Growing The Home Garden: Gardening in the Home Landscape

Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:53:00 +0000

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 project!

Working on the Gutters

The main feature of this project is the gutter planters. Originally I planned on three 4' long pieces of gutter to make three shelf planter areas but found that the distance between them wasn't as far apart as I wanted them. I could have extended it lower or added a fourth section (and I may do that later) but I decided to go with two pieces to allow the fence to tie in nicely (if I ever get around to doing that part!)

The hardest part of installing the gutters was cuttings them. A set of metal snips are crucial for this! With these all I needed to do was to cut the two sides (front and back) of the gutter along my mark. Then I bent the gutter along the third side (bottom) and cut.

Next I painted the gutters with a Rustoleum hammered copper spray paint. I like the copper look without having to pay a fortune on copper gutters! After the gutters dried I drilled holes in the back side of the gutters about a quarter of an inch above the bottom of the gutter. Being a container that will be in full sun most of the day the gutters will dry out quick and I needed to try to maintain a small reservoir of moisture in the gutters.

While the paint on the gutters was drying I worked on constructing the actual structure!

Building the Arbor

Precision measuring is always important when working on a project. Spending the time to accurately cut and measure lumber makes the assembly part so much faster and a whole lot less frustrating! I'm sure you've heard the saying "Measure twice, cut once" right? So I began with making my measurements on the cross pieces of the arbor.

I used one 12' long 2'x6' for the cross pieces and cut it into two pieces. Lumber typically comes a little longer than what it says to allow room for cutting. After cutting the lumber evenly I had two 6' and 1/4" pieces. Then I figured the decorative corner measurement to cut off of each board. I tried several pencil sketches on the board before settling on one I liked. Here it's up the the taste of the builder on what to do for it. I opted for a simple single cut but if you have a jigsaw handy you can make all kinds of patterns for the corner cut.

Next came some precision measuring! I measured the center of the 6' boards then measured 2' from center and made a mark on the left and right sides. This gave me four feet in between my marks where the gutter space would be. Then I checked the measurement of my 4"x4" which is usually 3 1/2". Then I made another mark 3 1/2" on either side of the right and left marks to create a center line for my posts. This gave me an outline for where the posts would line up.

Then I made marks for the holes where the bolts would go. I set them about 1 1/2" from each edge along the center line. I drilled the holes very carefully making sure that I drilled straight holes. Any deviation would make assembly tough! Once I drilled the 4 holes on each board I lined up my 4"x4" posts to the cross piece and clamped them together. Since I already had starter holes in the cross pieces I used that as a guide to evenly drill my holes through the 4"x4". It worked great! Once I had 2 holes drilled in each 4"x4" I moved all the pieces to the location before assembly!

Assembly of the Vertical Gutter Garden Arbor

This was the fun part, actually seeing the project come together! I simply lined up the posts with the holes and put a cross piece on the ground underneath the 4"x4"s. Then I slid the bolts through the holes and lined it all up. Once I had the second cross piece on the opposite sides of the posts I added a washer and a nut to each one then tightened down.

Next I needed to add drainage gravel to the holes. This keeps the water form pooling at the base of the wood and improves its longevity. Then I stood the arbor up in the holes and adjusted the amount of gravel to make the arbor level.

Then I added the gutters to the project. They are spaced about 16" apart and held up with the "L" brackets. I used some self tapping metal screws I had on hand to attach the gutter and brackets together and a couple deck screws to attack the bracket to the posts.

I checked the vertical garden to make sure it was straight and level then I braced it and mixed the concrete. Follow the instructions on mixing concrete on the package but what you generally want is peanut butter consistency! Add a little water at a time then mix so you don't do too much!

The next step is planting! We'll save that for tomorrow's post!

Remember

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:24:00 +0000

Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters! (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:50:00 +0000

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 around the theme:"Pots and Plants". The idea behind "Pots and Plants" is to create an older or non-traditional object into a planter for an outdoor space somewhere in my garden. I decided to put together a garden arbor that would serve as a fence panel section around our vegetable garden that used gutters as the planter. I've seen various renderings of gutter gardens before and thought that this would be a pretty interesting idea to incorporate into our fence!

I planned out the project and dropped into our local Spring Hill, TN Lowe's Home Improvement store to gather the materials with a gift card that they provided. My wife kept a tally of the material costs as we went through the store and gathered up supplies.

Here's what we bought:
2 - 4"x 4" x 8' Pressure treated Posts 1 - 2"x 6" x 12' Pressure Treated Lumber 4 - 3/8" 8" Carriage Bolts 4 - 3/8" Washers and Nuts 1 - 10' Aluminum Gutter 4 - Gutter end pieces 4 - "L" Brackets 1 Can of Hammered Copper Spray Paint 1 - 80 lb. bag of cement

We actually bought 2 of the gutters with the intent of making three shelves of gutter planters between the posts but found the spacing to be a better fit for 2 - 4' gutter pieces. Everything we purchased for this 4' 6" wide fence panel including the plants was kept under $100. I didn't include the plants we purchased but I'll go over them in another post!

The First Step

For the first step on this project I measured and dug two post holes set 4' apart. I dug down over 18 inches deep which I was extremely lucky to be able to do with only my shovel. I was afraid I would need a digging iron to break through the soil but since the ground was soft, a little damp, and had a decent organic content a shovel was all I needed!

Once I had the holes dug it was time for part 2: Construction! You'll see that in a post very soon!

5 Plants I Really Like!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:27:00 +0000

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 it also contains a types of plants (some of which may only be loosely related.)

