It is mid-October and the dahlias in my yard are looking the best they have all summer. Most have been blooming since July, basically nonstop and I’d be hard pressed to find another flower that puts out that kind of performance. Some of their success is part of the nature of dahlias, but the reason they are still blooming, and ...
Despite how the headline of this post sounds, I’m not giving life advice. That would be most ridiculous case of false expertise blogging in the history of the Web (and if you read blogs you know that there are a lot of “experts” out there). I prefer to think of posts like this as tidbits about stuff I’ve done that ...
In the interest of keeping it real, I sometimes feel obligated to fess up to my shortcomings here. And today I will show you what happens when I’m not thrilled with how a container turned out. The poor thing gets forgotten about. The container plantings I did at work this year were not great. The coleus grew too well and ...
This is going to be so darn cool. I have never even heard of a meal planning system, but I’m pretty sure our current method of a 4 p.m. phone call every day with a cranky conversation about what we don’t want to eat and who is going to go to the store can be improved upon. Deborah Silver did ...
The garden is looking remarkably good for this time of year, but things will change quickly, so now is the time to take care of a few jobs to prepare for next year. Here are four things you can do right now to have a great garden next year. I cleared out the half of the patio garden that I ...
It’s no secret that I love clematis. I absolutely cannot get enough of them. Last time I counted I think I had 22 different varieties growing in the garden. A few of them are not doing well, so that number may go down, but it’s far more likely that by next summer the number will go up. Having maxed out ...
Yep … another post today! Truth be told, the today’s first post was supposed to run on Wednesday, and then Thursday, but I didn’t get back to it until late Thursday night. Anyway, it’s time for some Friday Finds. The complete guide to shiplap. Because as I told you, there is going to be some serious shiplap happening in my ...
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.
One of my favorite parts of being part of Proven Winners testing program is that I have the opportunity to grow plants I might not otherwise pick up. I’ll admit that when I pulled Superbena ‘Royale Peachy Keen’ out of the box I had flashbacks to my teenage bedroom, decorated in the latest hot colors […]
Since I’ve missed every single one of these so far this season, I thought I better hurry up and participate in one before there are no flowers blooming. So last night I set down my gin and tonic and snapped a few pictures of what’s happening the garden now. As always, thank you to Carol […]
I’m sure we all have them: Those plants that the rest of the world finds innocuous or maybe even loves, but we can’t stand. I have a short list of plants that fall into that category and it always sort of surprises me that I carry such a grudge against these plants, especially when I […]
I’ve been so excited about the garden tour I had planned for the weekend. An expansive garden, just minutes from my house, was open as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. The 120-acre property known as Afterglow Farm was established in 1929 by the Uihlein (pronounced Eee-line) family. (You can read more about the [&hell
I come from a long line of ink-stained wretches so it should come as no surprise that I love magazines and newspapers—the kind you can hold and fold and read at the beach without some sort of specialized case (and trust me, I’m a gadget girl too. I haven’t met a product that Steve Jobs […]
I cannot believe it’s August already. That fact is particularly sad given that I haven’t even weeded one section of garden for spring yet, nor edged any of the beds. Whoops. When I was gone a couple weeks ago I was on my annual trip (via sailboat) to Mackinac Island. I didn’t have as much […]
For those who have been following the great tomato race, which isn’t officially a race but rather a quest for bragging rights between my mom and I at the community garden plot we share specifically for the purpose of growing tomatoes, I have good news and bad news for those of you on Team Erin. […]
In this Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the front page of the home and garden section was dedicated to “updating your landscape.” The premise of the article was that it is good to update your landscape. In fact the article compared having an “outdated” landscape to having harvest gold appliances. And all this got
I got out of town for a few days and then I was beat when I came back so I spent a lot of time thinking about blog posts and not so much time actually writing them. Anyway, I have lots to update you on, and certainly lots to do in the garden. If you […]
Sometimes plants work together. Sometimes they fall a bit flat. In general I find that plants that work best together exhibit contrast, either in color or texture. Here are a few combos I found in the garden this weekend. Here is Proven Winners Superbena Royale Peachy Keen with purple ruffles basil (and you can see […]
Swiss chard might be one of the prettiest vegetables there is. I admit that I started growing it for it’s looks, but now I really think it’s delicious and I love it with a beautiful piece of fish. Plus, it’s about as easy to grow as it gets. With it’s shiny dark leaves and […]
I inadvertently took all off last week off from blogging but in a second you’ll see what I’ve been up to. I’ve been busy, busy, busy working on the back yard (which is really the side yard but for whatever reason we call it the back yard). And it wasn’t until after work yesterday when […]
Before we get to this post, I just wanted to mention that I did a little tree planting 101 tutorial on The Design Confidential yesterday. Basically you shouldn’t do anything you’ve ever seen a city tree planter do, but check it out if you’re looking for some info on planting the framework of your yard. […]
I’ve mentioned and recommended one of my favorite blogs, North Coast Gardening, more than once. There is loads of great information, but probably my favorite feature on the site is the product reviews. I have yet to buy one thing recommended by Gen that I don’t love and a couple of things she hooked me […]
