedlings in the garden. But where should you plant them? It may seem like a given that you’ll just go out and stick them in a hole and watch them grow, … Read more
We’ve talked about how to pick your seeds and we’ve talked a little about the soil to use, but when should you start your seeds? This is when good planning comes into play. You want your seeds ready to go when it’s safe to plant but you don’t want to start them too early, so … Read more
What is a garden without the trees? Bare and boring! Without a good tree you lose the shade they provide, the elegant grace that trees offer as a focal point, the fruit the tree may bear, the benefit to the wildlife around us – I think you agree, you just have to have a tree! … Read more
Wednesday was full of randomness, although it wasn’t all gardening. A little bird watching, a little gardening, and a little bit of house stuff all rolled together to make a Wednesday. The day started with a trip to the home improvement store. Not for gardening stuff this time but for painting materials. A bathroom in … Read more
OK so you’ve gotten your big seed order in the mail, now what? What do you use to actually start the seeds in? What kind of pots? What kind of soil? After deciding what seeds to order you need to know what medium to plant your future garden in. There are a lot of variables … Read more
I’ll continue with the Seed Starting 101 Series tomorrow but I thought I would use today’s post to share with you a related project. Recently I purchased a seedling heatmat that I’ve been testing in the garage to see how seedlings will grow out there. The results have been pretty good so far with good … Read more
Pepper Seeds The other day someone asked me for some general seed sowing and I realized that I had not yet gone through the whole process from start to finish. I have some scattered information (pun intended ;)) about seeds and seed starting throughout the blog but a complete guide was lacking, until now! Beginning … Read more
It probably seems early and with scattered snow it certain feels early but it’s never too early to start thinking about the vegetable garden! Store bought vegetables just don’t thrill me the way the fresh garden picked varieties do. It makes sense when you consider that garden grown vegetables don’t have to be picked days … Read more
While the snow has just started here in Spring Hill, TN I’m thinking about the nice warm days of our growing season and all the neat stuff we get to experience as gardeners growing in the south. I’ll add to this list every few days with a new thing that I miss about the growing … Read more
This year I invested some money into heat mat. I’ve heard for years how bottom heat speeds up seedling and root growth and I thought it was high time I got my act in gear. So toward the end of last year I ordered one. And let me say, I’m enjoying it already! It’s not … Read more
Are you looking for something, anything to keep you going until spring time? Are you frantically searching the garden for signs of life? Here are two early signs to look for that will tell you spring is just around the corner! The daffodils are rising! The foliage of daffodils always comes up early but these … Read more
This year I thought I’d try to start something on each Friday. At the end of each work week I’ll make a list of five things from the garden. They could be anything, everything is fair garden, as long as it can be related to the garden! To start things off I’m going to mention … Read more
This year I’ll be adding a little bit of my garden writing to a local website called Spring Hill Fresh. Their goal is to highlight Spring Hill, TN and the local area which is one of the fastest growing areas of Tennessee. Spring Hill Fresh offers us locals news about current events, local happenings, and local … Read more
This time of year I spend some time looking back at old photos from the garden. It’s fun to see how stuff looked back when it was growing, when leaves were on the trees, and at the most a cold wind only brought you down into the 80’s on the old thermometer. So if you’re … Read more
You have raised beds in your backyard ready to go for spring vegetables but over the winter what are they doing? Are they just sitting there? I’m sure this idea has occurred to some of you before. Why not use the raised beds over the winter to propagate a few plants? The amazing thing is … Read more
Every year I put out a list of my intended gardening projects that I personally want to accomplish this year. Then back at the end of the year I review them to see how I’ve done. This year is a little tricky. I have quite a few projects leftover from last year that I still … Read more
This post is a post I’ve been dreading. Mainly because this year has been tough, probably the toughest I’ve ever had to live through. My garden projects fell by the wayside. My projects and ambitions just didn’t matter when compared to the situations that the course of life brought us through. But we’re getting through … Read more
I would like to wish you and your family a safe and very merry Christmas season! Photos: Nandina berries (top left), eastern red cedar under snow(middle left), blue garden shed (bottom left), happy little bluebird in snow (middle bottom), daffodil coming up in a March snow (bottom right), Our Snow covered house (top right). Coming … Read more
‘Autumn Joy’ Sedum seed heads persist through winter. This time of year the flowers are mostly faded and few things have retained enough foliage to be markedly interesting. But those faded flowers have left something behind – seeds! Seeds can do a few of very cool things: They sustain the plant species for the coming … Read more
I’m sure you’ve seen the commercial. The one where a couple is in an elevator, then elevator music happens and they recognize it as the theme song to Lexus commercials. That’s when it dawns on the unsuspecting member of the couple that the other one is giving them a Lexus for Christmas. Those commercials are … Read more
With many gardening activities slowing down and the temperatures dropping (although yesterday the temperature was actually near 70 degrees!) I spend much more time indoors. Fortunately I can still enjoy the great outdoors by watching the birds stop by to visit the bird feeders. Here are a few of the visitors who stopped by for … Read more
Here’s the situation. I have two pots on my front steps which each house an arrangement of Dusty Miller and cordyline. The problem is the cordyline is looking a little worse for wear. It’s not supposed to be hardy here in Tennessee but so far it’s stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive despite cold temperatures in the … Read more
Technically my title is completely incorrect! We did have snow in January and February but this is the first snowfall of the coming winter season. And technically this isn’t even officially winter yet. I’m just breaking all the rules for this post! I’m going wild! Anyway…yesterday we had a light snowfall. It was the kind … Read more
On Monday I posted about 5 Plants I Want in Every Garden. In case you missed it the post was about plants that should I ever move I will plant again in the new garden. As several of the commenters pointed out it’s hard to just pick five. With that in mind I’ll add four more … Read more
Our current garden is still a work in progress, as every garden will ever be, but sometimes I like to think about what my next garden will be like. We have no immediate plans to move but one day our growing family will need more room in the house (and with two girls probably more … Read more
Today is December 1st, 2011. The first day of the last month of the year, do you know what that means? Mockingbird on a Frosty Morning Only 137 days left until our last frost date here in Middle Tennessee!!! WOOHOO! OK,I sound completely ridiculous here but think about all the stuff thathas to get done … Read more
Yes deer season is in full swing, but that’s not what I’m shooting! The other day I ventured around the garden just to see what was growing (and what wasn’t), what was blooming (and what wasn’t), and what I needed to get done (or put off/procrastinate). In the latter category there is a mountain of … Read more
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and your family have a fantastic Thanksgiving filled with fun, family, and of course food!
