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how to do a soil test
Edibles, Garden

What a soil test said about my vegetable garden

January 14, 2019

If you’ve gardened for any amount of time you’ve probably been told test your soil. In fact you’ve probably been told to test your soil multiple times. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
7 Comments
Garden

THE FOLLY OF SHORTCUTS IN THE GARDEN

May 11, 2017

Last weekend I dug a hole that was large enough that I figured any neighbors who might have stopped by would probably slink away assuming I was digging a grave. I’m not kidding. This hole… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
2 Comments
Garden

DIGGING MACHINE

October 18, 2016

Progress continues on the renovation of the oval circle garden but I won’t lie, I’m getting nervous about how slowly it’s going. I spent a good part of last weekend working on it and have… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
4 Comments
Garden

SOIL TEST RESULTS ARE IN. DID I PASS?

April 1, 2015

The results of the soil tests of the skinny bed next to the house and what I call the main garden just off the patio came were not what I would call earth-shattering, but ironically the… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
2 Comments
Garden

MIXING SOIL FOR CONTAINERIZED SHRUBS

June 6, 2014

Our poor garage. We’ve ignored it so much over the years (12 of them actually; the anniversary of closing on our house was last weekend!). As you may, recall, we’re working on fixing that, but… [Continue Reading]

by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
1 Comment

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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
These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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