What You Need to Know about Milkweed BEFORE You Plant!
If you have spent any time in the gardening community over the last several years, you have have probably heard about the critical importance of growing milkweed to support declining monarch butterfly populations. It is an incredibly vital plant, serving as the sole evolutionary hostâŠ
Coral Bark Japanese Maple â Overview of the âSango Kakuâ Maple
Usually when I buy plants for the garden I buy smaller 1 gallon pots and wait (sometimes for years) for the trees grow up. But occasionally, I want something that has a more immediate impact. I recently splurged $200 on a 7 foot tall âSangoâŠ
Stunning Flowers and Foliage: Why the Onondaga Viburnum is a Must-Have!
If there is one shrub I would recommend to every home gardener for spring color, itâs the âOnondagaâ Viburnum (Viburnum sargentii âOnondagaâ). This spring our âOnondagaâ viburnum is just beginning to put on itâs seasonal show, and itâs awesome! In the spring its most notableâŠ
15 Gardening Tasks for April!
April is an amazing time of year to get in the garden. The weather is better, the soil is warming up, and the plants are coming alive from their winter rest. April is the time of year when gardeners need to be going full speedâŠ
March Gardening To-Do List: Getting Ready for Spring in Zone 7
March is a awesome month here in Middle Tennessee for gardeners. Zone 7, this is the time to shift from planning to actually getting in the garden. Iâve been out in my front garden tackling some essential chores to ensure a productive and beautiful growingâŠ
Ice and Trees: Can Your Trees Recover?
Ice and trees do not mix well. A fact that weâre seeing all over Tennessee. The recent ice storm that barraged the state left people all over in varying states. A lot of people lost power due to fallen trees and ice. A lot ofâŠ
Stop Losing Cuttings! 10 Tips for Success with Hardwood Cuttings
Have you tried rooting hardwood cuttings only to have them rot or fail to grow? Donât give up just yet. Hardwood propagation is one of the most rewarding ways to grow your garden for free, but there are a few âmake or breakâ steps thatâŠ
32 Plants You Can Propagate from Hardwood Cuttings
Hardwood cuttings are cuttings that are taken from trees and shrubs that are fully mature, dormant stems. These cuttings are normally taken during the late fall or over winter several weeks before spring growth will begin. Hardwood cuttings differ from softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings. WhileâŠ
Starting Tree Seeds Outdoors: A Simple Guide to Diverse Landscapes
Trees are the anchors of our landscapes. They enrich the soil, provide oxygen, offer shelter and food for wildlife, and deliver incredible seasonal beauty. My goal is to diversify our property by replacing invasive plants with a variety of beautiful, beneficial trees and shrubs. InâŠ
How to Start Tree and Shrub Seeds in the Fall (Seed Prep)
Fall is the perfect time to start preparing tree and shrub seeds that need a period of cold weather before theyâll sprout. When seed starting tree and shrub seeds I use two techniques that help to trigger better germination rates. The first technique is simplyâŠ
American Beautyberry â Callicarpa americana
Every so often, I come across a plant Iâve been hunting for and I get pretty excited. That was the case this week when I finally tracked down American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) a native shrub thatâs been on my wish list for quite a whileâŠ.
With Dogwood Tree Cuttings Shorter Cuttings Work Best
A couple months ago I managed to root a dogwood tree from cuttings. Only 1 of 3 cuttings rooted but I still considered it a success. After all it was the first time I had managed to root a dogwood tree from a cutting. YouâŠ
Thank you for visiting Growing The Home Garden! I started Growing The Home Garden in 2007 as a way to chronicle my experiences in the garden.
All the content here is based on my personal experiences and research. A lot of my content is focused on raised bed gardening and plant propagation.
There is also a YouTube Channel for Growing the Home Garden which is over 38,000 subscribers (as of March 2024) that has a lot of gardening videos you may find helpful. Growing The Home Garden on YouTube. Thanks for reading and watching!
Raised Bed Gardening
How Deep do Raised Garden Beds Need To Be?
Raised beds are a great option for gardeners but how deep do they really need to be? The depth of a raised garden bed is an important factor to consider because it can greatly impact the health and productivity of your plants. The true answer to How deep do raised gardens need to be really is it depends! What theâŠ
Raised Bed Garden Ideas (Planning for the New Garden)
Pretty soon weâll be relocating to our new home. Our family is very excited about this but it also means starting the garden all over again. Everything including raised beds, sheds, and arbors will have to be rebuilt. While this is a tremendous amount of work I think itâs a great opportunity to start again and redevelop our garden withâŠ
How to Fill Raised Beds Cheap!
