Spring is officially here! Spring’s arrival means it is really time to be thinking about the garden (as if we haven’t been since fall). It’s always important to get the spring gardening season off to a great start. Today let’s look at a few garden tasks that need done to help get your garden going. … Read more
Weeds are one of the most troubling elements of gardening that gardeners face. A gardener’s definition of a a weed is simply a plant you don’t want in a place you don’t want it! Which means that even desirable plants can become a weed pest in the wrong place. Gardener’s want simple and easy ways … Read more
Here at Growing The Home Garden I’m a huge proponent of raised bed gardening. Raised beds can be made of all sorts of materials and have all kinds of advantages for growing a garden. Raised beds are great solution for many tricky situations in the garden. Here are a few ways that raised beds can … Read more
The number one thing people think of when the fall season comes is the leaves. Thoughts of harvests, festivals, and cooler weather come too but when the fall season comes to mind its the leaves that get the attention. Everybody loves the leaves! Here’s why: 5 Reasons to Love Your Leaves The colors. Mother nature … Read more
The weather is changing, the shadows are getting longer, and of course the leaves are beginning to become more colorful which opens the door to a new season of gardening. Every season has it’s own specific chores and things to do. Winter is for planning, spring is for starting, summer is for maintenance and harvesting, … Read more
Every garden experiences pest issues form time to time. Insect pest can be frustrating and sometimes when you discover what is damaging your plants it’s already too late to do anything about it. Here are five common insect pests that you may see in your garden for today’s Friday Five post! Pest #1: Flea … Read more
Our garden sits precariously between zone 6b and 7. We’re in a very borderline area with multiple micro-climates within the 1.3 acres of land we have around us. We’re far enough into the warm season now that the frosts should not happen again until fall, but then we thought we were done with frosts over … Read more
Planting time is here, but before you plant there are a few things you should do to prepare your garden beds. Here are a few things you should do to get the soil prepared before planting out your garden. Weed – This one is pretty obvious but it has to be done! Weeding the garden … Read more
Perennials are the work horse of just about every garden. Trees and shrubs provide structure, but perennials provide a consistent impact. Annuals are great for an instant punch but perennials give you a repeat performance year after year. Some perennials bloom consistently through the season while others give a nice show for a short period … Read more
The garden is gearing up for growth are you ready? Have you prepared the garden and gotten everything set to grow? I haven’t but the warm weather is going to be here this weekend and I’ll be making some headway into my garden’s preparation. When to prepare the garden varies depending on where you live … Read more
The economy is still in disarray and all of us are trying to find ways to do things cheaper and more efficiently even in the garden. Fortunately gardeners are experts at finding ways to be cheap. Let’s look at some easy to do ideas that can help keep your garden budget as low as it … Read more
I’ve written several times before about raised beds. I’m a fan, a huge fan of raised beds. With a raised bed you can control the soil, control the moisture, and garden virtually anywhere. It makes sense that raised beds are a great option for every homeowner (here’s why: 8 Benefits to Gardening in Raised Beds). … Read more
It may not be obvious, or maybe it is, but I think in 2013 vegetable gardening will be more important than ever. There are a myriad of reasons why I believe this and you can pretty much observe it everywhere you go, some sign that points to the importance of gardening. Let’s examine a few … Read more
Seed starting time is just around the corner! OK it may be a little more than around the corner for some gardeners but while we are planning our holiday gatherings those seed catalogs are coming in, enticing us to get started! Today lets look at several seed starting techniques and methods that you can use to effectively … Read more
As a gardener you will find that you wear many hats. We aren’t talking about fedoras, ball caps, or even straw hats here. We’re talking about the different roles you will be called to fill as a gardener! Gardening isn’t just about sticking a plant in the ground and watching it grow (although there is … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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’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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
