Letters from the Garden

Garden

Grass vs. Garden

If you follow The Impatient Gardener on Facebook or Twitter, you know that Mr. Much More Patient and I are having a, um, discussion about the future of the back yard. For years, he’s been bugging me to create a real path out to the detached garage so we don’t have to walk over the grass. He’s right about it: ...

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Garden

Another hydrangea I’m losing my marbles over

You all know I have kind of a thing for Tim Wood, right? I certainly mention him enough here. Well, that’s not entirely true, even though he seems to be a very nice, intelligent and sort of funny guy. I really have a thing for his hydrangeas. (Honestly, Tim, I’m not stalking you … just your plants.) Little Lime looking ...

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Garden

Replanning and replanting

It’s funny that I seem to refer to this photo a lot for different posts. This was taken in September on the day we started the renovation so it looks a little bit like we might be loading up the Joads’ truck or something. Anyway, you can see the area along the front of the house that I’m talking about. ...

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Garden

Cue the angel chorus; there is hope

That’s right folks. Look past the almost three feet of snow still covering most of the yard (in my part of the world) and you will indeed see signs that spring is on the way. I donned my new Target wellies the other day (with this much snow it’s going to be a very wet spring) to take a little ...

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Garden

Events to help you get your garden on

Who wouldn’t want to be standing on that bridge overlooking this amazing garden? Now that we spent last week dreaming about gardening (you were dreaming, right?) you can continue the dream by going to a flower show or gardening seminar, which have a tendency to pop up all over the place starting next month or so. If you can’t garden ...

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Garden

Garden inspiration

I’ve mentioned Houzz enough here that you’re probably all familiar with it, but if you’re not, you really should check it out. It’s been incredibly helpful during our renovation and I still reference my “ideabooks” there regularly. The way I use Houzz is to search a particular category and just save the photos I like. I may not be sure ...

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Garden

Gardening Week begins

Since most of the country is buried under a pile of snow, gardening seems like it’s so far off we could cry. So this week is Gardening Week at The Impatient Gardener. I’ll be posting only Gardening-related posts, but if you want to know the latest on house stuff check out the Facebook page because I’ll be updating reno stuff ...

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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 […]