April Gardening at Buckhorn Inn

We love gardening at Buckhorn Inn!  Our guests from other parts of the country often are curious about our growing season.  So we thought we would give you a peek into what we are doing this April.  

Our display of spring bulbs was beautiful this year.  We are marking their locations so we will know where to fertilize this fall.  We are diligent about removing the faded flowers to make everything look better and to keep seeds from forming.  Our Siberian irises are blooming now.  After they finish we will divide them and replant.  

We have pruned the perennials that have not yet started to grow, and renewed our mulch so that is about 3″ deep.  We pruned our trees, removing dead and diseased limbs, before they began to leaf out.  

The annual flowers we have set out bring color now, and throughout the entire summer.  Even though some early balmy temperatures and sunny days were seductive, we waited until we were sure spring had arrived for good before we put them out!  

Gardening for Edibles

This month we filled our new raised-bed vegetable gardens with seeds for early and late lettuce mixes, kaleidoscope carrots and okra.  Last week we planted tomatoes and a mix of sweet and hot peppers.  We are especially pleased with our new kitchen herb garden.  It is planted right outside the kitchen door for easy access by our chefs.  

Our selections include dill, cilantro, basil, curry, rosemary, majoram, oregano, thyme, and sage.  We look forward to seeing how the supply of fresh herbs and vegetables will inspire our chefs!

The school of agriculture at the University of Tennessee is a wonderful source of information and inspiration.  Check out their website http://www.agt.tennessee.edu/utg for information and inspiration!  They also have information on upcoming events, such as their May 6 Plantapalooza and hosta sale!

We wish you a wonderful spring and hope that your gardens grow and flourish!