Thanksgiving is coming up next week and soon those turkeys will be filling our homes with the savory scents of a delicious dinner to be enjoyed among friends and family (and perhaps a nap to follow). A lot of preparation goes into preparing that perfect Thanksgiving dinner and this being a gardening blog we aren’t talking … Read more
Denise from Southern California has another great Fall Color Project post for us! You might think that her region may not have much fall color to offer, but if you look you’ll find it! Just take a glance at the muhlenbergia in full bloom, the ginko trees, or the sweetgum and you’ll see the fall color … Read more
I’m sure you’ve always been wondering “Where can I find a light post that can double as a bird feeder station and has a spot for hanging baskets too?” You’ve come to the right place because I’m going to show you my latest project for Lowe’s Creative Ideas: a garden light post and bird feeder … Read more
Here is a listing of some of the favorite plants here at Growing The Home Garden! There’s always more to grow so check back every now and then to see what has been updated. Annuals Persian Shield Perennials Artemisia Catmint Coreopsis Gaillardia Grasses Heucheras – Tiarellas Penstemon Russian sage – Perovskia atriplicifolia Salvia Verbena Shrubs … Read more
It’s time to take a trip up to Washington and visit Tatyana. She went on a visit to one of her favorite nurseries that has a heavy emphasis on Japanese maples! Japanese maples can be one of the spectacular trees for fall color. While throughout the year Japanese maple colors can range from variegated white and green … Read more
We’re entering the middle of November which means not only is that turkey get closer to being roasted but it’s also time for hardwood cuttings! There are quite a few plants that will easily grow from hardwood cuttings and are well worth trying for any budget minded gardener. Free plants are always a good thing … Read more
This morning was one where the garden was draped in a fog. Fog adds a touch of mystery to any scene. This sunrise picture was taken from our back deck. A birch tree to the left is sporting its last few remaining leaves while the maple is clinging to the last of the fall colors. … Read more
Skeeter has brought us our latest Fall Color Project post! Skeeter teams up with Tina at In the Garden and offers up her garden experiences from Georgia for readers to share. Go visit Skeeter as she strolls the Augusta Canal with the beautiful Savannah River in view. You know how spectacular fall colors and water … Read more
It’s time for more fall color, this time from Illinois! Rose who writes the blog Prairie Rose’s Garden just posted her pictures of fall. Colors in her area come from a range of plants including maples, locust trees, burning bushes, and several other colorful plants from her garden. But of all her colorful plants you … Read more
I’m always excited to see Nancy Ondra’s garden through her blog Hayefield and now the fall color in her Pennsylvania Garden is ready for our annual tour! Nan has been participating in the Fall Color Project for several years now and we’ve all been able to enjoy the fantastic varieties of plants, shrubs, and trees … Read more
This afternoon I went outdoors in the beautiful 60 degree weather and harvested our potato crop. Truth be told its a rather small harvest of potatoes but considering that I didn’t intentionally plant them I am quite pleased! When you leave behind a few potatoes from the spring/early summer harvest they grow into a nice … Read more
This weekend a reader emailed me a few questions she had about my post 5 Fall Things To Do to Prepare the Vegetable Garden for Spring. I thought that other gardeners may be interested in hearing the answers to those questions as well so for today we’ll begin an intermittent series of garden questions and … Read more
The fall season is a busy one. We’re all busy cleaning up the outside areas of our homes and gardens to prepare for colder days ahead. The list of things to do this fall isn’t a short one but if you can fit a few more items to your list you will save yourself some … Read more
Chattanooga, TN is one of the most beautiful places to visit. It’s near the mountains in the south eastern corner of our state along the Tennessee river. The natural hilly area is full of all kinds of trees which make it a perfect area for Emily Rose to photograph and share with us for the … Read more
There are few trees that are more colorful in the fall than maples! The Acer genus really has cornered the market on autumn brilliance. That’s not to say that there aren’t other trees just as dazzling but its hard to actually beat maples for the color show this time of year. The colors they show … Read more
Yesterday we had the good fortune to witness a Monarch butterfly stopping by our ‘Clara Curtis’ mum for a fill-up. Monarchs are on their way south now to find their winter homes and have to stop for nourishment along the way. We usually see them a couple times a year passing through looking for places … Read more