Heucheras are the "in" plant of today or at least I think so! They are an American native plant that thrives in dry shade areas. Heucheras are perennial plants that need occasional dividing every 3-4 years. They grow outward and eventually leave an open center section that can be covered back up with soil and encourages to grow back. I prefer dividing them in the spring time by digging the plant up and separating the rooted sections into individual plants with pruners. They don't divide as easily as daylilies or hostas might but can be successfully propagated through division. There are many neat varieties to try and more are being made every year. I added 'Paris' and ' Georgia Peach' to our corner shade garden this year. We also have 'Mocha', 'Katelyn', 'Southern Comfort', 'Dale's Strain', 'Palace Purple', 'Mystic Angel' and a few others.
Switchgrasses are the awesome alternative to miscanthus which has become invasive in many states. Switchgrasses are native grasses that provide nesting locations for ground nesting birds and other wildlife but they also make a fantastic ornamental grass! 'Northwind' is a good upright bluish colored switchgrass as is 'Heavy Metal'. I'm a big fan of 'Shenandoah' for its fall color.
Hostas have been a garden favorite of many gardeners for many years and continue to be one of my favorites! I've been hosta challenged over the years with a garden that has little shade and hosta predators like deer and rabbits. The shade situation is better now but there's no getting rid of the deer and rabbits. Creatively interplanting hostas with heucheras has helped as the deer and rabbits are not terribly fond of huecheras. Hellebores aren't something deer or rabbits eat either and make good companion plants for hostas.
Native Plants are becoming increasingly popular these days for good reason. Native plants do better in our climate since they have adapted to live here over the centuries. They are capable of growing in our challenging soils and take the heat and humidity better than many exotics. I'm trying to add more and more native plants to our garden as I go which I think makes my job as a gardener a whole lot easier! This year I added a red buckeye to the garden near the shed. It's a small tree/shrub that gets beautiful red tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds.
'Shasta' Doublefile Viburnum

Viburnums have always been a favorite shrub of mine. Flowers in the spring, followed by berries in the late summer, and some pretty neat fall colors make viburnums a great choice in any garden. Some can get quite large and once they get started are very strong performers. My newest viburnum is 'Onondaga' which I just planted a couple weeks ago. I can't wait to see how it does in our garden. The lacecap type flowers are very similar to many hydrangeas.

Now it's your turn! What five plants are your favorites?

Write a post on it if you feel so inclined!

More Friday Fives await you if you follow this link!

Pokeweed for Weedy Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:29:00 +0000

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 a very prolific weed in wild areas of the landscape and it won't take you long to realize why.

Pokeweed grows tall. I've seen it exceed 6 feet tall in some places. It produces bunches of berries that the mockingbirds love. It is because of the mockingbirds that the berries are so prevalent in our garden. We have a family of mockingbirds devour the berries and drop them off in various areas of their territory AKA our yard and garden! A word of advice - DO NOT park underneath power lines when pokeweed berries are on the plants - unless you want a purple car.

Pokeweed Flower Buds

Pokeweed is one of many types of poisonous plants and should not be eaten. Birds are immune to the poisonous berries but all parts of the plant are poisonous. People have processed the leaves through boiling water multiple times to make what is known as poke sallet (poke salad) but it is a dangerous meal and should not be eaten!

If you have small children (as I do) I highly recommend removing pokeweed from any area where children have access. The dangling bunches of berries could easily be mistaken by children as something yummy to eat when it couldn't be further from the truth!

Husker's Red Penstemon in the Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:56:00 +0000

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 to share with you. The bees love the bell like flowers that cover the plant!

'Husker's Red' was named a Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year back in 1996 for good reason. It's easy to care for and very attractive in the garden. Our penstemon is in several locations easily accessible to deer and rabbits and haven't had any issues with the hungry animals. This penstemon grows between 2-3 feet tall and has a nice mounding habit. It doesn't spread very much but you can help that along very easily with the propagation technique below!

Propagating Husker's Red Penstemon

You can propagate 'Husker's Red' simply by gently pulling the stalk away from the mound and replanting. If there is resistance water the penstemon and they should pull away very easily. The group of plants you see in the above picture started as 4-5 small sprigs that were removed from another location in the yard. I spaced them at about 8 inches apart and let them merge together around a bird feeder in the front garden. I wrote a post about this propagation technique for 'Husker's Red' Penstemon two years ago if you would like more information on propagating this penstemon.

Do you have 'Husker's Red' Penstemon in your garden?

5 Ways to Save Money on the Garden!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:57:00 +0000

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 anything really crazy. Today's Friday Five post offers up 5 tips to help you save money on your garden. Don't forget to share your favorite ways to save money on gardening in the comments below!

5 Ways to Save Money on the Garden!

Let's start with an important one that I mention often - compost! Compost is composed of a humongous number of living organisms that bring life to the soil. They break down big stuff and make it into small stuff that plants can use. What is that stuff? Nutrients and elements that range from nitrogen to small tiny micronutrients important for plant health. And don't forget what compost does for water retention and regulation! Compost is easy to make, just set a pile of compostable materials in an inconspicuous location and continue to add organic matter! Keep out stuff that draws vermin like meats and dairy while balancing green and brown materials as evenly as you can. Turn as often as you can to speed up the process. Of course I don't do that nearly as often as I should! It works even then! (Just slower.)
Visit plant swaps! There's one this weekend at Henry Horton State Park that I used to go to until my daughters joined dance class and have had recitals every year scheduled on the same day. Plant swaps are a great opportunity to unload your extras and bring home something new. Every swap is a little different so check out the rules first and see what you can and can't bring. Swaps are a great way to deck out a barren landscape. Often there are plants people don't want to bring home that no one wants - maybe you do though! Be careful because many of the plants could be invasive or aggressive in your garden.
The discount racks are another way to garden cheap. I visit them regularly to bring home new varieties I can nurse back to help. Often they aren't in bad shape at all but just need to be cleared out for new stock. Last week I brought home two 'Guacamole' hostas from the rack for $2 each. I divided one into three plants and planted the other. Which ends up being $1 per hosta! Pretty cool! This brings up number 4...
Propagate! Division, cuttings, and seeds are all really great ways to save money. If you have friends with a plant you like ask to get a division of it next time they divide it or get cuttings or seed form it if appropriate. Making cuttings of plants you want to plant enmass is a great way to save on a new garden bed.
Save your water! Saving water is an awesome way to save money and be environmentally friendly at the same time. Rain barrels probably come to mind first and their great but sometimes saving water is more about using your water efficiently! Water deeply when you water and water less often. Plants generally don't want to be soggy (unless they do ;)) and will grow better if they stretch out their roots to find the water deeper in the soil. Mulching around your plants is also great to retain moisture in the soil.

How do you like to save money in the garden?

For more Friday Five Posts Check out this List!

