I should not be surprised because this happens every year: Blink and it’s Fourth of July. How we got halfway through 2016 and to what we consider the mid-point of summer, I have no idea, but here we are. Summer can slow down already. The floribunda rose I’ve been growing in a pot for a few years is looking so ...
Happy Friday, dear readers! It is a glorious summer day and a great weekend is forecast so let’s not waste any time and get to the good stuff happening on the Internet this week. Summer is here: the roses are starting to bloom! How much do interior designers charge? I’m sure this varies a ton by location and other factors ...
I thought I better check in here just so you all know I’m still around. I have lots of excuses for my weeklong absence here, but excuses are a bore. I’ll be back soon with lots of gardening, a fantastic giveaway and more. But for now, I just want to take a moment to remember our Newfoundland Rita. She died ...
It’s Friday Finds time, something I haven’t had time to do for a couple weeks. I’m a little behind on my blog reading as well with craziness in the garden, at work and in life. All good stuff, just busy. I wouldn’t have it any other way. How about a pretty picture to start? The ‘Coralburst’ crabapple we planted last ...
Everything is running a little late this Friday, so here are some very late-in-the day Friday Finds for you. How to create real alpine plant trough (without killing the plants). Drawing in perspective was always difficult for me. M.C. Escher I am not. But I like this tutorial on how to draw your garden in perspective because it starts with ...
I hate to whine about the weather so much, but my goodness it has been COLD here. I have a lot of seedlings in the temporary greenhouse and I’ll be honest, I haven’t gone in there in two days because I’m afraid of what I might find. They cannot have been happy the last few days with very cold nights ...
I have more garden cleanup (both my own and at a master gardener project) on the schedule for this weekend, a date with some nasty garlic mustard weed that, I kid you not, grew 5 inches in one night when we got a lot of rain and one more sowing of tomatoes to try to salvage my seed plans scheduled ...
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.
Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I worked with Garrett Wade, which has some very cool garden tools, on this post. I was compensated for my time and provided samples to try out. As always, my words and thoughts are genuine and mine alone. I took a look at the extended […]
My appreciation for shrubs grows deeper every year as I appreciate the low-maintenance aspects of them and new, improved shrubs of all shapes and sizes are released every year. Hydrangeas are not unique. In fact they are so popular that even professional plants people will admit they get a little sick of them. But more […]
A quick note before we get into a makeover I’m really excited about: This post is a paid partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement, but you know how I roll on these things: You always get my honest opinion whether you want it or not! Here’s a typical summer for me: Part 1: Hurry, hurry, hurry. […]
Over the weekend I did something I should be doing much more often. I got out of bed early and, instead of lingering over multiple cups of coffee, I grabbed my camera to take a few pictures in the nice morning light. Whether you take photos to share, as a record of your garden or […]
There’s something special going on at a little island smack dab at the meeting point of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. I’ve never been to a place outside the tropics where a garden can be filled with every color and have it work like it does on Mackinac Island. The air there is clear, the […]
Four years ago when I planted comfrey, I went into it with my eyes wide open. I knew that because comfrey grows very deep roots (like 15 or more feet deep), and because it grows very easily from root cuttings, that once I planted it, odds are, it would be in that spot forever. So, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