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 … Read more
The peak fall color this year is on its way and Tina has a great post for us with lots of Autumn color to share! Tina writes the blog In the Garden and lives in Woodlawn, TN which is north of Nashville and just south of Kentucky. What fall color does her garden have to … Read more
I wanted to share a few more pictures from my visit to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens the other day but also wanted to give you a Friday 5 post so I thought why not put the two together? For today I’ll give you 5 Great reasons to visit Cheekwood and show you some of the great … Read more
Yesterday I traveled up to the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens to listen to Tina from In the Garden. She was doing a talk on Winter Gardening and all that it entails so we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to visit with her and check out the gardens while we were there. We … Read more
A few weeks ago I planted our fall greens from seed in the vegetable garden. I planted a mix of kale, chard, lettuce, spinach, pak choi, and Brussels sprouts. The seedlings are all located in one of my long 10’x3′ beds made from scrap lumber. They were originally meant to be 10’x2′ like in this … Read more
Fall is well known for its colorful foliage that paints the country each year but there’s still lots to appreciate among the flowering plants! Here’s a few of our current blooming flowers from the garden. Some don’t have much longer to go until the frost declares an end to the show. The ‘Clara Curtis’ mums … Read more
Updated on 11/23/2024 Fall is that time of year when gardeners begin the process of cleaning up the garden but also is the time when we begin to think of next year and saving seeds. One of the my favorite plants is echinacea and I like to save the seed from it to grow and … Read more
I figured since you’ve been waiting in anticipation for the winner of the $50 Lowe’s Gift Card from Lowe’s Creative Ideas that I would share with you a picture of something I’m waiting on – ‘Clara Curtis’ mums to bloom. These beautiful daisy flowered mum that I received at a plant swap several years ago … Read more
Today I’ll show you a few more pictures of the mums but I also wanted to remind you that today is the last day to enter the $50 Gift Card Contest to Lowe’s! The folks at Lowe’s Creative Ideas are providing anyone who comments on the mums project posts this week an opportunity to win … Read more
Is there a flower more typical of fall than mums? Probably not! There are definitely some flowers worthy of autumnal appreciation but the mum is the most common one you’ll find this time of year. I put together a little project for Lowe’s Creative Ideas that uses mums and reuses my dad’s old wheelbarrow. The … Read more
I sadly saw yesterday a weather report that mentioned the “F” word – FROST. It’s coming very soon, most likely Sunday and/or Monday nights. While there are some good feelings about this – like a rest period for the gardener – it’s also a time I dread. Those fresh tomatoes from the garden will soon … Read more
A couple weeks ago I saw a picture posted on Facebook with a display of sedums all planted in an old wheelbarrow. It was a pretty creative idea to re-use a wheelbarrow that may have just been discarded and turn it into something of interest. This gave me an idea for my latest project for … Read more
It’s fall and the gardening season is winding down, but it’s not too late to save a few dollars for next year. There are lots of techniques gardeners can do this time of year to save money for next season. Today I’m going to give you five ideas that will help you save money on … Read more
One of my recent projects was to complete two entrances to our front sidewalk from the lawn. The openings were already there but didn’t have any definition – or at least any good definition that a person walking along would see a clear path to the sidewalk. I had some paving stones in the backyard set aside for another … Read more
The autumn equinox is this weekend which means fall will be officially here but along the way nature has been telling us that fall is here already. Let’s take a peek at some of the signs of fall around my garden. 5 Signs of Autumn’s Arrival The annual discussion of what causes allergies begins when … Read more
Last week I put together a daylily and iris bed to cultivate and divide more plants for my little plant nursery. Daylilies and irises are great plants for any garden since they offer so much for so little. They grow strong without too much attention, enjoy the sun, and are tolerant various soils – which … Read more
