Dirt Therapy

Raindrops on Japanese maple It is 70 degrees today, cloudy with the threat of rain. Stormy weather is predicted for Saturday and of course has people on edge. The tornadoes that came through a few years ago is still fresh in the memory. There is beauty in the garden this time of year, you just have to look for it. Often, it is lurking in the small details. The vibrant winter foliage of Viburnum "Mohawk" with Holly "O'Spring" in the background - Camellia "Chansonette" - Miscanthus Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

I spent the day in the kitchen yesterday and made our entire Thanksgiving meal. This is unusual for me since I'm not good at multi-tasking. We didn't have any Thanksgiving plans this year so we had a great dinner last night and now we have leftovers! I posted yesterday on Facebook about my Broccoli Salad and Cranberry Sauce. I will repost those recipes here. I also made dressing for the first time in my life and I made it in the crockpot. It was fantastic! Michael said that it reminded him of his mother's which was the ultimate compliment. We also made Alton Brown's Green Bean Casserole (with some changes) and it was wonderful. I will have to post that recipe another time since I'm not sure exactly how Michael did it.  And, of course, turkey. Slow Cooker Cornbread Dressing 6 cups prepared cornbread (Michael made me some cornbread the previous night. You can also use Jiffy mix cornbread but I suspect it would not be as tasty). 8 slices of day-old bread (I ...

Today was sunny, cold and blustery. A carpet of red Japanese maple leaves cover the ground right outside our front door.  They are absolutely stunning. I ventured out this afternoon and did a few chores, closing up the outside vents to our basement, bringing in some containers and replacing some of our clear globe lights that hang in the trees. Tomorrow is predicted to be a frigid day with temperatures only reaching into the high 30s.  We've been blowing the leaves into the borders every week but this is a futile job and you can't hardly tell anything has been done the following day. However, we would be buried in leaves if we didn't do it. Where does the pimento cheese in the title come in? Well, after doing our weekly Saturday morning chores, Michael and I spent quite some time in the kitchen. He made us delicious vegetable soup and I made him another batch of pimento cheese. I've never seen a person who likes pimento cheese as much as that boy does! It is qui...

We are back from our annual beach vacation. This year we were at Santa Rosa Beach again (between Destin and Panama City Beach, Florida). The weather was beautiful, sunny days in the 70s and mild mornings and evenings. Only one day of rain - the last day we were there - but I enjoyed it because we were in a house with a tin roof and I was curled up with a good book. Our house also had walls of windows overlooking the beach. It was very cozy. The photo above was just one of many beautiful sunsets we enjoyed. Here are some more photos taken from our deck - Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

A frost is predicted for tonight. Today was very cool but pretty and sunny. I mowed the front strip and took some photos. I also moved all of the houseplants to the library. The first frost is always sad because you see all these beautiful blooms that might not be here tomorrow. And perhaps they will. It usually doesn't get as cold here as it does in outer-lying areas of town. Our garden is well insulated with lots of leaf cover. I have noticed that some plants looked stress, especially the hydrangeas, so I watered them today. A good watering helps plants before a freeze. Chrysanthemum "Ryan Gainey" Camellia "Snow Flurry" Angel's Trumpet Miscanthus "Adagio" and Oakleaf Hydrangea "Sike's Dwarf" Miscanthus "Morning Light" Switch Grass "Northwind"   Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Michael's Salon is currently listed so if you know of anyone needing a salon or a building for other business purposes, pass this along. The listing is located here.   Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

A few weeks ago I took some photos in the woods behind my mother's property. I've experimented with planting things there and have had mixed results. This year hasn't been bad because we have had plenty of rain. I finally gave up on trying to keep plants watered. It is an impossible task! So, they are on their own. This is actually a wildflower and grows in pastures and open, sunny areas. It is called Ironweed ( Veronica gigantea ). Isn't it pretty?   The Black Tupelpo tree (Nyssa sylvatica) is doing well. Sweetshrub ( Calycanthus floridus) - I've planted several of these and they seem to do well, with minimal care. Bald Cypress ( Taxodium distichum) - I planted this right next to the creek-bed and it is doing great. I see these growing down by the Tennessee River, just a few blocks from our house, but I don't see them growing around my home place. Sourwood ( Oxydendrum ) is another tree that I've had good success with. This is a ...

A few weekends ago, my brother and I drove around the rural backroads of Franklin County. This is where I grew up. Fall is a beautiful time of year here. The trees haven't changed color yet (that will happen in early-mid November) but autumn is definately in the air.  The pastures and roadsides are covered with Goldenrod, Swamp Sunflowers and various wildflowers.     One of my favorite autumn plants is the Sumac. It is just beginning to change color and will take on much fierier hues as the season progresses. Haystacks and turkeys This is Dog Fennel (thanks Sweetbay! It grows in huge drifts with feathery foliage. I caught a glimpse of flowers in a pasture and pulled over to get a better look. This looks like Ageratum. Another wildflower I'm unsure about. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy