Search
Close this search box.

Blog

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.

Echinacea pallida
GardenGarden designPlants

High summer inspiration at the Lurie Garden

Whenever I’m in Chicago I try to take a stroll through the Lurie Garden in downtown. I realize that the whole point of Piet Oudolf‘s iconic design is that looks great all the time, just in a different way (and in a way that sometimes redefines what looking great means for a garden), but it never fails to amaze me …

Read More
oak leaf hydrangea
GardenPlants

What size plant to buy? An observation of shrubs

Do you ever wonder what size plant you should buy? Is that bigger plant really work twice the price of a smaller plant? I have no clear position on this. Years ago when I was first starting this garden I got very involved in a plant co-op that I purchased dozens (or maybe hundreds) of plant liners through. It allowed …

Read More
pink flower urn
ContainersFriday Finds

Weekend finds

I’m writing this on Friday night because a Friday Finds never happened. I gardened after work until late—I’m determined to have every plant that’s in a pot in the ground by the end of the weekend—and waited for a big expected storm to come through to water it all. It’s amazing how efficient I am right before it rains. The …

Read More
rozanne geranium
ContainersGarden

How to take a vacation from your garden

It’s that glorious time of year when most people are settled into summer and a lot of folks are heading out for vacations. I love a good summer vacation, maybe even more than those blessed  jaunts to warmer places in the middle of winter (although those certainly do more for my mental health), but it’s hard for me to leave …

Read More
how to select plants
Garden

How to select (and find) the right plants for your garden

The privacy screen garden I created at the end of the driveway a few weeks ago should have been an easy project from a plant selection standpoint. It was just four plants: an evergreen, a multi-stem tree, a shrub and a grass. It is, by far, the most restraint I’ve ever shown when planting a garden. It took Mr. Much …

Read More
David Austin Alwick rose
EdiblesFriday FindsGarden

Friday Finds: Catching up with the garden

It’s been a bit since we’ve had a Friday Finds here, because there’s been so much going on in the garden. But I thought I’d dedicate this Friday Finds to all kinds of catching up.  First off, I’ve been trying to get some videos up on the YouTube channel, although not as many as I’d like. Here are a few …

Read More
window box
ContainersGardenPlants

The year’s containers

I waited a bit to show you what I did for containers at my house this year, partly because other gardening projects have been stealing attention, but also because all containers look a little better when they have chance to grow in just a bit. They are all now getting to the point where you can get a real idea …

Read More
3-IN-ONE fast-acting penetrant
DIY

How to bust some rust in minutes

A quick note: This post is sponsored by 3-IN-ONE® Fast-Acting Penetrant, but you know I will always tell it like it is, so all words and opinions are entirely my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog. This time of year is full of big projects. Whipping the garden into shape, never-ending weeding and, if you’re like …

Read More