I mention yesterday that I would share a couple more things with you about the Fall Color Project 2012 so today here are they are! The first news to share today is that there is a prize available for the participants. All you have to do to win the prize is to join in the … Read more
Please forgive the randomness of my title for today’s post. It’s hard to sum up a weekend in just a few words! Weekends are always busy times in the garden when the weather is as beautiful as it has been. Sunday’s humidity was a bit high in anticipation of the rain that’s falling on the … Read more
By now you’ve probably heard about the study that says organically grown vegetables are not any healthier than their “conventionally” grown counterparts. If you haven’t I’ll 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 didn’t find a significant … Read more
When we first moved into our house back in 2007 and were discovering what our garden had in it we found very little. A nandina, a couple cedars, some reblooming daylilies, and a teeny tiny spirea were all the plants that were there. Not much to start a garden with but I was excited about … Read more
For several years before we bought our house we lived in an apartment. I still had the gardening bug and couldn’t resist planting a vegetable garden in pots on the porch. While today I have ground to plant in I still utilize the porch and deck on our house to grow a few plants. Here’s … Read more
A week ago we found ourselves at the doctors office for one of my children. Nothing major (this time), just a regular check up and physical so she could run cross country (Very cool that a 7 year old wants to run cross country!). After her appointment we left the doctor’s office and found a … Read more
Every year for the past 4 years Growing The Home Garden has hosted the Fall Color Project and now the leaves of the sassafras trees, the golden rod and cooler weather are telling me that its time to begin with the 5th year of The Fall Color Project! It’s always exciting to see the fall … Read more
The other day I was taking the camera out for a walk. We do that often around here. Just my camera and me wandering through the garden. Gazing at flowers, bugs, butterflies, and anything else of interest. I think you know this already – but I take a lot of pictures! I stopped by to examine a … Read more
Just what you want right? Even more things to do in the garden. I’m sure you have everything perfect. Everything is mulched to 2 inches high. Every weed is pulled and the gardens are in pristine condition! Not our garden, not even close! An extra long weekend is ahead which (unless you’ve been deluged with … Read more
The end of August is nearly here and the garden is shaping up for its conclusion. Hopefully it will be a spectacular finish where the flowers bloom out and blend with the foliage as it turns into flaming reds, oranges, and yellows. That may be the proverbial pipe dream as the weather has been strange … Read more
This month’s Creative Ideas Project with Lowe’s and Growing The Home Garden is all about organization! By using a $100 gift card donated by Lowe’s I’ve redone a part of my garage to make it more useful for our whole family – not just the gardener! I think the main problem people have with organization … Read more
Fall is creeping closer and closer each day which brings to mind cool evening breezes, pumpkins, festivals, the Fall Color Project (more on that later), and of course the fall vegetable growing season. Most gardeners seem to garden almost exclusively in the spring or summer and don’t even consider the fall. It’s probably since starting … Read more
Over at Clay and Limestone Gail celebrates the diversity of native plants with Wildflower Wednesday so I thought I would join in this week to share a few of the native plants I’ve run across over the past week. Let’s start with a shrub! This is what I believe to be a gray dogwood (Cornus … Read more
This morning’s cool temperatures made it feel like my favorite season is well on its way. Of course autumn is coming but the extra cool August temperatures we’re having have me hoping for an extended fall season. Here’s a look at a few things from around the garden this morning! ‘Arizona Sun’ Gaillardia – Blanket … Read more
What does a gardener’s garage look like? Before you put an image into your mind please realize that the photo I’m about to show you is extremely embarrassing. My garage has never been a priority for me – the garden has been! When you add three kids to the mix who never seem to be … Read more
Have you ever wondered exactly how tall a raised bed should be? Here’s the answer: 11 and 5/16ths. Yep that’s right, 11 and 5/16ths. Of course not! The real answer is that the height of a raised bed is dependent on a number of factors which makes each situation different. Today’s Friday Fives post is … Read more
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 – … Read more
