Letters from the Garden

Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS

I’ve got most of my seeds ordered (and delivered), I just ordered some more willow twigs to start this year and I’ve got my eye on this dogwood and have come *this close* to ordering it about three times but I can’t think of where I’d put it. Cornus kousa ‘Rutpink’ This is the time of year that I really ...

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Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS

I spoke at a local school’s career day yesterday. It was, um, odd. And then I looked around and found out that of the other people speaking at the career day, two were good friends a year older than me, and another two were two years old and two years younger than me. And I though, huh, I guess we ...

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Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS … on SUNDAY

I’ve missed Friday Finds two weeks in a row and I didn’t want to let this one pass completely so I bring you a rare Sunday post. I’ll dispense with the usual preamble and get right into it. Here’s some of the best of what I was loving on the web last week. New House New Home photo Heather shared ...

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Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS & MORE RENO NEWS

Holy smokes, a whole week got away from me without a single post. Sorry about that! Busy week with a lot of late nights up painting. A quick update on the reno in the office before I get to the fun stuff. We had a little surprise early in the week when the drywall guy thought he was finished, but ...

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Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS & A RENOVATION UPDATE

It’s the first  Friday Finds of the year, but first a quick update on what’s happening in the back room / office (I really need to just figure out a name for that room and call it that once and for all). Drywall is up, including on the ceiling, which was a surprise to me. Since we’re putting wood planks ...

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Other

CHRISTMAS WISHES

Ever since we threw a Santa hat on our first dog Hudson when he was just puppy and mailed it out, Christmas cards featuring the dogs have become “a thing.” Mr. Much More Patient says we’ve been slacking off in recent years and needed to do something more extravagant this year, but I’ve found that the more complicated we make ...

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Other

CHRISTMAS CHEER

Christmas is pretty basic at our house this year and I can’t tell you why. Maybe it’s the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having that makes it seem not-at-all like Christmastime. Maybe it’s having house projects in the plans and not wanting to have to deal with anything more. Maybe it’s the logistics of a lot of decorations with a ...

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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.

The area for the new vegetable garden was finally started this week. Leveling has begun, a messy process that involves moving around a lot of dirt. The next step is building the raised beds and I thought the decision making behind the beds deserved its own post.  Gardening in raised beds is very popular, and […]

It’s raining out and I can feel the to-do list getting longer rather than shorter. Currently the list includes: Weeding. Shocker! It’s been alternating rain and sun, heat and damn near freezing here, which means the weeds are popping up faster than I can grab them. Designing my containers for the year. I can’t believe […]

This whole “Impatient Gardener” thing isn’t just a gimmick. I struggle with impatience, and although I’m getting better with it, this time of year is especially challenging on the impatience front.  The landscaper we hired to do the grading for the new vegetable garden told me it would be done this week and now it’s [

The first real days in the garden are special. The jobs at this time of year are not particularly exciting or interesting, but I usually write about them anyway because being back in the garden is special in and of itself. Although the weekend here wasn’t all that nice, we’re looking at some more seasonal […]

Two weeks ago it was snowing at my house, but not until after it sleeted for awhile. It was miserable. Or so I was told. I was fortunate enough to be enjoying gorgeous California sunshine surrounded by amazing plants.  I have much to tell you about those plants, but first I wanted to share the […]

I was skeptical when I first heard about Calamintha nepeta ‘Montrose White’. I’d been to multiple garden talks in which speakers extolled the virtues of this plant. It was a “must-have” they said. But I didn’t think it looked particularly spectacular in photos. Still, I’m a sucker for a new-to-me plant if multiple people have [&hellip

Many gardeners in the north are looking at snow in the forecast this weekend. My most sincere condolences. That is just not OK. I wonder if this lousy spring is a harbinger of an equally cruddy summer to come or if Mother Nature will make up for lost temperatures and cook us this summer. I’m […]

I didn’t intend to start cleaning up the garden over the weekend. The thermometer never got over 40 and there is snow cover on about 40 percent of the garden. But on Sunday, after  walk on the beach with the dogs (in which we saw two bald eagles fly just overhead, quite a rare sight […]

A quick note: This post is sponsored by 3-IN-ONE®  Multi-Purpose Oil, but you know I will always tell it like it is, so all words and opinions are entirely my own. This post may also include affiliate links. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog. It’s hard to think of something that matches […]

Oh my, us gardeners are a sad lot indeed these days. Judging by the comments on my last post and what I’m reading on Facebook, it seems like everyone is feeling the pain of some very confusing spring weather. Sad as it is, I’m taking a lot of comfort in knowing that I’m not alone […]

I can say one thing about this crazy “spring” weather that has blanketed my garden in yet more white stuff: I’m not alone. I’m feeling a little whiny about the almost 6 inches of snow we got overnight (and the fact that they say more is on the way this weekend), but I know what […]

Anyone can garden in a container. The first gardening I did on my own was in my first apartment after I graduated from college. I lived in the upstairs of a duplex and got the landlord to let me put a single plastic pot on the sunny driveway. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t call that […]