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The Impatient Gardener

Plants

How to love and care for holiday houseplants

December 9, 2021

At a time of year when there’s no shortage of faux decor—faux trees, faux berries, faux garlands, faux mistletoe, for starters—it’s nice to have a few real plants around. The plants we typically think of… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
4 Comments
fresh turmeric
Garden, Plants

The beautiful oddball: Growing turmeric

November 4, 2021

Growing oddball plants—those plants that aren’t commonly grown in the area—is almost always rewarding. Since there is no real way to measure success, any sign of a plant doing what it’s supposed to do is… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
11 Comments
Garden, Plants

Don’t sleep on these fall garden standouts

October 6, 2021

I’ll admit it: My gardener brain switched into fall to-do list mode awhile ago. But somewhere along the line in between planning where bulbs will go and remembering which plants need to be moved, I… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
9 Comments
Garden, Plants

Wow-worthy plant combinations

September 24, 2021

This time of year is all about soaking in the garden and making mental (or more likely, photographic) notes about what worked and what didn’t. Some things are as simple as a plant that just… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
17 Comments
glowing dahlias
Garden, Plants

Growing dahlias as garden plants

September 15, 2021

Thanks to Longfield Gardens for partnering with me on this post.  You don’t need to look far on this blog or in my garden to know that I am mildly obsessed with dahlias and have… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
15 Comments
allium christophii
Garden, Plants

It might be summer, but it’s time to think about spring

July 29, 2021

A quick note: This post is done in partnership with Longfield Gardens, where I’ve been getting my fall-planted bulbs from for probably a decade (well before they knew I existed). Thanks to Longfield for the… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
26 Comments
dahlias planted in border
Garden, Plants

Dahlias love garden friends

April 8, 2021

Thank you to Longfield Gardens for sponsoring this post and feeding my love of dahlias. Over the next couple weeks I will go through all the dahlia tubers I overwintered and plant them up in… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
21 Comments
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About

The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
Three years ago I planted 10 ‘Royal Raindrops’ Three years ago I planted 10 ‘Royal Raindrops’ crabapple whips and then (after a gin) cut them all off about 16 inches from the ground. And so began the training of the espalier Belgian fence (no, I don’t know why it’s called that, it’s just what that form of espalier is called). It is blooming fabulously this year and in need of a few more extensions of the framework to help guide the branches but I’m thrilled with the progress it has made in a relatively short time. Video update coming soon but I didn’t want to miss showing the blooms.
I still believe that the biggest game changer in a I still believe that the biggest game changer in a garden and the single best way to make a less-than-perfect garden look amazing is a fresh edge. Weeds? Who cares. Bare spots? Nobody will know. A fresh edge tidies even the most disheveled garden right up. And even though I have a ton of planting to do, I spent a good amount of time today working on edges because it’s just that good. I use my @troybilt gas edger to cut the edge and follow up with the @sneeboer half moon edger. By the way, I’d give up my lawn mower before I gave up that gas edger. I didn’t get all the beds done but I did do the ones I see the most from the house so I can stare out the window and just think, “Damn, that looks good.”
Great diagonals courtesy of Polygonatum (Solomon’s seal) in the shade garden. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) and ‘Dawn’s Early Light’ playing rare backup roles as the Polygonatum is allowed to have its moment in the sun … er … shade.
I love the small flowers of Epimedium. I’m grate I love the small flowers of Epimedium. I’m grateful that they bloom early in the season because their delicate blooms would probably be overlooked if they bloomed later when they would have to compete with big, brash, attention-demanding flowers in the summer garden. They are great for dry shade but they really need moisture to get established before they will get on with things.
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