Mowed the lawn – check. Weeded the shed gardens – check. Weeded the sitting wall garden – check. Weeded and mulched the mailbox garden – check. Weeded the corner shade garden – check – kind of. Weeded the birdbath garden without a birdbath – check – kind of. Cut back a ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia that … Read more
This summer has been a tricky one in which to garden in here in Tennessee. June was the driest month I can remember and hotter than any June on record. July was strange too – extra moisture and cooler temperatures made up some of the lost ground caused by the spring drought. Having strange weather … Read more
The blue berries I’m about to show aren’t from any blueberry bush but are from the Arrowwood viburnum! This viburnum is one of my favorites (but really, I think all viburnums are my favorites). Viburnum dentatum has white flowers that appear in spring and are a great source of nectar for bees and butterflies. The … Read more
It’s time to show you a few pictures of the plants around my garden! The gardens themselves are in need of weeding, mulch, and assorted other chores I haven’t had time to get to yet but that doesn’t stop the plants from looking impressive. Our weather lately has been wetter than normal for August and … Read more
It’s time to start thinking fall garden if you haven’t already! It may seem too hot, too dry or too much like August where you are but over the next few weeks we need to get our seeds started and growing. When to Start Seeds for a Fall Vegetable Garden? The tricky thinking about starting … Read more
Last Friday I mentioned 5 Vegetable Garden Design Tips for the Friday Fives post. Today we’ll look at some more vegetable garden design tips that relate to organization of a garden’s layout! I’ll have to own up and admit it that the organization part of gardening is a skill where I am somewhat deficient though … Read more
You can never have enough arbors can you? Arbors are a design element for a garden that add vertical structure and can provide definition to garden areas. Today I put together a very simple gateway arbor as an entrance to the shade garden I’ve built for Lowe’s Creative Ideas. The last I built used gutters … Read more
Another unforeseen issue has arisen in my garden: blister beetles! These voracious beetles are systematically devouring the foliage of our plants. So far they’ve taken turns tasting our tomatoes, tomatillos, and even a clematis. I’m not heartbroken over the clematis as it’s a sweet autumn clematis that grows like a weed – it will come … Read more
For several years now I’ve written about the value of planting in raised beds. One of the most viewed posts on Growing The Home Garden is my post Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden: 11 Things to Think About. It has 11 design tips that will help your vegetable garden layout achieve its maximum potential. … Read more
A shade garden just isn’t a shade garden without plants right? So what plants should get planted in a deer proof garden? Oops I said proof again. Nothing is 100% proof against a deer. Resistant is a better word. So let’s try this again. What kind of plants should be planted in a deer resistant … Read more
I’ve always loved shade gardens. Foliage plants like hostas and heucheras are two of my favorite types of plants and I just don’t have enough space in my yard for them. The other issue I have is deer. They’ve eaten many of my plants over the years. They love sampling a little bit of everything … Read more
A couple years ago I was given a blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) to add to my garden. I planted it when it was covered with seeds and let it go to grow as it could as I do with so many plants. I forgot about it but apparently several seeds landed in different location near … Read more
It’s always nice to have a few flowers that are so extremely reliable that you can count on them even during the most awkward periods of weather. Recently it’s been raining which has been helping us recover from our drought but these flowers were doing great in the drought conditions. Let’s take a look! Orange … Read more
This July has been very strange for us here in Tennessee. We ended June with intense heat and dryness which continued into July then the weather changed. Rains came back and with them came the hope of producing a quality crop from the vegetable garden. To achieve the best results from the vegetable garden there … Read more
It hardly seems to me that spring had even started before it was gone. This growing season has gone by so quickly, or maybe I’m just getting too busy! Unfortunately the garden has been through some rough times. Drought and unbelievable record heat have crippled gardening in many ways from killing plants to keeping gardener’s … Read more
In the very back of our property we have a shady area. It’s about the only shady area that has occured naturally in our landscape. A mixture of walnut, sassafras, hackberry, and maple trees create a shade area that until recently was completely unusable! It was a problem area in our landscape which I thought … Read more
