I really thought that we were going to miss out on fall color in Tennessee this year. August and September were horribly dry and the trees all looked so stressed by the beginning of October that I really thought the leaves would just drop without turning. I was wrong. The color has been short-lived, but…
It’s berry time again! The onset of cooler autumn weather and the changing of the leaves always reminds me how important berries are in the garden. Plants with berries help to extend the season of interest well into winter in most places. Most berry-producing plants are trees or shrubs of some kind and I thought…
Well, it finally happened. The first frost. We had skated by a couple of nights when the temperatures looked as though they were going to sink, but then stalled out in the upper thirties. Not last night, though! It was a brisk 26 degrees when I woke up this morning and there was an absolutely…
It’s no secret that I’m a plant nut. I wouldn’t be on here doing all of this blogging if I wasn’t! I’m particularly interested in variegated plants and thought I’d share one of my absolute favorites with you. Eucharis, commonly known as Amazon lily, isn’t all that rare in its own right, but about a…
Just a quick note to everyone about a couple of new features on the blog! You can now subscribe to the blog via email! I know there have been some folks who have been unable to subscribe through the other methods, so I’m trying something new that is offered through “FeedBurner”. I’d love it if…
The smell of wood smoke hung heavy in the country air this weekend. In the mornings, especially, the sweet smoky fragrance drifted by on the gentle breeze, reminding everyone that it was time to stock up on firewood if we intend to keep warm this winter. Thirty-eight degrees at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning when…
I always try to be positive in my approach to writing, to gardening and, I hope, to life in general. At the same time, especially when it comes to new plant introductions, I feel like it’s my responsibility to be honest, even if honesty means giving something a mediocre review. I hate to say it,…
Well, I’ve done it! I’ve found ANOTHER new favorite plant. Are you surprised? I didn’t think so. This time it’s a Rudbeckia. Rudbeckia is a genus that I have always been incredibly fond of. Rudbeckias get a bad rap sometimes because of the market saturation by ‘Goldsturm’ (which is an outstanding plant, by the way.)…
Suddenly and without warning, the colchicum have popped and begun spreading their autumn cheer through the garden. They act sort of like the “surprise lilies” (Lycoris) in that one day there is no sign of them, the next day there are buds poking through the soil and within 3-4 days of announcing their arrival they…
This entry is not about plants. Nope. That’s right. It’s not about plants. It’s about the lovely lady that you see pictured here. “Lovely lady?” you ask. Yes, the lovely lady in the picture–the eight-legged one. How do I know she’s a lady? Well–no offense to the ladies–but in this particular case it is specifically…