I’m so excited and honored to have my little yellow lamp redo featured on one of my favorite blogs, Better After, today. If you’ve not checked out Better After before, it’s so worth it. You wouldn’t believe the inspirational stuff that people come up with. I’m honored to be in such good company.
Anyone who lives in a small space knows that you have to find storage space anywhere you can. Even people who live in large homes tend to need more storage than they have. But that’s the thing about storage: stuff tends to just fill the storage void. How many of you know someone with an empty drawer in their house? ...
Like a lot of projects, painting the stairs is one of those that has gotten a lot worse before it can get better. Let these pictures serve as a lesson. Any time you feel like skipping some prep steps in a painting project remember this: Not exactly inviting you upstairs are they? At some point in our house’s history some ...
So let’s be clear on my position on Christmas decorations: There is a time for them. And when that time is over, they need to be gone. Personally, I like to see them gone on about January 1, but I understand that a lot of people follow the 12 days of Christmas thing, so decorations stay up until January 6. ...
It’s probably a sign of the times that I’ve been flummoxed by a countertop for the bathroom vanity. We live in a time when you can get almost anything you want, and usually pretty quickly. So perhaps I was being presumptuous when I assumed that the way one went about getting a counter for a vanity (I assumed since I’ve ...
I don’t think I’ve mentioned all the issues with the vanity, mostly because they are one of the more unsavory parts of this renovation. But it’s a good dose of reality for anyone considering a renovation or building and certainly bumps in the road are part of the process. It’s disheartening, however, when the finish line seems so close. When ...
I bet Mr. Much More Patient had never heard the word pergola until about a year ago when I said, “Ooh, we should have a pergola!” His response was, “What is a pergola for?” Now that we actually HAVE a pergola, I thought it would all be clear to him. So when it was assembled on the deck last week ...
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.
This is not an exciting photo. It’s exactly what it looks like: A recently mulched garden bed with very few plants in it. I’m sharing it with you to show you that things don’t always go as planned and sometimes you just have to do what you can. When I decided last year to reclaim […]
I used to find super cute clothes on vacation in some place with tropical weather, and I’d bring them home and try to wear them and it was a disaster every time. After I had a closet full of skirts with loud prints, impractical tank tops and at least one hat made from palm fronds, […]
I think window boxes are some of the most fun but most challenging containers to get right. Depending on their placement they may need to drape, may have restrictions as to how high they can be (so as to not block a window) and are often narrow, leaving not a lot of soil for plants […]
It’s no secret that I covet chickens. For various reasons, they’ve been a non-starter with Mr. Much More Patient, so I enjoy chickens vicariously through friends who have them. And I’m not going to lie here, one of the main reasons that I want chickens is because I want a super cute chicken coop. My […]
It’s no secret that I covet chickens. For various reasons, they’ve been a non-starter with Mr. Much More Patient, so I enjoy chickens vicariously through friends who have them. And I’m not going to lie here, one of the main reasons that I want chickens is because I want a super cute chicken coop. My […]
My head has been all over the place this week. I still feel like I haven’t gotten back in the swing of things after being gone (seriously, what is with that), and I haven’t even unpacked my bags yet. So I’m looking forward to a weekend with some time in the garden to put me […]
I’ve been a bit slow in posting this week, in part because it’s that horrible just-back-from-vacation thing where you’re running around and feel like nothing is getting done, but also because I took SO many photos this year that it’s taking me awhile to get through them. I tell ya, Mackinac Island is heaven for […]
I returned home this past weekend after 10 days away from my garden. Things faired far better this year than previous years, thanks in part to the crazy, ongoing rain we’ve had. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen lawns so green in mid-July before. There’s always a lot of weeding and cutting back that happens […]
I’m leaving my garden. Not permanently; perish the thought as I actually had a nightmare to this effect a few weeks ago. Nope, I’m just going out of town for little bit. But it’s difficult to leave at this time of year. The garden is looking good. And between the heat of summer and the […]
It’s more or less the middle of the gardening season here in my zone 5 garden. It’s the point at which some areas of the garden are cruising along and others, neglected still, are looking worse than ever. They’ll be dealt with when time, temperature and the mosquito population allows. The urge is to sit […]
I have a bit of a love affair with clematis going. I can’t explain this, other than by saying I find them to be very satisfying plants to grow. And I’m not alone. As I read and learn more about this great family of plants, I discover that there are a lot of people who […]
How did it get to be the middle of summer? Ugh … it’s going too fast and needs to slow down! The good part about this time of the year is that the major work in the garden is starting to wind down. That’s actually sort of funny because of course I would prefer […]
When I hear about structure in the garden, my mind immediately goes to what I consider the backbone of a garden design: trees, large shrubs and structures. These typically create the framework around which the rest of the garden falls into place. But a relatively new-to-me plant has me rethinking the idea of where […]
It’s been a while since I updated you on the progress of the circle garden, but it’s really coming along. The brief history of this garden, which sits right by the front door, is that it was a weedy patch of dirt with a few perennials in it when we bought the house. I resurrected […]