Over the years I’ve planted quite a few heucheras for my garden. Heucheras or coral bells are becoming more and more popular as a wide array of unique cultivars continue to come on the market. You might even think that heucheras are relatively new to the horticultural world when in fact they’ve been tinkered with … Read more
As crazy as it sounds I’m still putting plants in the ground with temperatures up around 100! The weather may be hot but sometimes you just have to deal with it and move on with your garden plans. Usually a plant will perform much better with less water requirements if it has been planted in … Read more
I’ve been saving seeds like mad this year. Collecting the seeds from my own garden and using them for my nursery as well as for personal use is one easy way to make sure I have quality seed at a low cost! Unfortunately the amount of seeds produced by plants this year will probably be … Read more
It’s been another long break between postings here on the Growing The Home Garden Shed page. If you follow me on Facebook or read my main gardening blog you know how busy I’ve been with starting my own nursery. It’s been a challenge and even though I started off with the attitude that I should … Read more
But there’s a such thing as too hot! This weekend has been miserably hot. The temperatures have raced each morning to break above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Three days now in a row of triple digit temperatures are doing their best to put an early end to the garden. To make things worse the last rain … Read more
My gardens haven’t seen any rain for several weeks now. The grass is brown and I even commented to my daughter that it sounds like crunchy snow. Of course the reality couldn’t be further from the truth – it’s hot! No snowball could survive in our back yard today with temperatures expected to rise into … Read more
Sometimes you don’t really know where your garden is going to go. Impulse plants or bargain plants can shape the type plants you put in, the kind of plant can determine where it goes, or you may even move plants to place them in better locations, but this notion of outside forces shaping your garden … Read more
Aggravations are sure to enter into everyone’s lives at some time or another and when we think of aggravations as a part gardening a whole lot of subjects arise! In fact this list of 5 gardening aggravations that I’m about to share with you could extend well beyond the necessary 5 items for a Friday … Read more
I’m always interested in trying to make new plants and recently I decided to give my Asclepias incarnata a try. Asclepias or butterfly weed make great host plants for butterfly larvae. I’ve always assumed that asclepias needed to be grown from seed or from root cuttings but as it turns out they will root easily … Read more
This week I put together another project in the vegetable garden. It was a little one that was another step toward designing my vegetable garden as a parterre style garden layout. The idea for this project was to create something that was both edible and ornamental! I decided that working in the vegetable garden was … Read more
I hope when you read this post that the rains are coming down in a delightful shower to water your garden, because they certainly aren’t here! It’s dry, extremely dry. Working in the ground is like cutting through a brick. Fortunately we’ve planted plants over the years that can tolerate these dry drought conditions. Autumn … Read more
Yesterday I brought home two more daylilies to add to our daylily collection. Please welcome ‘Serena Sunrise’ and ‘Custard Candy’ to the garden! ‘Serena Sunrise’ Daylily Both of these daylilies have already been crossed with each other (yesterday) and with my favorite daylily ‘Primal Scream’ (today)! I can’t wait to see the results, but wait … Read more
It’s nearly summer which means that it’s time for the daylilies to be showing off their flowers. Daylilies aren’t native plants by any means but they do really well here in Tennessee. They have very few problems and tend to grow nearly untended! I’m sure that combining their low maintenance attribute with their beauty is … Read more
My lately planted vegetable garden is doing its best to get back on track! It’s been a busy spring time and everything got delayed until the official “whenever I could manage a few minutes” time. But one of the great things about gardening in Tennessee is the long growing season. Even if you don’t get … Read more
The heat of summer is coming soon and the rains are going to be stingy at best though the season. Many municipalities give residents watering restrictions in an effort to keep costs down and to maintain a good water supply. While this may seem to make watering your plants a daunting task there are several … Read more
