Recent Volunteer Gardener Clips
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).
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DIY Water Features
August 01, 2024
It's nice to have the sound of water in the garden, and the wildlife appreciate it too. Annette Shrader visits with a home gardener who shares how she went about adding two small features to her garden space. One feature is a small pond with a stacked rock waterfall, and the other is a bubbling rock.
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Making a difference with landscape choices
August 01, 2024
Providing a sustainable habitat for wildlife begins with plant selection, and continues with natural gardening methods. Rita Venable introduces us to a native plant enthusiast who is maximizing his efforts by installing garden beds from the curb to the rear property line. He's finding that he's inspiring others too.
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A Grand Collection of Conifers
July 11, 2024
Conifers are trees and shrubs that bear cones. But beyond that common characteristic, they can vary greatly in mature size, foliage type, foliage color, and growth habit. Annette Shrader showcases a variety of beautiful specimens as she tours a private collection belonging to a couple who are conifer enthusiasts.
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Evolution to lower maintenance
July 11, 2024
We tour the island beds and border beds of a long-time gardener in Murfreesboro, TN. She's looking to make the maintenance of the grounds more manageable. Plant selection is part of the plan. Another part is getting down a layer of mulch for weed control. We look at some dependable plants, including peonies, allium, ferns, trillium and hosta.
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Let nature be nature in the home landscape
June 27, 2024
We're introduced to a couple who have planted their yard in native plants that nurture wildlife, yet the landscape fits well in the subdivision setting. The front yard is more uniform with colors of white, purple and pink blooms. A newly planted border bed along the side of the house features shade plants. The largest space, the backyard, features bordered vegetable beds and vignettes filled with pollinator-friendly plants.
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Daffodil Field of Dreams
June 27, 2024
When we heard there was a person in Sparta TN that had taken steps to make a planting dream come true, we had to find out from the source. Sheri Gramer introduces us to Tracy, who set out to plant 5.000 daffodil bulbs in the half acre in front of her front porch. With the help of lots of family and friends, this is now a reality that is sure to increase in the 'wow' factor each and every year.
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Residential Composting System
May 23, 2024
Compost is one of the best things to add to the garden. Marty DeHart shows off a simple design for a backyard cool weather composting system that features 3 connected bins with wood slats. Garden waste and vegetable scraps are the important elements that get transformed within this type of composting system.
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Pollinator Pathway
May 23, 2024
There's a beautiful native plant experience on the plaza adjacent to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. Several garden beds highlight this large space, and each is brimming with native perennials, shrubs, and vines. Each plant was selected for what in can offer particular pollinators.
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Planting for Pollinators
May 16, 2024
What a treat to visit the home garden of a horticulture power couple! Rita Venable is amazed by all the great plants that support pollinators in a very long border bed. Also on the property is a utility right-of-way that they are transitioning into a beneficial plant palette. In the 4 years of garden transitions,, the goal is to continue to shovel out plants of an invasive growth habit, and replace with environmentally beneficial trees, shrubs and perennials. Plus, we'll be introduced to a new and unique spot in the garden they call the 'loggery'.
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Mid-summer blooming perennials
May 16, 2024
The mercury climbs in mid-summer, but so can the beauty in your garden. April Moore profiles some of her favorite perennials that have colorful blooms to admire, and attract hummingbirds and pollinators. Among these great plants are salvias, lobelias, rudbeckia and phlox.