The Crotchety Old Man

Category: Gardening

  • Progress in the Garden

    Since moving to this house in November 2012, I’ve removed more permanent plants from the yard than I’ve added. The removals had outgrown their allotted space–and then some. Committing to replacements has been a challenge. I decided to hold off before planting anything to study the space. I fixed drainage issues, improved the soil, and…

  • Happy Groundhog’s Day!

    February 2 may well be my favorite day of the year. The groundhog definitely saw a shadow at my place. Whether he’s right or wrong, the possibility of an early spring lifts my spirits. I celebrate every year by planting something. Usually, I plant cool-season seeds and seedlings outside. I hadn’t planned to grow any…

  • Planning for Planting

    The 2025 garden season is here. Hope springs eternal. Visions of beautiful flowers and bountiful harvests dance through my head. This year will be the best yet! More often than not, each new season is better than the last–especially with plants that come back every year. Experience makes a difference too. Lessons learned in previous…

  • Temporarily Perfect

    The new fence and mulch mentioned in my Fresh Start post a few weeks ago have finally been installed. Thanks to Hurricane Helene, the wait for the fence ended up being closer to six weeks than the two promised by the contractor. The old fence still worked, so no harm done. My decision to focus…

  • Tea (Olive) Time!

    Every fall, a delightful fragrance fills the air here in Athens. Tracking the scent to its source is a challenge. I don’t recall how long I’d lived here before a garden buddy told me it came from tea olives (Osmanthus fragrans). Tea olives are broad-leaved evergreens that bloom intermittently from fall to early spring. The…

  • Fresh Start

    After moving from an overwhelmingly large yard to something more manageable twelve year ago, my return to gardening has been gradual. There is no landscape design or grand vision for a garden. My flower beds were already here or evolved to make mowing easier. Limited growing space and a pages-long list of must-haves keep me…

  • My Pot Garden

    Quality growing space is in short supply in my little yard. Poor soil and too much or too little sun are the main issues. Container gardening solves both problems. My pots are a bit smaller than the half-whiskey barrels they resemble. After punching drainage holes in the bottoms, I filled all five with assorted bagged…

  • Freaky Foxglove

    Foxgloves are easily grown from seed and often volunteer in the garden. The tiny seedlings come up quickly and grow fast. I keep them in flats until they’re big enough to plant in the garden. All parts of the plant are toxic. Deer (aka rats with hooves) won’t touch them. They’re a mainstay in a…

  • Seed-starting Success

    The Spring seed-starting season is over. I’m happy with the results. Lessons learned from previous seasons made a difference. Over-planting has long been a problem. Yeah, I plant too much–that’s just my style. I like mass plantings. Growing too much causes problems. I quickly run out of room under lights and in the coldframe. Planting…

  • Treating my Spring Fever

    Groundhog’s Day has come and gone. Shadow or not, the prospect of an early spring makes me want to garden. Unseasonably mild weather in recent weeks is testing my resolve to avoid planting too early. Digging up day lilies to expand my veggie garden scratched my itch for several days. They came from Dad’s garden…