Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

The other day when I went to pick up my bricks for the greenhouse flooring the temperatures were still at or around freezing. I had my camera along for the ride and took a couple shots of the ice structures that were along Highway 840 here in Middle TN. I’ve always found the ice sculptures that appear alongside the cliff…

Over the weekend I was able to do something that I never imagined I would be able to do and it was all because of blogging: I took a business trip for blogging. I received an email several weeks ago asking if I would be interested in working with Troy-Bilt to try out some of their products.  Of course I…

Spring means it’s time to take some cuttings!  Today I took a few cuttings of a birch tree I’m eventually going to have to remove.  I planted it way too close to our house and it has gotten too large.  I didn’t want to lose the tree so I thought I would get a few to root and maybe plant…

…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 to see in our garden:…

Breaking News: Fall Color has reached Virginia! Racquel the Perennial Garden Lover has sited some fall color in her neighborhood. Photos of a red oak and the borrowed view of her neighbors’ trees herald the southward march of the fall colors. Go visit her photos and share the fall color experience in Virginia!

Without this world of blogging there are so many places I would never have seen or even known about. Thanks to VP at Veg Plotting I’ve just learned of one more place that if I’m ever in England I would have to visit. Go read about VP’s trip to the Westonbirt Arboretum and view some of the photos she took. …

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 the challenge.  The spirea had…

…meal in my garden this year. Blood meal is one of those organic additives that contribute to the quality of your soil. It has a very important nutrient: Nitrogen. Nitrogen is responsible for growing the green leafy growth on your plants. Since blood meal is made form the dried blood of livestock it is an organic product and releases the…

The signs of spring are showing themselves all over the garden. It’s not just in the flowers the bees and bugs are all coming out of their winter nesting places to sip on nectar and gain strength for another growing season. Here are a few pictures of the flowers I’ve seen over the week. The daffodils are coming up everywhere….

Milkweed Seeds Seed starting is just about to begin in earnest for the year. In some cases the seeds you might want to grow may require some extra steps to germinate best. Annuals tend to do just fine without much pretreatment but often perennials need a period of cold to break dormancy and begin to germinate. This cold period is…

Peppers aren’t as massively planted as the tomato plant in the vegetable garden but those who do plant peppers have a passion that rivals any other fruit or vegetable from the garden.  Some gardeners love the heat and grow the spiciest peppers they can find, while others love the flavor of a sweet red bell pepper.  I find myself somewhere…

Every now and then there is a plant that will root from the leaves, like Asiatic lilies I wrote about earlier in the year. Sedums are another one of those kinds of plants. Recently I rooted several cuttings of ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum and another sedum I don’t know the name of but bears a resemblance to Sedum seiboldii.  You might…

I think the whole subject of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) in our food supply is definitely worth its own post as many people (including myself) have some great concerns. I will not knowingly advocate for GMO’s and definitely caution against their consumption. I am not a scientist and don’t know all the facts regarding the genetic manipulation of organisms but…

It seems to me that phlox and rocks just go well together. It’s not just the rhyming sounds that make the words blend but it’s how the plants and rocks function together. Creeping phlox just loves to wrap itself around nearby objects and rocks are no exception! When I added the border rocks to the front garden I left a…

This weeks plant of the week is another one native to the Smokey Mountains. It may be an easy guess but its a plant worth talking about. It likes the shade and gets plenty of what it likes in the mountains!Take a guess and tell me what you think!

Ornamental grasses are definitely something special to add to the landscape. They add texture, height, and a much needed contrast to flowering plants and wide leaved foliage plants. Ponytail grass (Nassella tenuissima) is a great ornamental grass to choose for many gardens. It goes by several common names like Mexican Feather Grass, Silky Thread Grass, and the aforementioned pony tail…

This winter has been cold and nothing if not unpredictable. Here in Tennessee we’re experiencing a warm day every now and then followed by extreme cold. Hopefully now that March has arrived and spring is close things will be shaping up very soon. With that in mind I put together a project that will help me to get a jump…

If you every wondered exactly why the beautyberry is called a beautyberry I’ll give you two words: “Beauty” and “berry!” These beautiful purple clusters of purple berries are well worth the wait each year for the autumn display. I’ve added several new beautyberries from cuttings to my garden this year and can’t wait until their display matches the first one…