Sowing Shade Garden Seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:33:00 +0000

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 garden plants and began saving seeds for coleus, hostas, and heucheras. I saved the seed in baby food jars (we have plenty of them around) in the refrigerator. I even labeled the jars with the year I gathered them so I know that they were harvested in 2010. Seeds stored in the refrigerator can remain viable for several years so my odds are good at getting some sort of germination!

I sowed four types of seeds: coleus, hosta, heuchera, and hellebore. My hellebores (Lenten Rose) surprised me the other day with a ton of seeds. I researched and read where they like a period of warm weather followed by cold weather and may need stratification to germinate. I also read where seeds sown fresh may germinate. Being hasty I decided I'd chance some of the seeds by sowing them fresh. So far none have germinated but I'll let you know when or if they do.

The coleus seeds I saved had a reddish colored leaf that I bought each year and planted in our shade garden. I haven't been able to find the same variety this year so I'm hoping that what I get from the seed I collected comes fairly true to type. They should look like the picture on the right when grown but could vary quite a bit. If I had found just one coleus like it I could have easily propagated more though cuttings which probably would have been much faster but unfortunately I couldn't find what I wanted so I'll just improvise. Improvisation is always fun!

I've grown heuchera from seed before and it's pretty easy. I usually just sprinkle the very tiny seeds on the soil surface and water. Don't cover with soil. Then you wait. Keep them watered and wait some more. They could take a couple weeks to germinate. If they don't you wait some more! Heucheras don't come true to type (usually) but I really don't want them to. I'd would love to see the neatest heuchera ever developed grown in my backyard - wouldn't you? ;) There's no germination yet so I'm waiting and checking daily in anticipation!

The hostas have germinated. Or maybe I should say the hosta has germinated! So far I only have one but they couple take a couple weeks to all germinate and there's no guarantee that I'll get more than one hosta from this batch. I'm planning on saving seed this year as long as the deer don't eat my hosta flowers! I may even try to hybridize a couple. I've been wondering what a cross between a 'Sum and Substance' hosta and a 'Ginkgo Craig' hosta would look like! Hosta offspring vary greatly in their appearance. We'll see what grows if the flowers develop (and aren't eaten)!

Have you grown any of these plants from seed before?

Trying to catch My Breath!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:55:00 +0000

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 a to do list a mile long to accomplish. I hesitate even to show you the current state of the garden. The weeds are growing a mile a minute and I just haven't had a chance to get out there. (With over two inches of rain from the weekend they will grow even faster now.) You're probably wondering why I'm so busy. OK...even if you aren't you probably are now, if not just pretend and read along anyway. ;)

My mini-nursery business deliveries were mostly fulfilled last week. There are still a couple more to go but the majority of the plants have been passed out. I think during the first year of a business there's a lot to learn. Mistakes get made but if you can overcome them you learn quite a bit about how to do things right. My biggest issue was not starting the plants quite early enough. Our warm snap made people very eager to start their gardens. Next year I'll start a few weeks earlier with the peppers and tomatoes. I won't deliver until after the safe planting date but the extra growing time will help the plants to fill out better. The other issues were management of my "facility" issues. A better arrangement of where I place my plants and how I fill the orders will make things much less stressful in the long run! I spent too much time filling the orders because I was looking for where I put the plants. I'll learn from this and we'll the nursery will get better because of my mistakes! If you're thinking of starting a nursery please remember - it is a lot of work! I enjoyed it, but it is a lot of work!

I decided on and launched a new name for my nursery last week. I bought a domain name for the nursery but right now only have a Facebook page set up for Blue Shed Gardens (I would love to have you follow along)! My idea is to use it as the main nursery and use The Home Garden Box as one product of the main nursery. My goal for Blue Shed Gardens is to have a heavy emphasis on native plants but I also want to be inclusive of other interesting species. Essentially that means I'll grow what I like! No matter what plants we grow we'll be staying local for now.

I spent last Thursday afternoon at the Spring Hill Farmer's Market. It's a small but growing farmer's market in our town. Merchants at the market are required to have home grown or homemade goods and live within 15 miles of Spring Hill, TN. The emphasis for the market is to keep things local and help our community. It was my first time ever selling plants at a farmer's market and went pretty well for the first time. My most popular items were the tomato plants but I also sold some butterfly weed and some herbs. I also had a small inventory of ornamental grasses, Japanese maples, viburnums and various other shrubs. This week I'll have some heirloom watermelons at the market.

Everyday last week I planted another flat of seed including melons and other cucurbits as well as more unique plants like heuchera, hosta, and coleus. Obviously the hostas and coleus aren't native plants but I like them so I'll grow them! Normally folks recommend planting the seeds for heucheras and hostas in the winter time and growing them under lights and heat until spring. I found the seed in the refrigerator and thought it would be neat to get them going so I did! They don't usually come true to the parent plant but I'd like to work on propagating and perhaps developing some new interesting types. So far I think I only have one hosta germinating but it could take two weeks for most of the seeds to start growing.

In the mean time while I've been doing all these other activities my garden has suffered! I have planted out several tomatoes and peppers as well as seed for cucumbers and melons but the garden is getting weedy. The potatoes look great so far and I can't wait to see what kind of harvest we'll be able to get from them. There's a lot to do.

As soon as you figure out how to either stop time or add more hours to the day please let me know!

Viburnum dentatum in Bloom! (Arrowood Viburnum)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:35:00 +0000

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 never fails to flower prolifically. Which means that the birds enjoy it immensely when the flowers fade and turn into a bounty of blue berries! The berries last only a few short days because once they ripen up the feast begins!

The flowers are pretty nifty too. Fluffy white clouds of flowers cover the plant offering food for the bees and other pollinators. I watched yesterday as a tiger swallowtail butterfly landed and helped itself to the nectar.

Even when not in bloom the glossy green foliage makes the Viburnum dentatum worth planting in the garden. It's common name is arrowood viburnum which comes from the fact that Native Americans used the suckering branches to make arrow shafts. This viburnum likes full sun but can tolerate part shade and thrives in zones 3-8.

It gets wide quickly and can overtake other plantings planted too close. The penstemon in this picture to the right needs moved to a better location! (But it is a pretty effect!)

Arrowood Viburnum Propagation

Arrowood viburnum suckers a lot and can be easily divided by removing the suckers. You can propagate this viburnum through cuttings from stem tips, greenwood, hardwood or layering. It's fairly easy to get a new plant started. You can also grow them from seed if you can beat the birds to the berries - good luck with that one!

