Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

The holidays are an extremely busy time of the year. We go from Halloween with spooky decorations, to Thanksgiving with autumn harvest styles, then to finally to Christmas. For those who enjoy decorating (and have the storage space for all that stuff) it can be a great deal of fun, but for others who may enjoy the holidays much more…

Almost sounds like a Christmas song but White Nose is the name of a squirrel that frequents our yard and our back deck. He’s a pretty big little guy with a furry white nose, hence his name. He feels quite comfortable partaking of our bird buffet. I really don’t mind the squirrels visiting the bird feeders. The only bad thing…

A few months ago I was sent some Muck Boots from the Muck Boot company to try out. Disclaimer: They sent me the boots for free but everything I say in this post is my own opinion. Also I’ve used affiliate links in this post to Tractor Supply if you would like to find a pair of Muck Boots for…

Over the weekend I spent about 30 minutes piecing together a cold frame to do some hardwood cuttings.  The process for building a cold frame is very similar to building a raised bed.  I used some old pressure treated lumber that used to belong to a deck, an old storm door without the glass, and a couple 4″x4″ scrap pieces…

I’ve been gradually tinkering away at the garden shed. A few tasks are underway that are necessary before the next big step for the outside – painting! I’ve been busy sealing up the cracks around all the openings with caulk. I think I’m just over halfway done with the caulking on the outside. The caulking around the big windows on…

You’ve probably heard of adding lime to soil.  Farmers and lawn experts recommend it frequently to add to gardens and lawns to help your plants grow, but why? Why should you use lime for your tomatoes? What is Lime? Lime is calcium carbonate.  Which leads us to one easy answer for why it might help tomatoes – to combat blossom…

Every year one of the great performances in my garden is the performance of the poppies. These simple red flowers came in a free packet of seed several years ago and still keep on putting on powerful displays of red paper-like petals. With as easy as poppies are to grow and maintain (I do nothing other than spread the seeds…

I’ve said repeatedly that I’m a fan of salvias. It’s no wonder since they bloom prolifically, are easy to care for, and attract pollinators right and left. One salvia in my garden (among many) that I’ve accumulated is the ‘Blue Bedder’ Salvia farinacea which is also called Blue Bedder Sage. It’s not reliably hardy to my zone according to many…

We all know we should compost. Most of use know the things we can compost. So here’s a couple ideas to help you compost! 1. We have a compost bucket outside our back door. The 5 gallon bucket stands ready to collect the compost until we can take it to the big bin in back. There are compost buckets you…

A few weeks ago I dropped a fairly large sweet potato in an old plastic peanut butter jar filled with water to make some sweet potato slips. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables. To me having a simple baked sweet potato at dinner time almost seems wrong, it tastes like I am eating dessert for dinner! But of…

It’s been a very, very long time since I mentioned anything new with the garden shed. Today I went out and took a look around at my overwintered plants, watered a few things, and saw some good signs that most of my plants made it through the winter – at least so far! Garden Shed February Update!

Last week was the first Seed Sowing Saturday on The Home Garden! Starting Seed Sowing Saturday has  definitely motivated my planning, thinking, and preparations for the seed starting this year. I failed this week in one element of my seed plans – the planning! I had intended to put together a list of the seeds I was going to purchase…

It’s taken a long time for our moonflower vine (Ipomoea alba) to finally become mature enough to produce a flower. I planted two moonflower vines from seed at the base of the arbor I built for Better Homes and Gardens soon after its construction. The first couple weeks of their life was difficult due to the rabbits and their taste…

A few weeks ago I told you about the Greenland Gardener raised bed system. It consisted of several composite boards that could be put together using specially made corners also made from composite lumber. With composite materials you don’t have to worry about the materials breaking down which is a huge advantage over typical lumber. If you read my previous…

Welcome to a quick garden tour of our garden in April of 2022! There’s lots of blooming going on around here in our Zone 7 Tennessee garden. The viburnums are their usual showstoppers with their prolific blooms but there are many other things to observe as well. Solomon’s Seal, hostas, heucheras, honesty (interesting that honesty and money plant are the…

Here’s just a quick post to show you the light post made from a front porch post that I put together for Lowe’s Creative Ideas.  Finches, wrens and cardinals have all been sighted visiting the bird feeder.  As an added bonus the birds get to land on the two hanging baskets to hang out and visit.  It’s almost like an…

So the calendar says it’s spring.. Front Yard and Garden and I agree! Front yard and garden with Arbor I hope that wherever you are spring weather finds you soon! Patio Peach Tree Flowers in Bloom

I was able to get outside this afternoon and do a little potting with some cuttings that had rooted. It’s a constant process right now since as soon as one batch gets rooted I start some more. You never know if you will have enough! Sometimes you give away the plants to friends and family, other times the little plants…