Last Saturday I attended a garden seminar (I just love going to garden seminars and shows in late winter; it is so fun to dream) where Richard Hawke, the plant evaluation manager for the Chicago Botanic Garden was the keynote speaker. I’ve gone to a lot of seminars, speeches, talks, etc. for work and pleasure, and Hawke was one of …
Last week I wrote about my favorite new plants of the summer. Here are a few that earned honorable mentions a couple that were just plain disappointments. Raspberry Blast with Gold Dust and Snow Princess on the front steps. Narrowly missing the “best of” list was Petunia Raspberry Blast. I never really liked this petunia much in the past. It …
I tried several new-to-me plants this summer and found several real winners in the bunch. These are the plants I’ll find a way to incorporate into the garden next year. 5. Royale Chambray Superbena – I don’t have a photo of this from my own garden because I used it in the window box and it got a little crowded …
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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 […]