Propagating Grape Vines with Greenwood Cuttings

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:36:00 +0000

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 a try. I haven't successfully rooted grape vines before so these cuttings are somewhat of an experiment! These are most likely from a Concord grape.

How to Root Greenwood Grape Vine Cuttings

First I trimmed off a few branches that needed removed. Grapes need frequent maintenance pruning to get them to grow in a form that will maximize their fruiting! From those trimmings I selected several 3 node sections.

On the top node of the grape cutting I retained one leaf and because of its size I cut it back significantly to reduce water loss. If you try this look for nodes that are as close together as you can find as they will have a higher concentration of the natural growth hormones and will speed the rooting process up.

Then I dusted the base of each cutting with rooting hormone and placed them in a pot with a mix of sand, peat and perlite.

I watered them thoroughly and now I just have to wait and see if rooting takes place. I haven't done this yet but will probably place a plastic bag over the top of the cuttings in order to maintain a decent level of humidity around the cuttings.

Hopefully in 4-6 weeks I'll be able to see some roots and can pot them up to care for them over the summer until fall.

Grape vines are also good subjects for hardwood cuttings and layering!

What Would You Plant Here?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:02:00 +0000

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 s substitute one of the things I incorporated into the shed was a front door overhang. I made the overhang so that it could be a planter box in effect it could have been a small version of a green roof. The problem is - I never planted anything in it! To this day the front door overhang planter box sits without a single plant growing in it.

What I need help with are a few suggestions to what would look good in the planter box. But that's not all, it has to be sustainable. The plants have to be able to take long periods of dryness (and survive periods of inattention). That might be an emphasis on natives. What would look good? Probably lots of things but they have to be able to thrive on neglect.

So tell me, what plants would you plant on a front door overhang planter box on a blue shed? I'm sure you don't get asked that question everyday!

5 Beginning Gardener Mistakes!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:42:00 +0000

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 - albeit some more than others - but we've all had issues in our garden that we could have controlled with a little extra care. Today for the Friday Fives I'm going to mention 5 Beginning Gardener Mistakes. I've done most of these at some point so feel free to fess up in the comments if you have too!

5 Beginning Gardener Mistakes

I suspect (although I have no studies or data to cite) that the most common mistake gardeners make is not watering properly! Every plant is different and so are their water requirements. Too little water and the plant will shrivel up and die. Too much water and the plant will rot! You have to water with Goldilocks in mind and get it just right! So how do you know if you've watered enough? Experience is one of the best teachers but you could destroy a lot of plants to get that experience! The best way to start with is to check the soil. If you stick your finger in the soil and it is damp about and inch to two inches below the surface you probably don't need to water. Often the soil surface can appear different from what is below. It may look wet but be completely dry where the roots are or it might be completely dry but the soil underneath is soggy. A lot of this depends on the type of soil you have. Compost is such a great soil conditioner since it balances water retention with good drainage. Continue to top dress your garden with compost periodically - and don't forget to mulch!
Putting the wrong plant in the wrong place! I've made this mistake many times, and will do so again! Usually it's because I have an idea of how I think the plant would look in a pot but it really isn't the best place for the plant. Sometimes its because the plant is small to start with but gets too large for a location. Other times its because I've made a judgement error on the site and it gets too much sun, or too little sun. The only way to avoid this issue is to really know your garden. But I'll say this, even if you site your plant perfectly you may end up moving the plant somewhere else anyway, just because you changed your mind!
Not weeding often enough is another big problem. A daily weeding works very well to keep the weeds at bay. It really doesn't take much time each day and you can enjoy your garden while your at it. Too often I play catchup on the weed issues because I get busy and distracted with other life issues - or plant propagating! Take a garden each day to visit and cycle through them. Eventually you will have your gardens under control so that all you need to do is pull a weed or two then enjoy the garden!
Have you ever bought a plant on impulse? You wouldn't be a gardener if you didn't make this mistake! When you walk through a nursery and see a plant that you just have to have, have you thought about where you're going to plant it? This mistake can easily lead to mistake number 2 - Planting the Wrong Plant in the Wrong Place. To avoid this mistake (or perhaps just mitigate it) I built a holding bed to put plants in where I can eventually move them to a new home when I'm ready. If you leave a plant in a nursery pot too long eventually you'll forget to water it. Then your poor plant because a container of purchased material for your compost bin. Another idea is to make a giant list of all the plant you like at the garden center then go to your garden and right down where you want to place those plants. Bring the list with you as you visit your favorite nurseries and when the impulse strikes you you already have a plan!
The mistake that happens probably more than any other mistake to new gardeners is this: giving up. I don't believe that there is anyone out there who can't garden. I think that beginning gardeners tend to make a few mistakes and get frustrated. My advice: stick with it! Once you start having a few successes everything gets easier. But trust me on this: you will still make mistakes!

What was your biggest mistake you made as a beginning gardener?

For More to Read See These Friday Five Posts!

One Critical Thing to Do For Your Vegetable Garden This Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:27:00 +0000

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, homes, and upturned lives - today, we're dry. Very dry. Both of these weather extremes make gardening a bit of a gamble, but there are some things that will help mitigate some problems and ease the stress of unpredictable weather. There is one critical thing you must to for your vegetable garden this summer to help - mulch.

A lot of beginning gardeners don't realize how important mulch is for growing vegetables. Mulch does so much for your garden that it really is critical for your garden's success. So what does mulch actually do for your garden? A lot!

Mulch first and foremost keeps water from leaving the soil too quickly. Without a good layer of mulch the soil will dry out and your plants won't have access to enough moisture top sustain themselves.
Mulch also keeps the soil cooler during the hot summer. Ours summers get really, really hot here in Tennessee and keeping the soil a few degrees cooler may be the difference between good production and no production.
Mulch (if its an organic based mulch and isn't something like rock or gravel) breaks down over time and feeds the soil which nourishes your plants. Many people look at the disintegration of mulch as a problem requiring more work for next year. What it really is is the formation of good quality topsoil that plants need to grow! Mulch breaking down is what you want.
Mulch also keeps weeds down. If weed seeds need light to germinate and can't get it, they won't germinate! Pretty simple right? But even if they do germinate or you've had weeds there that you missed pulling before mulching they are easier to pull because the soil stays more moist!

