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Plants

Plants helping plants: A companion-planting guide rooted in science

January 17, 2021

Gardeners love a good story and they are particularly drawn to anything that they believe will make their plants happy. This is where companion planting comes in: gardeners want their plants to have neighbors they… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
8 Comments
Breakout dahlia
Garden, Plants

The dahlias you need for however you’re growing

December 22, 2020

Hello flower lovers! I’m partnering with Longfield Gardens on this post, but you know the drill: all words and dahlia obsessions are my own. We interrupt your regularly scheduled holiday activities to talk about something… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
25 Comments
pumpkin
Edibles, Plants

My first pumpkin was just a touch smaller than 2020’s biggest

October 30, 2020

My first foray into pumpkin growing has been slightly less successful than that of Ian and Stuart Paton, 59-year-old British twins who obviously know more gourd growing than I do. The brothers just broke their… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
4 Comments
group of dahlias
Garden, Plants

My top 5 dahlias (for now)

September 29, 2020

They say the first step is to admit you have a problem. So I admit it: I have a dahlia problem. I grew about 100 dahlias this year, and I estimate there were between 25… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
26 Comments
pink nicotiana flowers backlit during the golden hour
Garden, Plants

The best (and worst) new seed-grown annuals

August 13, 2020

The facts are indisputable:  I enjoy starting interesting and different flowers from seed. Doing No. 1 is a great way to create lush borders on a dime. I grew way too many plants from seed… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
22 Comments
Three nicotiana flowers
Garden, Plants

My brief but thrilling brush with plant breeding

July 23, 2020

I’ve always been a reluctant seed saver. Even though I’ve been growing flowers, vegetables and herbs from seed for many years now, I save seeds from very few of them. In some cases I’m not… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
11 Comments
Garden, Garden design, Plants

All the plants for the new naturalistic garden

June 5, 2020

My patio is full of plants, and more are on the way. It’s a sure sign of two things: First, a new garden is underway, and second, I am, predictably, quite behind. I always have an… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
13 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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E R I N 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
I had a rather unpleasant realization last night w I had a rather unpleasant realization last night when I remembered that I’d not yet ordered tomato seeds. And I’m not going to rectify that until I dig into my seed stash, because I don’t go through tomato seeds quickly so there are definitely some lurking down there. 

I never used to grow tomatoes from seed because there are great varieties to be had in garden centers (including many heirloom varieties). But it’s almost non-negotiable for me now that I’m a convert to dwarf tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with the #dwarftomatoproject championed by @nctomatoman and others, these are heirloom varieties that are crossed with dwarf varieties to create plant that produces all the flavor and interest of an heirloom in a short (usually less than 4 feet) plant. 

They are particularly great in my tall raised beds. Of course I leave room to try new non-dwarf varieties every year (I loved Sun Dipper from @panamseed last year and I’ll grow it again).

Last year was a good tomato year and the photo shows some of the varieties I harvested in one day. I hope this summer will be equally good for the tomato harvest. 

One of my favorite questions to ask gardeners is: What is your favorite tomato variety to grow? So have at it in the comments because inquiring minds want to know!
And this is why I leave my winter containers assem And this is why I leave my winter containers assembled until at least March. A dusting of snow gives them a whole new look (even if it’s shades of gray). Also, I think I love my Limelight hydrangea even more in winter. Fabulous winter interest!
I’m going to look for opportunities to add more I’m going to look for opportunities to add more ferns to my garden this year. They are such interesting plants and often real problem solvers, bringing texture and color to places that many plants aren’t interested in. Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ grows well for me in part shade (even pushing a bit into part sun) and looks great next to Persicaria ‘Golden Arrow’.
Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled o Birds chirping, glorious fresh (i.e. not nibbled on) foliage, and texture galore. I can’t wait to have moments like this again. The star, by the way is Hakonechloa ‘All Gold’ which looks so good with the bold foliage of Ligularia dentata ‘Desdemona’ next to it. 

With the new path, this area will be getting a small revamp. It’s the next spot I’ll be focusing my planning on.
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