No matter how much I’d like to be one of those people who makes notes throughout the year of gift ideas for family and friends, I am but a mere mortal who, in the throes of a panicked gift-buying season, ends up scouring online gift guides that claim to know the innermost desires of the people I hold dear. And …
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 as “holiday” plants don’t usually bloom at this time of year. Rather, they are forced (although perhaps “trained” is a nicer word) to bloom in …
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. Sad. Frankly, if we weren’t …
All the presents have been opened. Most of the cookies have been eaten (the ones that remain seem to have an extra dose of guilt with them). Christmas is a wrap, but it was a darn good one. Yep. Ate all those cookies. And a whole bunch of others too. I had the day after Christmas off from work, which …
Have I mentioned that I love having Christmas on a weekend? I usually work at least a half a day on Christmas Eve which means I spend the other half of the day running around like a mad person, which is not at all Christmassy. So even though not a present is wrapped or a single package of cookies packed …
When Mr. Much More Patient proposed to me, the ring came in a perfectly wrapped box (done at the jewelry store) that sat flat on the table. After we got through the whole “Yes!” bit, I went back and examined that wrapping, which was done without tape, just a perfectly cut square of paper and that beautiful red ribbon. I …
I can procrastinate with the best of them, but we are really at the last minute for gift shopping if you plan to order anything. This is where that Amazon Prime membership really comes in handy. If you don’t have a Prime membership now is certainly the time to get on that. There’s a link at the bottom for a …
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.
There is remarkable satisfaction in seeing how a garden project plays out down the road. I recently revisited a pair of Clematis ‘Little Bas’ that I planted in large 24-inch square containers in 2020 and what I found was illuminating. The Clematis have been living their best lives in two container flanking the vegetable garden […
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 […]