Hopefully you realize how important mulch is to the success of your garden. I bet the next question you're asking in your head is what kind of mulch should you use on your vegetable garden? Here you have a lot of options.

Straw has been used for ages in vegetable gardens. It's cheap, functional, and breaks down easily which improves the soil.
Pine straw works too. It won't increase the acidity of your soil significantly enough to worry about. It's used ornamentally but is very functional in the vegetable garden since it allows water to easily flow to the roots.
Grass clippings! This is my favorite since it's pretty much free if you have enough lawn to use. Don't use anything treated with herbicides or pesticides since those substances are good for your garden.

Grass Clippings as mulch around potatoes
Leaves. If you happen to have some leaves that haven't decomposed fully from fall you may have some of the best mulch around!
Hardwood mulch works too. I would lean toward something like pine bark that will break down faster and is often found in smaller pieces. Other hardwood mulches will work too but try to avoid anything that has been colored or treated with chemicals.

Hardwood Mulch in the Vegetable Garden

I avoid the gravel and stone based mulches completely. They won't improve the soil and could become problematic when planting.

Mulching simply is critical to have a successful vegetable garden here in Tennessee. Not only will it improve your garden's success and make your gardening easier but it also lowers that water bill!

My Visit To Growild Nursery in Fairview

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:15:00 +0000

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 to me is an example of one nursery that steps it up! Was it the plants that impressed me? Definitely, but that wasn't all. The service by the employees was great. And it's more than just the demeanor of the employees, they knew their stuff! They could tell me the habits of the trees, offer up examples of similar specimens that I might enjoy, and were simply a great horticultural resource.

Growild opens up to the public only a couple times a year. The rest of the season they sell to landscape designers, contractors, and by appointments. Their stock makes them unique in that they are one of only two major nurseries that specialize in native plants. If you're looking for plants that are weather tolerant and grow in our rough soil conditions here in Tennessee then Growwild is the place to visit. They would be an excellent resource for anyone wishing to restore lands that have been taken over by invasive plants like honeysuckle or privet.

Of course I will have to admit I spent much more than I intended at Growild. When they are only open twice a year you've got to right? I went looking for a red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) which I'm thrilled to have planted in our garden over the weekend. The red buckeye is a hummingbird magnet that blooms in the spring with stalks of red tubular flowers. It's a small tree that over the year might reach 12-14 feet. It likes partial shade but can take a few hours of hot afternoon sun. We found a buckeye that actually had a few seeds still attacked to the old flower stalk so that we knew it was already old enough to flower.

I also have a fondness for viburnums and came home with two more for our garden. I went looking for a 'Rusty Blackhaw' viburnum which comes highly recommend by Gail of Clay and Limestone. At the recommendation of one of the Growwild employees I took a look at a Witherod viburnum and instantly knew it was coming home with me too!

'Rusty Blackhaw' viburnum (Viburnum rufidulum) is a larger viburnum that reaches 10-20 feet in height and has spectacular orange to red fall color. It's now planted in the backyard where it and grow as tall as it likes.

Witherod viburnum (Viburnum nudum) is a smaller viburnum that tops out around 5'. What made this viburnum stand out were its glossy leaves. When a plant only blooms for a couple weeks a year its important for it to have another feature that helps it to stand out. I planted our Witherod viburnum in one of our front yard gardens. It has nice fall color too and produces berries that range from pink to blue. The birds love viburnums!

It was an exciting day for me and I think my family enjoyed the visit to Growild too. My oldest daughter even got a mini harmonica lesson from one of the musicians who was there to entertain! If you didn't get to Growild this weekend they will open again in the fall for customers during their tree sale season. If you've never been, it's worth the trip!

The Vegetable Garden - End of April 2012 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:11:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've written about our vegetable garden so I thought the end of April would be a good time for an update! There are a few disappointments but overall most of the garden is right on track. We've used raised beds for several years now but most of them have disintegrated. I've replaced some with concrete retaining wall block stone which has a nice appearance and won't rot out!

Let's take a look around!

Just outside the vegetable garden we'll find cilantro already flowering with delicate white flowers. Our warm weather has caused it to bolt but our cool snaps have started more seeds germinating. We should be able to maintain a little cilantro in the garden for at least another month!

We were disappointed with our sugar snap peas this year. I planted a lot of seed but only one plant is left now. I suspect voles or rabbits are to blame but it's also due in part to old seed that just didn't germinate very well.

The potato patch is doing great! We have 15-20 potato plants growing of three different kinds. I use grass clippings as a mulch. Each time I mow the lawn I add more grass to the base of the plants which encourages them to grow more potatoes down below. It also keeps the soil moist when our rains are irregular. We really need some kind of rain soon.

We have a nice crop of red romaine lettuce coming along. I scatter sowed lettuce in this raised bed and it has done pretty well with no real maintenance. I need to see if I can get another crop started before the weather gets really hot for the summer.

Of course one of the most delicious parts of the garden is the strawberry crop! It's done pretty good this year. I was afraid with the late frosts that we wouldn't have anything but we do have some delicious and sweet strawberries to pick! My strawberry bed needs reinvigorated so I'll fertilize after we harvest our strawberries.

I planted two types of melons and a row of bush beans this week in the garden but we don't have germination yet. It won't be long though! I still need to plant cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, basil, and many other crops in the garden.

How's your vegetable garden growing?

5 Tips to Grow Great Summer Squash!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:42:00 +0000

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 Friday Fives will offer up five things you should know about growing summer squash. Enjoy!

