First of all, if you’re finding this blog from Young House Love, welcome! I’m thrilled you popped over to see the blog and I hope you enjoy it. I tend to jump around topic-wise, ranging from renovations (currently we’re working on our kitchen) to gardening to DIY projects. If you like what you see, you might want to consider getting …
I hate to leave you hanging on garden posts while I’m stuck in kitchen renovation land. Plenty of the country also got a thick blanket of snow recently so I think we’re all a bit fed up with spring’s punctuality problem. It snowed at our house a bit over the weekend too so I didn’t exactly get my garden chores …
Or: How we got this crazy heavy sink out of the kitchen and onto the deck. I’m writing this Sunday morning. The cabinets are being installed and I’m mostly hiding because I don’t really care for the messy/scary parts. But rather than leave you totally hanging on a kitchen update, I thought I’d share a little item about how to …
Since it seems like so many people are dealing with less-than-stellar spring weather, I’m making a concerted effort not to spend too much time complaining about it. So instead of mentioning that there is still a 5-foot tall pile of snow in my yard, or that I’m behind on pruning things because I can’t get through the snow to actually …
With any renovation there are big decisions and little decisions. I find the big decisions to be nerve-wracking exercises in self-doubt. There is nothing like knowing you are spending a lot of money on something that is not easily changed—the layout, counters, etc—to give you a good case of decision paralysis. Because we sort of fast-tracked our mini kitchen renovation …
I was shuffling through Google Reader* this morning checking on all my favorite blogs (the iPad and a cup of coffee in bed are pretty much the best accompaniments to blog reading) and one of my favorite design blogs was talking about gardening. I love when that happens. This great designer (who shall remain nameless) is making a garden for …
I think March must be the most challenging month in my neck of the woods. It feels like it should be spring. The stores are filled with pastel everything, magazine covers are fresh and bright and lucky friends who live even a little bit south of here are in the full-on throes of springtime. But it is not spring here. …
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.
At this time of year a lot of people who like to pretend to be experts armed with crystal balls predict trends with a concerning degree of confidence. Pantone’s Color of the Year is selected in a process the company says is “the culmination of macro-level color trend forecasting and research.” I think that means […]
Thanks to Park Seed for partnering with me on this post. As always, all words, thoughts and vegetable opinions are my own. There are gardeners who have spreadsheets and schedules that tell them exactly what seeds they should be starting when. Those same gardeners undoubtedly started seeds for fall sowing under lights probably a few […]
Thank you to Wave Petunias for partnering with me on this post. I’m often asked a question that is perplexing to me: “Do you grow annuals or perennials?” I don’t fault the people asking the question as I think there are some people who grow one or the other, and perhaps that was more typical […]
If you have a gardener on your holiday gift list you are a lucky person indeed. Not only do you probably share an interest, you also have an excellent starting point to give them a gift they will absolutely love. And then there’s the benefit of being able to do a little shopping for yourself […]
For no good reason at all, there is still an annual debate about when you should clean up your garden. Well debate no more, because as far as I’m concerned, the answer is that you should do what’s best for you. But there are some compelling reasons to sit tight until spring to clean up […]
This post is done in partnership with Ball Horticultural, which not only produces amazing plants, but also throws a mean party. Thank you so much to Ball for a fabulous night. If you ever wondered how many container combinations could be made with a dozen or so plant options, I can offer an answer: Way […]
There is a tendency to think of plants as delicate things that require coddling, but some demand the opposite treatment. That’s how I found myself in a full-on assault a couple weeks ago as I engaged in the abuse of Brazilian fern tree seeds. The three-quarter-inch long, flat seeds were hard as a rock and […]
Thank you to Park Seed for partnering with me on this post. As always, all words and thoughts are my own. You might be asking yourself what begonias and peppers have in common that they’d end up in the same article. A lot actually, at least when it comes to starting them from seed, which […]
There are two types of plant shoppers: the kind who spots the variety they are looking for and they grab the first one they see and the kind who will look through a minimum of a dozen plants before choosing the one. It’s pretty clear what category I fall into. I have never purchased the […]
I’m thinking about starting my holiday shopping soon. It appears that I’ve been having a bit too much fun planning for next gardening season and forgot about things like Christmas shopping. If you’re like me and you have, well, all your shopping to do I can at least help out with any gardeners on your […]
I have a long list of gifts that make excellent gifts for gardeners, but I have a short list of things that are poor gifts for gardeners. At the top of that list are hand pruners. My rule for hand pruner gifting: If you don’t know the recipient well enough that you’d be comfortable buying […]
Thanks to Park Seed for partnering with me on this post. As always, all words, thoughts and vegetable opinions are my own. There are gardeners who have spreadsheets and schedules that tell them exactly what seeds they should be starting when. Those same gardeners undoubtedly started seeds for fall sowing under lights probably a few […]
I’m not much for nighttime gardening, preferring to spend such hours sitting on the deck watching the fireflies, but last week you would have found me in the vegetable garden peering under leaves with a blacklight. I was on the hunt for an enemy I’ve not done battle with before: tomato hornworm. Just a few […]
Thank you to Wave Petunias for partnering with me on this post. I’m often asked a question that is perplexing to me: “Do you grow annuals or perennials?” I don’t fault the people asking the question as I think there are some people who grow one or the other, and perhaps that was more typical […]
