It is always fun to check out new plants coming on the market. It’s not that new plants are necessarily better than old plants (although those bred to address downfalls certainly can be), but it’s just fun to see what is new and different. Here are some new plants I’m most excited to see this year. MANDEVILLA SUN PARASOL GIANT ...
This moment—right now—is when gardeners start to get really restless, particularly those of us in the northern part of the country. Our gardening brethren in warmer zones are reporting sightings of Galanthus (aka snowdrops), hellebores and crocus, and they are starting seeds indoors. But for many of us it is just too soon. Almost anything we do in the garden ...
For many years we had our driveway plowed. Mostly it was great: The neighbor who did the plowing always did ours first because he knew we had to get to work early, it was cleared quickly and we didn’t have to do anything. Well, anything other than pay for it, obviously. Most winters our plowing bill was in the $500 ...
The grocery store closest to our house and my office is closing in the next week or so. The shelves are mostly bare, and what’s left is deeply discounted. It will leave the city I grew up in (population 12,000) without a grocery store until at least the end of summer when a new store is supposed to move in. ...
Climbing hydrangea is misunderstood. It has a reputation as a temperamental thug, one that takes too long to grow and then grows too much when it does. But have faith friends, Hydrangea anomala petiolaris is a victim of hasty judgement. It is true that it can take a bit to get going—three to five years in many cases. For this ...
I always wonder how weeks in the middle of winter still manage to get away from me once in a while. The mental countdown to gardening season has begun, but usually this is the time of year when time seems to pass slowly. Not this week. A death in the family (expected) and deadlines at work blew several blog posts ...
Few plants pack as much punch in to a flower as dahlias do. Colorful, free blooming and often structurally interesting, just about the only thing that dahlias lack is scent. And the secret is out. In recent years dahlias have surged in popularity, which is good for gardeners because never before has it been so easy to find so many ...
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.
When I thought about joining the One Room Challenge I thought six weeks was a tight timeline, but not so bad. Yet here we are in Week 5 and I think it’s safe to say five weeks have never flown by so quickly. Catch up on Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 if […]
I got a message from a friend and blog reader the other day who asked, “How come you aren’t blogging about planting?” It’s a fair question, this being primarily a gardening blog. The fact of the matter is that it’s still really cool here and there is very little to plant. I did sow a […]
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 […]
If you’re wondering what all this bathroom talk is in the middle of high gardening season, I’m participating in the One Room Challenge, a quest to renovate one room in six weeks. Start from the beginning of this journey here. We all know that every renovation has its stumbling blocks and this one is no […]
Yesterday I wrote about the factors to consider when choosing a container. You can read it here, but I broke it down to four factors: Size (err on the side of bigger) Style (what suits your house, garden and personal preferences) Material (will you leave it out all year or have to move it) Price […]
You know that gardening season is truly upon us when I start dreaming about container plantings. In preparation for this year’s containers I have been poring over Deborah Silver’s old blog posts, combing through Pinterest and drooling over some of the amazing containers the rest of the world seems to have access to, but for […]
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 […]
First off, thank you all for your wonderful comments from Week 2. I’m happy to say that thanks to some insanely long hours by our tile guy, the tile portion of this project is moving nicely. There were a couple of factors that came into play with the selection of the wall tile. This bathroom […]
We’re well into seed-starting season at this point. I can tell because I’m bored with it. Well, not bored with it, but it is lot of work to check on those little guys multiple times a day to make sure they are feeling happy. Overall, I would say my seed starting has not been as […]
After several weekends in a row with snow, we finally have a favorable gardening forecast for the weekend. I’m looking forward to getting a serious amount of dirt under my fingernails and checking a lot of gardening to-dos off the list. Some of the seedlings I’ve been growing inside are going to have to be […]
Welcome to the second week of my personal One Room Challenge, where I attempt to renovate one room in six weeks. See Week 1 here. Some affiliate links may be used. I very much appreciate your support of this blog. It was a big week in the bathroom progress and, not surprisingly, we ran into […]
No surprise, I had a harder time narrowing down the list of cool new perennials than the annuals or shrubs. I can see all of these eventually finding a home in my garden. 1. Baptisia ‘Lunar Eclipse‘: There are a ton of new baptisias on the market, but this is the one I’m really in […]
Are you familiar with the One Room Challenge? Every spring and fall, a group of bloggers each choose one room in their house to renovate in six weeks and once a week post an update of what’s happening. The selected bloggers work with brands who provide some support. I’m not doing that. But I am […]
A couple weeks ago, I shared some new annuals for 2016, and today I’m sharing new shrubs that look interesting. Some affiliate links have been used. 1. Petite Pillar Dwarf Boxwood: Plant producers are smart to be working on new boxwood introductions because I still think it’s the single hottest shrub of the moment. This […]
