Recent Volunteer Gardener Clips
A garden designed with an artist’s eye
October 10, 2024
Troy Marden showcases what was once a typical, grassy residential lot that was transformed by the homeowners into a gorgeous collection of display beds and borders with desirable plants and lots of artistic touches. Japanese maples are definitely the darlings of this garden.
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Mums
October 03, 2024
Peak bloom time for chrysanthemums is September and October. There's a grand selection of these autumn favorites at Grandaddy's Farm in Estill Springs, Tennessee. Tammy Algood gets tips on how to keep the flowers looking good all season long, and how to plant them in the landscape for autumn color every year.
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Collection of Color and Variety
October 03, 2024
We tour the home garden of a self-described plant collector. Her goals for the design were cohesiveness, some symmetry, a bit of formality, and accessibility. She achieved all that, and the garden is beautiful. It features a central circular bed with four paths radiating out. Each has a plant palette sure to please.
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Earthworms: The Good, and the Destructive
September 26, 2024
Host Jeff Poppen, a biodynamic farmer, uses a lot of compost. By doing that, he is rewarded with a plentiful amount of earthworms that aerate the soil and leave nutrients behind. However, not all worms are beneficial. Jeff meets up with an entomologist to learn about a destructive species known as the crazy jumping worm.
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A Mindful Landscape
September 26, 2024
Rita Venable visits with a homeowner who began gardening during the pandemic. She had inherited her landscaping when she purchased the home. Now a native plant enthusiast, she's converted those existing landscape areas into garden beds where native plants, shrubs and trees are performing well.
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Native Groundcovers
September 19, 2024
Autumn is a good time to evaluate the worthiness of ground cover plants, as the strength of the plant and its foliage is evident. Marty DeHart visits a mature garden to profile a dozen different native ground covers. Most of these plants have a season of bloom. Marty considers each one to be worthy of a spot in your garden.
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Healthy Yards Clarksville
September 19, 2024
Residents of Montgomery County Tennessee who desire a yard that has ecological value are finding support and encouragement from Healthy Yards Clarksville. This initiative promotes the use of native perennials, shrubs and trees in the home landscape to support insects and birds. We tour a participant's yard that has had tremendous results in a short span of time.
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Garden in the Sky
August 15, 2024
What a treat to tour the many thoughtful garden beds at a residence that sits on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau at an elevation of 1,900 feet. Rita Venable visits the couple who designed and installed a long and flowing border bed that takes advantage of the grand view just beyond. In a section of side yard, they've allowed nature to be nature. It's full of no fuss, mostly native, herbaceous perennials. Also highlighted are trees and shrubs that support wildlife.
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Container Gardening: Flexibility and Control
August 15, 2024
Ever thought about the flexibility and control you would have if all of your landscape plants were in individual containers? We tour the unique and beautiful backyard oasis that a couple of plant enthusiasts have created by planting up 542 individual garden containers!
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Growing Lettuce in Fall
August 08, 2024
Lettuce is a cool-season crop, so it grows well in autumn. Tammy Algood checks out the beautiful rows of Salanova head lettuce at Red Thread Farm in Franklin TN. Here, they direct sow it in October. Its a cut and come again type that produces until the Persephone Period (when daylight falls below 10 hours/day).