I love gardening in raised beds. It is one of the simplest ways to have success with a vegetable garden. That doesnât take anything away from all the other methods of gardening, only that I believe that raised beds are a great way for gardeners of all backgrounds and skill levels to garden successfully. The best reason to like raisedâŠ
Common Raised Bed Garden Questions Answered
Raised beds are one of the absolute BEST ways to grow a garden but there can be challenges to growing in raised beds. Often gardeners have questions about the best methods to grow in a raised bed. In this post Iâve taken some common raised bed garden questions and put together some answers based on my experience. Iâve grown inâŠ
Plant Propagation Information
Plant propagation is one of my favorite things to do in the garden! Below are some articles on how to propagate various plants. You can also check this page out with specific info on plant propagation: Plant Propagation for Home Gardens
How to Root Viburnums from Hardwood Cuttings
Around Thanksgiving I took 6 small 4 node cuttings from a single viburnum at my in-lawâs house. I donât know what variety the viburnum but that doesnât bother me, I can find out when the leaves begin to grow and the flowers start to bloomâŠ
How to Pot Up Rooted Cuttings
Once your plants have rooted they need potted up or planted. In most cases I will pot up the newly rooted cuttings to help them grow stronger and more established root systems before planting in the garden. Potting up cuttings is a very simple processâŠ
How to Propagate Elderberry Bush: Transplanting and Propagating
Over the years the side garden area of our yard has gradually grown into a small forest area. My kids call the area âthe thicket.â They play in the pathways Iâve cut through. Over time the sassafras trees have grown tall changing the hillside fromâŠ
How to Grow Heucheras (Coral Bells) from Seed
With all the nasty but necessary weather weâve been having lately itâs been hard to get out in the garden to work. Whatâs a gardener to do? Talk about the seedlings growing inside! Today Iâm going to give you an update on how I amâŠ
Propagating âShastaâ Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) from Cuttings
I have many favorite plants (as all gardeners can attest to) but I am really a big fan of viburnums. Many viburnums have showy flowers in the spring, leafy green foliage throughout the growing season, and great fall color. Some are evergreen, many provide foodâŠ
Viburnum and Spirea Cuttings
Last summer I took cuttings from one of my viburnums and a couple spireas. They have a good start this year and are beginning to put on new growth. The viburnum came from a softwood cutting that was about 3-4 nodes long. I need toâŠ
Growing Home Vegetable Gardens
Articles with tips and ideas on how to grow a great vegetable garden.
Vegetable Garden Checklist for the End of March
Everyone is thinking about the garden right now, if not they should be!  The vegetable garden is where you can really reap the rewards of your backyard.  Sometimes though you donât know what you should be doing and when or (if youâre like me) forget a few things every now and then!  So here is a little garden checklist forâŠ
How to Save Seeds from Squash and Zucchini
Saving seeds of squash and zucchini is a very simple process. When the growing season begins to wan start allowing a few squash fruits to grow. They will become large and tough and wonât be well suited for eating but will be perfect for generating seeds. Once the squash fruits are of a suitable extra large size harvest them andâŠ
Growing Mustard in the Home Vegetable Garden
Iâm a huge fan of mustard.  There are few snacks I enjoy more than pretzels dipped in a delicious honey mustard.  I love it on sandwiches and as an ingredient in all sorts of things from chicken dishes to potato salad. Mustard is simply awesome.  Thatâs my opinion anyway.  Itâs also extremely easy to grow mustard in the garden. HowâŠ
5 Vegetables I Will Always Grow In My Garden
It probably seems early and with scattered snow it certain feels early but itâs never too early to start thinking about the vegetable garden! Store bought vegetables just donât thrill me the way the fresh garden picked varieties do. It makes sense when you consider that garden grown vegetables donât have to be picked days before use just to beâŠ
Propagating Peppers Through Cuttings
You might think that peppers are one of those seed only grown plants.  For many gardeners they are, but what if you want an exact copy of a favorite pepper plant?  With peppers we typically sow the seeds in late winter and grow the seedlings on to plant out in the spring. Through cuttings we have another way to growâŠ
The Ugliest Tomato I Ever Grew
Iâve been looking back at my photo albums lately.  Looking back at old photos helps to get a perspective of where the garden is going by remembering where itâs been.  I can see how effective my efforts are at developing a garden, how much things have grown, and remember old plants I might not have anymore.  While perusing the photosâŠ