The shovel, the rake, and the hoe. Three tools no gardener should be without. Ever. They dig, they grade, and the chop the earth. They cut roots and aid the gardener in tilling when the tiller is kaput. While they take a little muscle to use they are capable of great deeds, such as Bermuda … Read more
This time of year it’s interesting to see which plants are still performing well. If we pay attention to how things perform and how long they last we can make better decisions when designing our gardens with plants in the future. If you want to extend the foliage we need to note which plants have … Read more
Of all the fall colors I’ve seen this year the Japanese maples seem to have topped all other trees. This Japanese maple at my mom’s house was figuratively on fire with red foliage lighting up the scenery. I didn’t have my camera with me when it was at its peak but even past peak it’s … Read more
Yesterday in the garden I finally got around to adding more evergreen plants. When the deciduous trees drop their leaves every fall the garden is left bare with very few spots of color. The blank slate of yard we inherited over four years ago has grown and matured every year but there has always been … Read more
It’s finally time to get the chore to end all chores done: cleaning up the vegetable garden. After a year of intermittent neglect, frustration, summer heat, and family tragedy it is definitely time to put this year’s garden under wraps. Mostly under wraps that is. We actually have a crop of greens on the way … Read more
Last year I planted two ‘Winter’s Snowman’ camellias in the front garden. I was hoping that they would bloom last year but alas it was not to be, but they have started blooming this year! The first of the white camellia blooms opened today. It wasn’t fully open when I snapped the picture but I … Read more
Here are a couple pictures of the morning sky through the newly bare trees. The trees with leaves are either oak or eastern cedar depending on where you look. The cedar of course is evergreen but the oaks tend to hang on to their leaves until much later. This old tree is marked for cutting … Read more
This week we had our peak fall color. Not to be confused with a peek at fall color which we will do also!. Our fall color is loaded with maples, sassafras, and a few other trees along the way. We’re gifted to have our property situated on one side of a woods that gives us … Read more
November finds my GROW project seeds from Renee’s Seeds pretty much finished. We’ve had 3-4 frosts which have brought the end to my ‘Yellow Splash’ Marigold and ‘Italian Cameo’ Basil plants. Both of these two annuals did very well in my garden. The basil was tasty and able to take a fair amount of neglect … Read more
I mentioned in my last post I would show you the trees that dad planted. There are quite a few and in this post I really can’t show you all of them but maybe you can see just how much dad loved his trees. This crape myrtle is really a beautiful fall color tree. Most … Read more
Yesterday would have been my father’s 68th birthday. He was a Halloween baby born back in 1943 but since July 6th, 2011 we’ve been without my dad. I think about him in some way everyday and I definitely don’t need anything to remind me of how much he helped me through life, but to honor … Read more
The first frosts are almost always something that this gardener dreads. Mostly because it is the end of the growing season – mostly, some plants will grow on through the winter. But if you look closely at the frost you can also find it is a thing of beauty. Frost on Viburnum x burkwoodii Frost … Read more
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is one of those beautiful plants for fall color that unfortunately gets mixed up with one of similar appearance but of very ill repute: poison ivy (Rhus radicans). The difference has traditionally been summed up in the phrase “Leaves of three let it be, leaves of five let it thrive!” Physically … Read more
I always wonder exactly when the colors are going to peak. It always seems though that you never quite have it figured out until you’re actually past peak. With that in mind are our fall color peaking? Are the color changing maples, oaks, and sassafras at the height of their autumn radiance? Hopefully not but … Read more
My wife told me today that when I post to one of the other offshoots of this blog I need to let people know with a post here! I should listen to my wife more, but don’t tell her that! So what has been updated? For one the Fall Color Project now has several posts … Read more
Since my garden shed’s construction was complete my updates have been less frequent. OK it’s not really complete yet but the physical structure is finished. (Feel free to check out the YouTube slideshow on the shed’s construction) There is a huge list of things I would like to add or improve on the shed and … Read more
This weekend I found myself in the shed working on some shelving and countertops for the reclaimed cabinets I picked up from the dump (yes I’m that cheap!) I’ll talk more on the garden shed later in the week but for now I thought I’d show you a little of what is going on in … Read more