Last weekend I dug a hole that was large enough that I figured any neighbors who might have stopped by would probably slink away assuming I was digging a grave. I’m not kidding. This hole was about 6 feet wide by a good 3 feet deep and almost 3 feet wide. When I was finished moving all that soil out ...
For many years I resisted the idea of planting a tree or shrub to memorialize a loved one who has passed. I can’t imagine something worse than planting a tree to remember someone and having it falter. It would be like revisiting that loss all over again. And then I planted a tree as a memorial and I changed my ...
For many years I resisted the idea of planting a tree or shrub to memorialize a loved one who has passed. I can’t imagine something worse than planting a tree to remember someone and having it falter. It would be like revisiting that loss all over again.And then I planted a tree as a memorial and I changed my mind. ...
Plant death happens. But it sort of stinks when it happens to you. Every spring I check in with all my plants. It doesn’t take but a minute: Dead or alive? Sometimes it takes some time so this is a question asked frequently. Sometimes all that remains is an empty spot in the garden where I could swear a plant ...
This is the part of this six-week challenge where I’ve come to the full realization that there will be no major reveal in a week. Not a complete one anyway. This has been a frustrating project in that regard because nothing is seeming to come easily. I would guess this is more typical of most projects people do than when ...
One the biggest challenges gardeners face, particularly in certain parts of the country including the Midwest, is wildlife damage. It is soul crushing when you go to your formerly beautiful garden to find plants mowed down overnight by deer. The deer in our neighborhood are so bold they basically give you the stink eye if you interrupt their meal. There ...
I hate to complain about the weather, but this weekend was complete garbage. The end of last week was cold and dank, and things have only gotten worse from there. I spent Saturday frantically working in the garden because I knew there would be no gardening on Sunday with 3 inches of rain predicted to fall and temperatures hovering around ...
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 gardening bug is biting so hard these days it’s not even funny. I’m even planning to check just how frozen the ground is in an area where I want to do soil test. It’s sort of ridiculous. Anyway, this week’s Friday Finds proves that it’s gardening that’s on my mind these days. The All-American […]
I can’t tell you how happy I am that so many of you have been enjoying the British gardening television shows I’ve been linking to for the last year. It makes me feel like a normal human being, because when I see a new show pop up on my Youtube feed, I get downright giddy, […]
One of the great things about this time of year, when northern gardeners have no choice but to dream rather than do, is that it affords the great luxury of spending a great deal of time on research. I used to just go to the garden center and buy whatever struck my fancy that day. […]
I am SO ready to garden. I’ve started researching plants, planning garden chores and pulling out old copies of gardening magazines for inspiration. And judging by some of the comments I’ve gotten on Facebook, a lot of you are feeling the same way. Sounds like it’s time for a little dose of some great British […]
Have you ever started a project and then finished it three years later? I do it more often than I care to say. I remember when I got this table. After my grandmother died, a lot of the furniture from her house was shifted to the family cottage and some of the furniture from the […]
It is deep, dark winter here, but the new year always puts me in the mood to get things done. Today’s Friday Finds bears that out. Sow & Dippity has a great list of things a gardener can do to keep busy until spring. I have to check out some of the gardening apps she […]
Sometimes the choices for plants of the year befuddle me. I feel like maybe the people who choose them ran out of options (which is ridiculous because there are so many great plants out there) or maybe were wooed by something gorgeous but difficult to grow. I’m very happy to say that that’s not at […]
Traditional new year’s resolutions are for the birds, as far as I’m concerned. I gave up making them ages ago. Basically, I try to be a better person than I was the year before. But I thought it might be fun to make a few resolutions for gardeners. These are specific to me, but I […]
Wow, how did it get to be December 31 already? It seems like the year just flew by. Come to think if it, since I was 25, they all seem to have flown by. It was a good year on the blog. I’ve been doing this since April 2009 and I wrote (a few) more […]
Hello again gang! I totally left you hanging on Christmas Eve and I haven’t been back since. Sorry about that, I was feeling a little lazy. I did take a bunch of photos of the mantel, but it seems ridiculous to show them now, when I’m chomping at the bit to clean it all up. […]
Ever since our first dog was a puppy, we’ve done a personalized holiday card featuring the dogs. Sadly I can’t find that card anymore, but last year I showed you many of our previous cards (and this one). This was the first time in 11 years that we made a card without Hudson on it, which […]
Welcome to The Impatient Gardener blog, where Christmas happens in slow motion. I’ve been slow to get things finished this year, pared down the decorations and haven’t quite finished wrapping yet. That means that I’m just now getting around to showing you some of how Christmas is happening in my house. Today I’m showing you
Well, the Hampton Hostess might have been hanging with William and Kate last week, but remember how Kate practically welcomed me to England (I “ran into” her after I’d been there for all of 14 hours)? I love looking at other people’s houses all holiday’d up. Linda’s decorations are refined, unique and restrained.
Behold! I bring you tidings of great news! I got my Christmas tree decorated this week. No pictures to share yet (and frankly, I do the same thing every year on my Christmas tree so it doesn’t look much different than in the past), but I will definitely share my pared-down holiday decor with you […]