5 Tips to Grow Great Summer Squash

Squash is one of those vegetables that is easy to grow from seed. You can buy transplants but try to purchase squash transplants that are in biodegradable pots so you don't have to disturb the roots systems much when planting. Squash is easy to grow and if your soil is a good well drained mix it should do great in your garden! If not consider bush type squash plants and plant them in pots.
A few plants will go a long way! Squash is a prolific producer as long as you continue picking from your plants. Remember pick early and pick often! Squash is ideally picked at no larger than 6 inches in length. Any larger and you begin losing flavor. The plant will also slow down production since it is moving energy into creating seeds and spending it on those monster squashes that are forming. You will inevitably miss a few squashes from time to time and that won't hurt the overall production much, just remove them and let it resume!
The squash vine borer and squash bugs are the two biggest pests of squash plants. Vine borers hatch from eggs laid at the base of the plant then burrow into the stems which cuts off the flow of nutrients and moisture to the rest of the plant. If you see holes in the side of the stem and your plant is wilting vine borers are probably responsible. Once infected with vine borers there isn't much you can do. Some people report that injections of Bt are effective although I have never tried it. If you see signs of the borers begin planting new seeds or plants to continue production since they won't last a whole lot longer. To prevent vine borers sprinkle diatemaceous earth on the stem. You will have to reapply after rains. Squash bugs like to suck the juices from the plants which can introduce disease and take away moisture from the squash plants. Companion plant some nasturtiums near your squash to repel them!
Squash can suffer from blossom end rot just like tomatoes and peppers. It's a calcium deficiency so consider adding calcium to the soil through lime or bonemeal. Watering with diluted whole milk may also do the trick. I've noticed blossom end rot as a result of damage from squash vine borers so check the stems if you see blossom end rot to make sure you don't have the borers.
Summer squash blossoms are edible so consider adding them to salads or frying them up! The flowers are either male or female which means you need both types to get a squash to form. Plant two to increase your odds. You will have a lot of squash coming your way so don't plant more than a couple plants at a time or you will risk being shunned by your neighbors each time you come to their door with another basket of zucchini! Please consider donating the excess to local food pantries. Do some research into recipes to make your squash produce as unique as possible - you're going to have a bunch!

We like squash grilled, as I said before, but frying it with onions is good too. Zucchini bread is a common squash recipe for summer.

Do you grow summer squash? How do you like to use it?

Read Some More Friday Five Posts!
5 Plants No Garden Should Be Without 5 Vegetables That I Will Always Grow in My Garden 5 Favorite Trees That I Grow In My Garden 5 Ways to Help Wildlife in Your Garden 5 Ways to Naturally Eliminate Weeds 5 Easy To Propagate Plants from Cuttings 5 Herbs You Should Plant in Your Garden 5 Fun Foliage Plants! 5 Ways to Control Garden Pests 5 Companion Plants and How They Help 5 Things to Do To Prepare You Garden for Spring Planting 5 Vegetables and When to Plant Them 5 Easy Ways to Be Organic 5 Neat Native Plants 5 Things You Need to Know to grow a Great Tomato

Read Some More Friday Five Posts!

Propagating Creeping Thyme

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:46:00 +0000

Creeping thyme or Thymus serpyllum makes a great ground cover that is very easy to grow. Once started it quickly grows and spread to fill out areas. It's also an extremely easy plant to propagate. Why is propagating creeping thyme so easy? Let's take a look!

I planted three small seedlings of creeping thyme a couple years ago and now it has grown into an evergreen carpet along our stepping stones. Creeping thyme forms roots anywhere the stems touch a surface. Essentially if the area is dark, roots will grow! Even though our creeping thyme is resting on a stepping stone it still produces a copious amount of roots which makes an awesome opportunity to create more creeping thyme. All I need to do is trim the area around the stepping stone then separate the rooted stems of thyme into individual pots or into new areas of the garden to cover. This propagation process is known as layering.

You might be wondering why a groundcover like creeping thyme is useful? Maybe you already know but we'll mention it anyway! Groundcovers are a living mulch. In a garden anywhere light touches will help germinate a seed. You've heard the saying "Nature abhors a vacuum", by keeping the ground covered with a mulch of some kind will prevent weeds from getting what they need to sprout and eliminate any vacuums. It also keeps the soil cooler in the hot summer. Creeping thyme can tolerate the hot summers here in Tennessee very easily. By placing it underneath and around shrubs it can help keep the moisture in the soil where it will work for the shrubs. Without some type of mulch the water will quickly evaporate. Creeping thyme has very shallow roots and doesn't need much water so planting it with other plants that use more water is a great idea. Creeping thyme would make an excellent groundcover for a formal herb garden.

Creeping thyme can take some light foot traffic which makes it a good ground cover for small pathways that are only used occasionally or stepping stone pathways. You wouldn't want to plant it in a heavily used area. Light traffic will help it too root even better as the occasional foot pressing the roots to the soil will just help the thyme get a better foot hold into the soil.

Do you have creeping thyme growing in your garden yet?

Powdery Mildew and How to Fix It!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

This Sunday's weather was gorgeous. A little cooler than we've been having but a great day to get out and get some big jobs done. I spent much of the day mowing and preparing the vegetable garden then went around taking pictures of the gardens. Things are coming along nicely but there was one issue I'm not too pleased about: powdery mildew! I found the white powdery looking substance on my coral honeysuckle. Mildew of course is brought on by warmth and wetness. We've had both of those in good supply this spring. Most of the time powdery mildew is a summer issue for us.

Treating Powdery Mildew

To treat my powdery mildew issues I'll be using neem oil and a baking soda solution. I'll alternate the two on a weekly basis until the signs have diminished. Neem oil is made from the neem tree and is a good organic solution to fungal issues and some pest issues. For a baking soda solution mixing 2 TBS of horticultural oil with 1 TBS of baking soda and a gallon of water. Sometimes adding a drop or two of liquid dish soap helps to mix the ingredients together.

Improving the air flow around the infected plant will also help with the powdery mildew problem.

Have you seen signs of early summer problems already popping up due to the strange weather this year?

5 Things You Need to Know About Growing a Great Tomato!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:37:00 +0000

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 a GREAT Tomato! There are some tricks that will help you grow a great tomato and a few things to watch out for like pests and diseases. Please enjoy today's Friday Five - all about tomatoes!

