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Astilbe Companion Plants – What to Grow with Astilbe
These astilbe companion plants like the same moisture and light conditions and will make a beautifully coordinated garden bed. Astilbe is a gorgeous perennial that is right at home in a shady moist garden. You can grow it alone, but a well designed garden looks better with more than just one type of plant. Keep […]
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Growing Begonias – The Showy Houseplant with Amazing Flowers and Leaves
Begonias are a very popular plant worldwide. They are used as bedding plants and can also be grown as indoor plants. There are lots of different leaf types, colors and flower formations. Growing begonias is a little bit of a challenge but you should do fine as long as you follow a few tips. Tips for […]
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Biltmore Estate Gardens Tour
Biltmore Estate Gardens are a highlight of a visit to this iconic estate in Western North Carolina. The gardens, while not classified as a Botanical Gardens per se, is a fabulous place to see plants of all types. My husband and I recently spent several days in the mountains of North Carolina with our daughter. […]
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Creative Garden Art
Turn everyday items from around the house to make these creative garden art creations. Garden containers can cost an arm and a leg if you purchase it from garden centers. But this does not have to be the case. It is easy to create instant interest in the garden by making use of recycled or […]
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17 Tips for Creating a Cottage Garden
I love a cottage garden. I am not a rule follower by nature, especially when it comes to gardens, and I love the way a cottage garden throws caution to the wind in the rule department. Do you like lots of flowers, flowing lines and a not so formal look? Then a cottage garden might […]
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Pros and Cons of Gardening with Raised Garden Beds
Many homeowners have smaller yards, but would still like to enjoy the benefits of home grown vegetables. For them, gardening with raised garden beds may be the answer. Vegetable gardening normally requires large plots of land in order to get good harvests. But this is not always possible in today’s world. This is where raised […]
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Garden Make Over – 14 Tips for a Success – Before & After
This year, we spent the summer on a garden make over. I thought it would be fun to share the tips that I learned during the process. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my “what will […]
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Growing Clematis – Great Vine for Mailboxes
These tips for growing clematis will help you give this vining plant a home in your back yard. Last spring, I repurposed an old mailbox into a place for my garden tool storage. I planted a few different plants around the base, but I was never happy with the look of it. I decided I […]
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How to Move a Raised Playhouse
When my daughter was young she had a swing set, sand box and playhouse on the left side of my garden. She loved playing there, and we chose this area of the garden so that I could see her playing from my kitchen window. All that is left of the set up is the playhouse, […]
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Elizabethan Garden Statues – Manteo – Roanoke Island
My husband and I recently attended a wedding on the coast of North Carolina. While we were there, we took the time to visit the Elizabethan Gardens at Manteo on Roanoke Island. Seeing statues that depict characters from real life is so inspiring. For another post on this type of experience, be sure to check […]
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Natural Paths for Garden Beds
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. […]
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How To Make An Easy DIY Bean Teepee
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 and vegetables growing in one space, I wanted some decorative and functional items in it. This DIY […]
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Japanese Silver Grass – Graceful Perennial with Winter Appeal
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 […]