Anyone who has priced hardscaping lately knows how expensive it can be, particularly if you have large areas to cover. I am redoing my whole area that I used last year for veggies. Long story short, the squirrels were a nightmare for me and I don’t plan to go through that experience a second time. …
Perennials
This DIY Bean Teepee is a fun vegetable garden hack, and gives great support to climbing beans. This year, I changed my vegetable garden into a combined perennial/vegetable border. It’s a long story but basically, the squirrels got the better of my veggies last year and I swore never again. Since I will have flowers …
What is better than a perennial garden bed and a vegetable garden bed? Why, a garden bed that combines them both together. And take it a step further and add herbs to the mix. You will end up with one fantastic garden that meets all your needs. And that is just what the Garden Charmers, …
This year has been a series of setbacks in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long winter and …
I was born in Maine, and one of my fondest memories is the collection of fiddlehead ferns each spring. Even though I have moved away, each year my family boxes up a whole bushel of them and sends them to me by priority mail here in NC. It’s always a special day when that box …
It’s time to check out my garden in March to see what is blooming for me. This has been the longest winter ever. I used to live in Maine and am used to long, cold winters. But here in North Carolina, normally, I have a lot of things growing, especially vegetables, by this time in …
Squirrels in my garden last year made vegetable gardening a nightmare for me. This year, I decided to try combining perennials and vegetables in one garden bed to see how it worked out. I have long been interested in growing perennials. Adding some vegetables into the mix gave my garden beds an interesting new look. …
One of my favorite things to do when I have some spare time is to visit Raleigh Botanical Gardens. I love the new perennial and annual plants that I learn about and it just de-stresses me like nothing else seems to do. Raleigh has a great Botanical Garden called JC Raulston Arboretum. The beauty of …
Oh the weather outside is frightful, or so the saying goes. Here in Raleigh, we are not known for much cold weather in the winter, but this year has been different in that regard. We have had a couple of days of snow and several weeks of unseasonably cold weather, with temps getting down to …
I have loved plants all of my life. For a large portion of it, that meant indoor plants. Now that I have a largish property, it means lots and lots of garden beds with perennials. I don’t have much time to tend indoor plants, but I still like to have a few of them around. …
Readers of my blog will know that my project for this year (and the next two) is my test garden. I have a model that I am emulating from Garden Gate and will grow shade, semi shade and full sun plants in it to write articles about for my blog. Read about the beginning here. …
Earlier this year, I wrote about a test garden that I will be having in my back yard. I am using the garden bed to grow all sorts of things as test plants for the blog posts that I write. Some grow well there and some don’t like it at all, but everything gives me …
Japanese Silver Grass – Miscanthus sinensis – is a perennial plant that has variegated green and white striped leaves and huge plumes in the fall that stall well above the top of the plant. The plant can be used to hide neighboring views and completely cover a chain link fence. It also has lots of winter …
A fan of my Gardening Cook Page on Facebook recently shared with me some photos she took on a recent Garden tour of Stott Garden in Goshen, Indiana. My husband and I spend the summer months touring garden centers around this country. We have visited several of them in Indiana, but when someone mentioned it …
Sweet Williams have pretty fringed flowers that grow in a cluster on top of a long stalk. Dianthus Barbatus is a lovely variety of the dianthus species. Dianthus Barbatus – is a tender perennial. It is often treated as a Biennial with leaves the first year and flowers the second before dying off. My Dianthus Barbatus …
I have long dreamed of having a test garden. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with various types of plants. Some turn out well and others don’t last the season, but I enjoy it all. Since I write about how to grow plants for my blog posts, I wanted a dedicated place where I can test growing …