The bamboo dilemma

QUESTION: We have a big patch of bamboo growing in our yard that is taking over the lawn. How can we get rid of it? Some gardeners may plant bamboo because they’re intrigued by the exotic touch this giant grass can lend to a landscape. When it’s settled in, it grows quickly and provides a [...]

Iris time in Tennessee

QUESTION: When is the right time to divide irises? Bearded irises, the large, showy flowers that have fuzzy patches on the outer petals, are putting on a pretty nice show across the region right now, and they’ll continue to bloom for several weeks. After they have finished blooming, the rhizomes can be thinned out and [...]

Cover the ground, not the daffodils

QUESTION: What groundcovers can be used that will allow daffodils to come up in the spring? Several plants used as groundcover permit spring-flower bulbs to grow through. Nashville-area garden specialists offer a few recommendations: Ajuga, or bugleweed (Ajuga reptans). To some people this is a nice groundcover, to others it’s a weedy nuisance. It can [...]

Making plans for a great year in the garden

QUESTION: What are YOUR garden goals for 2012? Here are mine: -Grow more flowers. In my yard, that means finding more flowers that thrive in the semi-shade that’s provided by the graceful maples and the giant, beautiful elm tree in our back yard. -Keep trying for better success with tomatoes. That means figuring out how to [...]

Transplant a peony

When can peonies be separated and transplanted? Peonies can be kind of fussy about where they’ll grow and what they’ll do if you try to move them. In fact, most garden experts will tell you that peonies seldom need dividing, and recover poorly from any attempt to do so. That said, there’s a good time [...]

Dividing daylilies

When is the best time to separate Stella De Oro daylilies? Early spring and fall are good times to separate and replant all types of daylilies, including Stella De Oro and other repeat-blooming varieties. Daylilies (the botanical name is Hemerocallis) are blooming beautifully in gardens in Middle Tennessee. The ‘Stella De Oro’ variety, which is [...]

Azaleas: What happened to the flowers?

Question: Last year I planted two azaleas that I found on sale. Both were covered in blooms when I bought them, and both seemed to do well over the summer. But this year, only one of them is blooming, and it has just a few flowers. The other one, nothing. Here’s a picture. What’s going [...]

Let’s talk about gardens

Spring’s almost here, so let’s talk about gardens. But first, let’s talk about The Garden Bench. Eight years ago, when I was an assistant features editor at The Tennessean, I had the chance to start a weekly column about my hobby, gardening. I called it The Garden Club, and wrote that it was “a place [...]