In the Garden

As a student of gardening for quite a while now, I read a lot, attend classes, and regularly get head-to-toe-dirty while working in my yard. And, even though I often have questions, I’ve developed a bit of confidence in my ability to maintain healthy garden beds and keep our … [Read more...] about Should I Put Used Coffee Grounds On My Garden?

When fall arrived, it seemed that everywhere I looked in my garden, I saw dried plants offering up a bounty of seeds.  Some seedpods were bursting with seeds and seemed eager to be gathered and separated for planting next year.  Collecting seeds is a great way … [Read more...] about How To Collect And Store Perennial Plant Seeds

We finished building a rain barrel stand to support our 58-gallon water barrel. Now, its time to install the rain barrel and a downspout diverter to collect rainwater from the roof. We're using a solid base of pavers to safely support both the stand and a full rain barrel. By … [Read more...] about How To Install A Rain Barrel To Collect Rainwater From Your Roof

The location for the "still to be installed" rain barrel Our "soon to be installed" rain barrel will connect at this downspout We had just started the process of installing our new barrel stand and rain barrel when the project came to a quick stop. We discovered a sizable … [Read more...] about Replacing A Broken Flexible Drainpipe

I was fortunate to spend my most formative years in the country. During elementary and high school years as well as college breaks I enjoyed our 30 acres of land as well as the adjoining farmland. Crops filled some fields, but there were still plenty of open woods with trails to … [Read more...] about Build A Deer Fence That Works And Looks Good

My neighbor called me one afternoon and told me that her husband had just seen a very tall tree fall over in my backyard! I thanked her for calling and quickly went to check it out. Wild Cherry Tree fell and is leaning against other trees in yard I didn't hear when the … [Read more...] about Our Wild Cherry Tree Fell Down!

A gift from my Dad many years ago, this iron garden bench is a great place to sit and enjoy seasonal changes. It's January, a new year with lots of possibilities ahead. My place of choice to contemplate this sort of thing is in my garden. So, I headed outside to get a … [Read more...] about A Close-up View Of My Winter Garden

For years I have faithfully extracted the large, boxed, artificial, Christmas tree from the crowded storage room and dragged it downstairs to our family room. Over the next several hours I would meticulously place tiny lights, pearl garland, and treasured ornaments on the … [Read more...] about Planting A Live Christmas Tree (Post Updated-June 2018: Alive No More!)

This post and photo is updated. Please see below. We're going to trim an oak tree in our back yard. Actually, the technical term is called “crown lifting or crown raising." We love this tree but the lower branches are odd looking and provide too much shade for the flowering … [Read more...] about Trimming an Old Oak Tree (Updated 9/23/18)

I don't believe its possible to have too many hydrangeas. I especially love drying Endless Summer and Limelight Hydrangeas. Therefore, there are quite of few of them planted around our front and back yard. They’re a versatile flower that can be enjoyed anytime since they dry … [Read more...] about Drying Hydrangeas