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This last spring Mike from Growild came out to the house and wandered the property with me, a consult. While wandering he spotted a clematis growing in the middle of the yard, I didn't have a clue what it was or how. He suggested I plant it on the fence near where we found it. I did and slowly it climbed. This week was something special, it started to bloom. Since I was unfamiliar with the plant I didn't know what to expect. I am impressed. It grows rather quickly but seems to be quite tame and trainable. I don't think the blooms will get much bigger but who cares. They are lovely looking white flowers with a wonderfully delicate scent. I have found two other clematis plants in the yard, one I replanted and its growing but much more slowly, the other is in the middle of the lawn. I hope to get to it before Johnders tramples it and find a good spot for it. Yea plants! Powered by ScribeFire .

Since I stopped taping live music I have struggled to find a hobby . Something I enjoy the process and the payoff. I have some video games I like to lay play but nothing I'm passionate about. I love Splinter Cell and FIFA but at some point they are just games. I never, or at least not yet, developed any handicraft skills. I did beadwork when I was a teen but I'm not a carpenter of anything like that. I haven't fished since I was a teen either. I don't have many friends and with the ones I do have we don't "do" things. At some point after meeting Tara and her mom I started seeing the things Bonnie was doing with gardening and somewhere along the way I heard about native plant gardening . I've talked about it before but the basic idea is you plant things that live where you live and they should survive, even thrive, with little effort on your art.. It is the lazy man's gardening. If done properly it is also a habitat building form of gardenin...

Tara and I haven't picked a specific day but we are trying to plant a tree each year. Earlier this year we actually planted 3. They had a rough summer but I think they will be fine. On a certain day, month and year one should observe the ceremony of tree-planting. Thus, one fulfils one’s responsibilities, serves one’s fellow-beings which not only brings happiness but benefits all. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, October 1993

Last summer Tara and I started a landscaping project . We tore down a decaying wood fence along the property line and decided to replace it with shrubbery. Like most novices we went to Home Depot and bought some shrubs we liked. I had done research and thought I was getting native Tennessee plants but I was WRONG. More to this later. Most didn't do very well, which we figured was because it was Summer when we planted. Winter came and we finally got around to planting our anniversary tree (we decided to give ourselves a tree for our 1st wedding anniversary). To do this we called a nursery Tara's Mom has used and loves, Growild . Let me stop here and say I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. They made the whole process one of the most satisfying shopping experiences I have ever had. I went to them with a few trees in mind and they made alternate suggestions based on where the tree would be placed and which ones would fair better for us. Keep in mind that they handle nati...

So, these photos didn't format the way I thought but everything is relatively in order of work. This last photo shows a new railing around the basement stairwell. The railing was reclaimed from the railing that used to be around the porch.

As many of you know I live in the same place where I grew up. My parents periodically remodeled things but it was rare. At some point the put security bars on the windows and outdoor carpet on the porch and stoop. Tara and I agreed to change things...