5 Things You Need to Know About Growing a Great Tomato!

Let's start with the soil. Good well drained and moisture retentive soil is important for tomatoes. Water logged soil will result in fungal diseases and poor growth. I highly recommend adding compost as it will improve drainage and moisture retention. It also has beneficial bacterias that will aid the health of your plants! One of the benefits to gardening in raised beds is the ability to improve your soil easily - or really to start with the good stuff! If you garden in the ground tilling in or layering compost will improve your soil over time.
Tomatoes like to be planted with as much of the stem under the soil as possible. Tomatoes grow roots along the stem when planted this way which improves their water uptake ability! Trust me, dry summers make this essential! Just remove all the leaves except for the top 2 and plant the tomato plant either horizontally in a trench or (my favorite way) in a hole just deep enough for the stem and roots.
Tomato vines need something to grow on, lean against, or hold it up! They get heavy - especially so when the tomatoes themselves start to come. Keeping tomatoes upright on a trellis or heavy gauge wire frame improves the airflow around the plant which will lower the risk of diseases. Heavy gauge cattle fence panels in an "A" frame work excellent for growing tomato vines. Don't use the small "tomato cages" from the stores as these are usually insufficient to hold up the plants. I've used wooden tomato stakes that work OK for holding up the plants but require the gardener to tie up the tomato plants frequently as they grow.
Tomatoes have several common enemies like hornworms, stink bugs, white flies, nematodes, and lots of other insects. Companion planting is one way to prevent them from showing up unannounced on your tomato plants! Basil works great for repelling the hornworm and flies while marigolds prevent nematodes that grow in the soil. The list of potential tomato pests is long and frequent monitoring of tomato plants is essential in getting the edge on them!
Tomatoes suffer from a few diseases that can be prevented. If you find a tomato with a blacked and rotting end where the blossom was originally formed you have blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is very common and nothing to worry about. It's caused by a calcium deficiency in the fruit that doesn't allow the cell walls to form properly. The calcium deficiency can be cause by a water problem or a lack of calcium in the soil. Often during planting gardeners will add a small amount of lime to the planting hole to help prevent blossom end rot. Adding lime to the soil after the blossom end rot can help too. Blight is the other major issue that gardeners run into on tomatoes. Blight is caused by a fungus. To prevent it water from below and make sure you have a good air flow around your plants. A fungicidal soap may help once you have it to beat it back enough to still get some good tomatoes. When the plant is done for get rid of the plant material - do not compost it in your compost bin as it can remain in your compost! Plant your tomato plants in a different location next year to reduce the risk of re-contamination. A good crop rotation plan is very beneficial!

I hope these tomato tips help you grow a delicious crop of juicy tomatoes this year! I can't wait until that first one ripens up. The ideal planting date for tomatoes here in Middle Tennessee is the first week of May so tomato planting time is coming soon! (I know, some of you already planted this year with the warm temperatures, just remember that this year was unusual and every year is different!)

Read Some More Friday Five Posts!
5 Plants No Garden Should Be Without 5 Vegetables That I Will Always Grow in My Garden 5 Favorite Trees That I Grow In My Garden 5 Ways to Help Wildlife in Your Garden 5 Ways to Naturally Eliminate Weeds 5 Easy To Propagate Plants from Cuttings 5 Herbs You Should Plant in Your Garden 5 Fun Foliage Plants! 5 Ways to Control Garden Pests 5 Companion Plants and How They Help 5 Things to Do To Prepare You Garden for Spring Planting 5 Vegetables and When to Plant Them 5 Easy Ways to Be Organic 5 Neat Native Plants

Read Some More Friday Five Posts!

The Iris Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:46:00 +0000

In our front yard is a triangular shaped area that for now I'm calling the Iris Garden. In a week or so after the irises finish blooming I'll have to change the name to something else but for now the Iris Garden works! I actually began this garden area as a winter color garden but soon realized that winter color should be interspersed everywhere and shouldn't be all by itself. So I redesigned the garden to be what it is now. At different times of the year this garden provides different types of interest.

The Trees

On each point of the triangle design is a tree. The largest of which is a Yoshino cherry that provides some powerful spring color with its white a pinkish colored blooms. Two small redbuds anchor the other points. They were transplants from my in-laws property. Redbuds are tricky to transplant but with some care ( and a long enough root) it can be done! (This is best done when dormant.) Eventually the trees will shade the triangle enabling the garden to be converted to a part shade to full shade garden area. That will be a few years down the road.

The Irises

The current main feature of the garden is the river of irises that flow down from the top point of the triangle. These irises were all given to me by my parents who had a bunch of these lavender purple colored bearded irises. Now we have a ton too! These are highly fragrant irises and you can imagine with as many irises as we have in this garden the scent can be strong! We have other irises in other gardens but I felt that keeping the same color scheme in this garden would give the maximum impact.

The Perennials

There are a few other perennials in this bed along with the irises. Pretty much all of the perennials fit into the purple color category with variations in shade and tint allowing for a cool color blend. 'Caradonna' salvia is right next to the irises and will eventually become a second river that will re-bloom periodically through the summer. 'Purple Homestead' verbena is a spectacular groundcover that is perfect for this garden. It doesn't like being constantly wet over the winters which makes planting in our sloped front yard perfect for it. In the summer two Russian sage plants will flower. One on the right side and the other on the left. Surrounding the Russian sage on the left will be several purple coneflowers that have grown each year from seed with mother nature's help! (We just let the seed fall where it may!)

The Annuals - err... Annual ...kind of....

We have one annual that grace's this garden: California Poppy. It's orange and has nothing in common with the rest of the garden's colors. That's OK since sometimes a unique and unusual color mixed in a sea of similar colors can make the garden pop a little more. Our California poppies self-sow freely. The foliage is a beautiful silver color reminiscent of an artemisia like 'Powis Castle'. This poppy can survive mild enough winters but for us it's more of an annual.

It won't be long before the irises are finished blooming and the dividing and transplanting time will be here. Everything is happening much earlier this year than it has in past years!

'Beni Shichihenge' Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:36:00 +0000

Last week I attended the Bloom N' Garden Expo in Williamson County, TN. It's a neat event held each year that offers garden speakers, display gardens, and (of course) plant vendors! I've been getting pickier in my plant selections over the past year or so because I want unique plants for my garden. I'm not trying to fill it up anymore, just trying to make it interesting! Also money is an issue. Despite advertising here on this blog (which doesn't earn much) and my fledgling nursery venture we're still really just a single income family. I don't want to spend money on plants I can raise from seed or through cuttings. Nor do I want to spend money on plants that I don't have a good place to plant them. So I've been getting more picky. Fortunately at these kinds of shows there are unique plants to find like the 'Beni Shichihenge' Japanese maple I bought!

