I want a laundry room that looks like this: Contemporary Laundry Room design by San Francisco Interior Designer Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs Or this: Traditional Laundry Room design by Orange County Design-build Spinnaker Development Or this: Contemporary Laundry Room design by Grand Rapids Architect Visbeen Associates, Inc. But that is not the laundry room I have, and as …
You absolutely loved the dowager countess’ comment to her granddaughter Edith disparaging gardeners on Sunday’s “Downton Abbey.” Edith (recently left at the altar and nearing “spinsterhood,” at least her in estimation) needs a hobby and suggests perhaps gardening. “Well no, you can’t be as desperate as that,” Lady Violet says. If you’re not a “Downton Abbey” fan (or if you …
Raise your hand if you’ve ever put something on a list that you’ve already done just to have the satisfaction of crossing it off. I see you all out there with your guilty hands in the air. Let’s face it, it feels damn good to cross things off a list and I’m happy to say that I’ve done a pretty …
I promised I’d be back with a few photos to share from Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and since it’s technically still the 15th, I haven’t missed it yet. Just two photos to share, both demonstrating one of the great things about letting plants stand during winter. They can still be beautiful. I love the fuzzy seedheads that stick around on …
It’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and I’ll be back later with a few photos to actually participate (for the first time in months) but first I need a little help on a project. Please note, that’s a picture from the store, not one showing my growing silk clematis collection. This is one that has been a long time coming. I …
Gosh, it’s about time for a gardening post, don’t you think? I never really showed you some of what happens here in the winter when it comes to the garden. Winter brings a couple of serious challenges: protecting plants from the freeze/thaw cycle and protecting plants from hungry animals. A lot of people think that it’s the cold that is …
The mustard yellow chair and ottoman in the living room went away Monday morning. They are off to get a new look at a local upholsterer. Yeah, I should probably vacuum before I take pictures. The ottoman (and more dog fur). You can see the fabric swatch on the X-bench in the background. I love that chair and, like our …
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 list of flowers I grow from seed changes from year to year, but there are some that are non-negotiable. I must have them. At the top of the list is Nicotiana alata. Most people are familiar with Nicotiana—common names are flowering tobacco or jasmine tobacco, but this is one of those plants for which […]
One of the lessons I’m learning the more I garden is that a little organization goes a long way. I don’t really want to embrace this concept. There is a part of me that wants to think of gardening as organic, natural and very much at one with the Earth (and the earth). Then there’s […]
Poor Friday Finds … it keeps missing its own deadline. But as with most things, Friday Finds are better late than never. Before I get into it, you should know that as I sat at the kitchen table writing this, one of the flowers (next to the one pictured above) on the amaryllis literally just […]
This is the start of regular feature I’ve been planning to start for about two years now. Plants to Know a quick growing guide for plants that you should, well, know about (clever, right?). In each Plants to Know feature, I’ll share a plant with you, a bit about growing it and the basic facts, […]
The first DIY project of the year is in the books. It wasn’t a big one, but it’s been awhile since we’ve done a project so it’s nice to ease into it. This is one of many small projects within the ongoing and rather slow renovation of the finished half of the basement. (Let’s not […]
Somehow Friday Finds turned into Sunday finds, but better late than never, right? Since we’re halfway through the weekend I can tell you that it’s one of those blissful weekends with nothing specific planned. We’re supposed to warm up tomorrow and hopefully all of you poor folks on the East Coast are not far behind. […]
When I’m brainstorming ideas for almost any renovation or project in or out of the house, I first head to Houzz and Pinterest to collect ideas that I then go back and do some sifting and winnowing to see which ideas really stick. I’m not the only one who uses these tools like that, which […]
Here we are, at the last post of the year (probably). I’m going to guess that you, like me are feeling that familiar tug in two different directions: astonishment that another year has already passed and excitement for a fresh start and look at what the new year will bring. One of my favorite photos […]
Another year has almost whooshed by. I know I’m not the only one who feels like time is passing more quickly than it used to, but I think for gardeners, certain times of the years pass amazingly quickly. It’s always interesting to look back at the successes and failures (and everything in between) of the […]
It appears I took a mini blogging break accidentally recently. It wasn’t my intention, but between an epic deadline at work and the general craziness of the holidays, well, I’ve been a busy bee. As I write this, it is three days to Christmas and my goal for the night is to decorate the mantel. […]
I saw a post last Friday where someone said they were going shopping for last-minute gifts and I guffawed. Amateur! I am a skilled last-minute shopper and I can’t think of a year when I didn’t wrap at least one gift on Christmas day. So I know a little something about last-minute shopping and the […]
My winter containers do so much to brighten things up around here, but with it getting fully dark by about 4:30 p.m. the really brightening happens when the lights come on. I was able to get some photos of what things look like lit up over the weekend. You can see all the containers (in […]
I love doing winter container designs. Sure they have a certain holiday bent to them but they stay up usually until March at my house because it offers some color in a world of gray and white. The best thing about them is that it’s really hard to screw them up too much and literally […]
It’s high time we get to talking about the holidays here, so here’s my annual guide to gifts for gardeners. But let’s call it what it really is, shall we? We all know these are gifts for you. It’s OK, I won’t tell anyone. And if you feel guilty buying something for yourself outright at […]
