tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1608152 2012-07-23T16:26:28-04:00 Get your garden growing with Southern Livings font of humor and wisdom, Steve Bender TypePad southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardenerhttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with Pageflakes tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a88330177438c33b9970d 2012-07-23T16:26:28-04:00 2012-07-24T08:10:55-04:00

Zinnias are the Toyota Camrys of the flower border. Every year, new annuals like 'Serena' angelonia and 'Snow Princess' sweet alyssum come along, delivering more color for more weeks with less work than the flowers before them. Yet at the...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/jjFbrR_rqa8" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/07/zinnias-say-summer.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a88330177434cae3a970d 2012-07-13T13:03:08-04:00 2012-07-13T13:03:08-04:00

When you see a plant blooming its head off in a strip of compacted dirt between a parking lot and concrete wall in rainless, nasty July, you know it's a tough customer. That's just one of the reasons people love...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/vEe1aNPGJEs" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/07/one-more-summer-sizzler-mexican-petunia.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833017616451679970c 2012-07-09T08:04:45-04:00 2012-07-09T08:04:45-04:00

I hate watering the grass, an activity I put on an intellectual par with working in a toll booth. Water is also expensive where I live and every time I turn on the hose, I imagine dimes and nickels flowing...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/CLkll1G23o8" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/07/another-grumpy-summer-sizzler-blue-fescue.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a88330176161ca378970c 2012-07-04T08:59:54-04:00 2012-07-04T08:59:54-04:00

Happy July 4, everyone! Since so many of you will be standing over hot coals today grilling out, I thought there could be no better time to continue my series on plants that love it hot and dry (just like...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/CR_wcQmw-oE" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/07/a-grumpy-summer-sizzler-yucca.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a88330167680cd42f970b 2012-07-02T08:16:43-04:00 2012-07-02T08:16:43-04:00

How hot was it in Grumpy's Alabama garden this week? IT WAS SO HOT, the burning bush caught fire. IT WAS SO HOT, the ice plant melted. IT WAS SO HOT, the bearded iris shaved. IT WAS SO HOT, the...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/y0m7t4ZsWjY" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/07/summer-sizzlers-10-great-plants-to-beat-the-heat.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833017615aab287970c 2012-06-21T12:39:06-04:00 2012-06-21T12:39:06-04:00

Many people across the land are very unhappy right now. They're unhappy because their neighbor's hydrangeas are blooming and beautiful, their hydrangeas aren't, and they're afraid their shrubs' lack of cooperation is a sign of displeasure from the Big Guy....<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/ZwpKdgf_0dg" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/06/why-your-hydrangea-didnt-bloom.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833017615839e10970c 2012-06-15T12:31:50-04:00 2012-06-15T12:31:50-04:00

Grumpy may hate eating raw tomatoes, but I realize most of you love love it. In fact, tomatoes are undoubtedly the most popular veggie to grow in the home garden. (Even Grumpy grows them for his family.) Therefore, it is...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/btNScERtafU" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/06/grumpys-big-fat-tomato-contest.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833016767596ef2970b 2012-06-11T10:12:27-04:00 2012-06-11T10:10:37-04:00

For years, I've been railing against crepe murder -- that odious practice of chopping down crepe myrtles into ugly, thick stumps each spring -- and many of you have wisely listened. Some of you, however, persist in this cretinous pursuit...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/MH3BysOfKe8" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/06/whats-that-white-stuff-on-my-crepe-myrtle.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833016766fda160970b 2012-06-02T07:34:20-04:00 2012-06-01T15:46:11-04:00

As you know, faithful readers, 'Humble" is Grumpy's middle name. Therefore, he is loathe to toot his own horn, even when he has every right to do so. So when the Garden Writer's Association (GWA) recently gave Grumpy a Silver...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/-CtgW6BbK3w" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/06/grumpys-gang-triumphs-again-1.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e55131bf2a8833016766ddb05d970b 2012-05-28T08:44:43-04:00 2012-05-28T08:44:43-04:00

At his church garden, Dad tends irises, my mother's favorite flowers. Every year, America takes a special day, Memorial Day, to honor the fallen heroes who made this country great. In that vein, Grumpy would like to take this opportunity...<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/southernliving/blog/grumpy_gardener/~4/N3lDPpIsU8w" height="1" width="1"/>

Steve Bender http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2012/05/a-day-to-remember.html