'Beni Shichihenge' came home with me because it has some really interesting variegated foliage. It begins with red on the leaf edges in the spring which eventually changes toward a creamy white variegation. This Japanses maple is a slow grower and at its top height will reach about 12 feet tall. For now it will grace itself in a pot either on our front porch or back deck. I don't have the perfect place planned for it yet and I'm hesitant to place it in a landscape that is also known as the Bambi buffet!

I bought 'Beni Shichihenge' from an extremely knowledgeable and very personable nursery owner out of a North Carolina nursery called Nichols Nursery. Tim Nichols told me that they have over 700 varieties of Japanese maples in their nursery which also has an online presence at Mr. Maple. I think you can guess how it got its name!

'Beni Shichihenge' was grafted onto another Japanese maple root stock. This is commonly done with Japanese maple cultivars since most of them don't enjoy growing on their own roots. Seed grown grafting stock gives these fancy cultivars a good chance of survival with a strong root system. One common root stock used for grafting Japanese maples is Acer palmatum 'atropurpureum' which is a red leaved Japanese maple.

Around Our Garden Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:30:00 +0000

This weekend after all the garden related chores were done for the day, and just before sunset came, I took a few photographs of how our gardens look this April. I still have mulching, pruning, weeding, and many other things to do but I thought it would be a good time to share some of our garden with you. These pictures are mostly of the backyard but there is one of our sideyard garden where the arbor is.

The first picture is a wide shot of the backyard. The lawn in the middle is framed by the vegetable garden to the right and the birdbath garden to the left. One of these days I'll repair the birdbath and get it back out there! This year has been extremely busy and I've put off some projects in favor of others. The birdbath is one of the "do later" chores. You can see in the vegetable garden the two wooden trellises I made last year for cucumbers and melons. They worked great!

We'll shift slightly to the left and see more of the birdbath garden. Irises are blooming right now but soon other perennials will be showing off. The two shrubs on the far side toward the back of the garden are a ninebark and a witchhazel. I need to move one of them but I'm afraid it may be too late this year. Perhaps this fall I'll attempt it.

Another slight shift to the left shows a viburnum on the corner.

Inside the garden is a statue placed in a patch of catmint. Catmint is one of my most favorite perennials simply because it is so easy to grow! It's easy to propagate too and you can turn one into many very quickly. It attracts pollinators and is said to repel certain undesirable insects (like termites, cockroaches, and mosquitoes)!

This pink phlox has made a nice home underneath a crape myrtle. Unfortunately the crape myrtles in our yard are severely frost bitten. They will recover but if they bloom will most likely bloom much later than normal. We can blame this on the early warm weather and the frost combo.

And last I'll leave you with this photo of our side garden arbor and the corner shade garden. Hostas, heucheras, oak leaf hydrangea, ajuga, hellebores, Japanse ferns, and astilbe all are in the corner shade garden. The Japanse maple is a little frost bit but mostly came through the frost OK.

I hope you enjoyed that quick tour! There's more to come soon!

Weedy Wednesday: Ragweed Seedlings

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Townsend) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:28:00 +0000

It that transitional time of the growing season where the spring weeds are coming to an end and the warm season weeds are beginning to arrive. This time of year is also when many of our warm season crops and plants are coming up too. Sometimes it isn't easy to distinguish between a weed and a seedlings planted from seed when they are young. That's why it is very important to learn what your garden's weeds look like! Today we're going to take a look at one very common, and very annoying (especially if you have allergies), weed: ragweed.

Ragweed seedling sprouting among lettuce in a raised bed.

We have ragweed just about everywhere that the soil is exposed. That in itself tells me that I need to cover better with mulch! Ragweed isn't a hard weed to remove when it's young. It pulls up very easily. When it gets growing it can be a little more tricky to successfully remove, especially when entrenched in dry clay soil (AKA a brick).

Ragweed is responsible for causing many of the fall allergy problems that so many people have. For that reason (and the yummy taste) I recommend eating local honey! Local honey bees use the pollen of plants around them to make their honey which helps the people who eat the honey develop resistance to the pollen. But since this isn't a health food blog I'll get back to gardening! Ragweed unfortunately gets mixed up with goldenrod because golden rod blooms in magnificent golden colored plumes of flowers each fall right when all the allergies are happening. Goldenrod is insect pollinated and doesn't impact people significantly. Ragweed is wind pollinated and gets everywhere which causes the irritation in you're nose that I'm sure you are quite fond of. ;)

This is one of those cases where what you do (or don't do) now could effect you later. Get the weeds when young and you'll have fewer problems!

To find more weeds in your garden look here!

Growing The Home Garden: Gardening in the Home Landscape

Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters (Part 2)

Working on the Gutters

Building the Arbor

Assembly of the Vertical Gutter Garden Arbor

Remember

Building a Vertical Garden Arbor with Gutters! (Part 1)

5 Plants I Really Like!

Pokeweed for Weedy Wednesday

Husker's Red Penstemon in the Garden

Propagating Husker's Red Penstemon

5 Ways to Save Money on the Garden!

5 Ways to Save Money on the Garden!

Sowing Shade Garden Seeds

Trying to catch My Breath!

Viburnum dentatum in Bloom! (Arrowood Viburnum)

Arrowood Viburnum Propagation

Propagating Grape Vines with Greenwood Cuttings

How to Root Greenwood Grape Vine Cuttings

What Would You Plant Here?

5 Beginning Gardener Mistakes!

5 Beginning Gardener Mistakes

One Critical Thing to Do For Your Vegetable Garden This Summer!

My Visit To Growild Nursery in Fairview

The Vegetable Garden - End of April 2012 Update

5 Tips to Grow Great Summer Squash!

5 Tips to Grow Great Summer Squash

Propagating Creeping Thyme

Powdery Mildew and How to Fix It!

Treating Powdery Mildew

5 Things You Need to Know About Growing a Great Tomato!

5 Things You Need to Know About Growing a Great Tomato!

The Iris Garden

The Trees

The Irises

The Perennials

The Annuals - err... Annual ...kind of....

'Beni Shichihenge' Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

Around Our Garden Landscape

Top Posts from Growing The Home Garden! (Friday Fives)

5 Popular Posts from Growing The Home Garden!

Weedy Wednesday: Ragweed Seedlings