Guess what? June is here, we’re even a week into it, and I still haven’t gotten my vegetable garden completely ready! It’s frustrating to say the least. I’ve been so busy making plants for other people, selling at a local farmer’s market, and recovering from a nasty family sinus virus that I just haven’t been … Read more
Gladiola Flowers The beginning of June is quite capable of leaving us mesmerized by all the flowers that appear. There’s no shortage of blooms for pollinators or for the gardener to gawk at! So today I’m going to share with you a bunch of blooms. And I mean a bunch! I probably took too many … Read more
Here’s a topic I’m a huge fan of: PLANT PROPAGATION! I’ve talked about it repeatedly and those of you who have followed Growing The Home Garden over the years have seen some of my plant propagation experiments. I thought for today’s Friday Five post I would highlight the various common forms of plant propagation. I … Read more
This week I’ve been posting about a backyard project that involves vertical gardening! It was a fun one that actually went 100% according to plan! (That can’t be said for all of my projects!) Often I end up improvising somewhere along the way. The project involved putting up an arbor and running spray painted gutters … Read more
It’s time to show you the construction phase of the vertical garden arbor that I’m building for Lowe’s Creative Ideas! In the previous post I listed the materials and dug the holes for the project so if you’re just now finding this project you may want to start with part 1 of this gutter garden … Read more
Recently the folks at Lowe’s Creative Ideas asked me if I could put together a once a month project using products I found at Lowe’s that fit a specific theme. Of course since I enjoy doing these types of projects around the garden I jumped at the chance! This month they wanted a project centered … Read more
Fads come and go and garden fads do the same thing. What I like today might be different in 10 years, 5 years, or even 1 year! But for this Friday Five post I thought I’d tell you a little about the plants I really like right now. While this list contains some specific plants … Read more
It’s been a few weeks since I last mentioned a notable weed but I can tell you that doesn’t mean the weeds haven’t been growing! Ragweed and Johnson Grass are coming up in force with the warm weather and so is the weed I’m about to talk about today – pokeweed! Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is … Read more
One of the neatest perennials in our garden is ‘Husker’s Red’ penstemon (Penstemon digitalis). ‘Husker’s Red’ has reddish foliage that adds color to the garden during the growing season but it also blooms prolifically for several weeks in the spring. Ours are just now starting to fade so I thought I would take a picture … Read more
We’re always looking for ways to save money and with today’s economy what it is it’s not just wise, it’s crucial for gardeners to save a buck when they can! Gaillardia from a Discount Rack There are several ways gardeners can save money on their garden that are really easy to do and don’t require … Read more
Last week I put together a couple flats of shade garden plants that I’m attempting to grow from seed. I’ve had pretty good success before with my heucheras and thought I would give a few other shade plants a try! A couple years ago I intended (but never got around to) to begin sowing shade … Read more
I’ve been so busy that I’ve neglected the blog for a few days. I even had to miss posting the Friday Fives last Friday in order to get everything done! Fortunately the weekend rains and Mother’s Day gave me a bit of a break to catch my breath but I still feel like I have … Read more
Viburnum dentatum is one of my favorite shrubs in our garden. It’s not as showy as the Japanese dappled willow or the purple beautyberry. It’s not as flashy as roses nor does it provide year round color like the ‘Otto Luyken’ cherry laurels. But it does have an important role in our garden. This viburnum … Read more
I’m always looking for new plants to experiment on to see if I can get them to root. Yesterday I took some cuttings from a grape vine at my mom’s house. Grape vines are pretty popular with home gardeners who want to grow their own food in the backyard so I thought I’d give them … Read more
Hello home gardeners, I need your suggestions! You see a couple years ago my dad helped me build the Blue Garden Shed. One of the things I was eager to install was a green roof but I determined that I didn’t have the knowledge or the money at the time to do it correctly. As … Read more
Each Friday I put together list of 5 tips, plants, or garden related subjects that hopefully you will find interesting! Listed below are the posts. Please comment, share, or link to anything you find useful. Friday Five Gardening Posts 5 Plants No Garden Should Be Without 5 Vegetables That I Will Always Grow in My … Read more
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
