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The Impatient Gardener blog was started in 2009 and its library of posts includes practical how-tos, plant guides, favorite garden gear, successes and failures and much more. If you’re looking for something specific, the search function at the top of the page can help.

Ripen tomatoes on the windowsill.
EdiblesGarden

It’s time to cut your tomato losses

As I got farther and farther behind in planting my vegetable garden I knew this day would come. In fact, it comes every year, but I knew it would be even more dramatic this year, as tomatoes just wouldn’t have enough time to produce and ripen all the fruit they were meant to  provide. But here we are: If the …

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planting a japanese maple in a container
GardenPlants

Taking drastic measures to save a special plant

It’s funny how some plants mean more to me than others. Often these are among the first plants I bought.  Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Orangeola’ was, I think, the first expensive plant I ordered online. It was certainly the first tree I bought online. I say online, but I think I actually placed the order on the phone, after spending the …

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Why not try growing tulips in a raised garden bed?
GardenPlants

How to grow tulips even if you garden with deer and rabbits

The first fall after we moved into our house 16 years ago, my mother-in-law bought me a collection of tulips. It was a sweet gesture and one that was particularly lovely the following spring when they all shot out of the ground and showed that hint of color as their tight buds started to open. I was a novice gardener …

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Giant salmon zinnia, grow your own from seed
Garden

A challenging (swat) time in the garden (buzz, slap)

I’m about to gripe about gardening, but I want to preface that by saying that I realize that in light of what many people are dealing with from Hurricane Florence and other natural disasters, this is small potatoes. So on that front, I am thankful that I’m in a position to be able to whine for a moment about the …

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How a lawn mower fits into a fall gardening plan.
DIYGarden

How to give your lawn a fall boost (and still have time to enjoy the season)

 Hi friends: I just want to tell you that this post is paid partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement, but you know how I roll on these things: You’ll always get my honest opinion. I’ll be the first to admit that I will never have a lawn that looks like a golf course. And I’m 100% OK with that. My goal …

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daffodils in field
GardenPlants

Why you should order bulbs now

The start of the gardening year is signaled, in my garden at least, by the blooming of the first bulb. Last year it was a race between one insanely long-lived and abused daffodil and the winter aconites. Even though I cannot bear to think of the months that precede that moment right now, I know the joy that comes with …

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DIYGarden

Three water systems to establish new plantings

There is great irony in writing about varying methods of watering a garden after of two weeks of nearly constant rain here, a weather cycle I can’t remember the likes of but I know so many other gardeners have faced this year (or the exact opposite, and I’m not sure which is worse).  Still, after coming off the most deadly …

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Serkan dahlias and Nicotiana
Friday FindsGardenPlants

Friday Finds: Moments in the garden

Well here we are, on the eve of Labor Day weekend in the U.S., the date many people think of as the end of summer. Well there will be none of that here! The garden is still going strong (although everything is a little beat up after our heavy rains) and I have a lot of “real” gardening left to …

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