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Search Results for: direct sow

The Easiest Flower Seeds to Direct Sow

February 21, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

verbena bonariensis with hummingbird moth

Direct sowing flower seeds is about the easiest and most budget friendly way to get a mass of flowers all season long with very little effort. It's incredible just how much you get from a tiny $3 pouch of seeds. And I think it's a great way for a new gardener to get their feet wet or the experienced one who's looking to fill an empty spot. Direct sowing simply means that, instead of starting seeds indoors weeks in advance of putting them out in the garden, you spread the seed in the garden according to the package instructions, usually after all chance of frost is gone. Aside from deciding where to plant them and keeping them watered as they germinate, direct sowing is about as easy as gardening gets. My problem right now (is it really a problem, though?) is that just when I think ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: amaranth, direct sow, flower seeds, flowering tobacco, flowering vines, Hyacinth bean vine, marigolds, Mexican sunflower, moonflower, morning glory, nicotiana alata, rudbeckia, sunflowers, verbena bonariensis, zinnias

Save Your Money, Sow Seeds Instead!

January 8, 2021 By Heather Blackmore 4 Comments

Summer Flower Border

If you're like me, you've been buried in seed catalogs for the last few weeks, completely overwhelmed by the tens of thousands of possibilities concealed within those flimsy pages. I've since buttoned up my orders, mostly. There may be a few more stragglers in there but for the most part it's done and I'm really excited because I had a great experience last year creating a beautiful, layered new border mostly from seed that cost me about $20. Some were direct sown, while others like the Prairie Sun rudbeckia, were given a headstart indoors to get a jump on the season. I like instant gratification, especially after a looooong winter. The dry, full-sun area around the patio was screaming for a do-over. It was a long narrow border of Walkers Low catmint which has the not-so-attractive ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: bindweed, budget friendly gardening, garden makeover, magellan zinnias, pollinator garden, Seed, Thai basil

Grow Birdhouse Gourds to Make…Birdhouses, Duh!

January 15, 2021 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Wren House

This isn't a quick process, but with a little planning you can grow your own gourd birdhouse. I can see my daughter rolling her eyes right now. She's not a fan of the little wren I'm attracting to the garden. He's loud. Very loud. Like four-in-the-morning fog horn loud and to a teen who loves her sleep, his Reveille is the last thing she wants to hear. It's hard to believe that something so tiny can be so vocal. Napolean syndrome, no doubt. First the planning part, seed selection. And if this is something you're seriously considering, I'd suggest ordering seeds ASAP. Unlike any year before, seeds were a lot like toilet paper in 2020. Everyone's hoarding them and while I don't think birdhouse gourd seeds will be in short supply, no one could have predicted the sudden popularity of ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: birdhouse, birdhouse DIY, gourd birdhouse, gourds, wren house

May in the Garden: A Mix of Beauty and Brawn

June 4, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 5 Comments

Siberian Iris 'Caesar's Brother'

May has been a blur with all the clean-up and gear changing that comes with extreme temperature fluctuations, torrential rain, and the relentless march of weeds through every bed. It seems like the moment I pull a weed, three more grow in its place. Kinda like when you pull a grey hair. So I stop pulling altogether, the hairs not the weeds, and I can only imagine what that would look like if I did the same in the garden. Nonetheless, the garden is shaping up and plenty of plants are having their moment. I often imagine how beautiful it would be if it all just popped at once and remained so all season long. But then if it did, the novelty would wear off and there would be nothing to anticipate. I like knowing that no matter what, something in my garden on any given day is going to grab ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: bath's pink dianthus, catmint, cheddar pinks, chores, iris, sewer drain, siberian iris, spring garden

Hyacinth Bean Vine: A Budget Friendly Problem Solver

March 12, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Hyacinth Bean flowers

What's the first thing you see when you look at this picture? Yeah, me too. When the air conditioner pooped out a few years ago, we had this beast installed. The HVAC guy talked about the efficiency of the unit and how much money we'd be saving. And all I could think about was that I was going to have to dig up the entire area to make room for this monstrosity. I knew it was going to be big, just not THAT big. I couldn't stand the sight of the thing until I figured out how to camouflage it, on a budget of course. Hyacinth bean vine saved my garden. That sounds so dramatic but it's effectiveness for hiding ugly things was equally as dramatic. And I did it with a handful of beans! Same garden, different time of year and you can't see the air conditioner. See the white sticker ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: air conditioner, annual vines, beans, direct sow, flowering vines, Hyacinth bean vine, problem solving, purple flowers, seed pods, vines

A New Year, TONS of New Plants and a Growing Wish List

January 10, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Kniphofia 'Hot and Cold' red hot poker

The new plant wish list is getting longer in my garden notebook. I also keep an updated one in the notes section of my phone just in case I happen to pass a garden center this spring. Who am I kidding? I write of it as though it's a possibility when the reality is I will visit MANY garden centers and road-side farm stands. It's an obsession and one my kids have learned to accept. I've gathered images of all the new for 2020 or new-to-me plants I'll be on the lookout for this year. It's a motley list of veggies, annuals, shade perennials, sun perennials, and a drop-dead gorgeous new grass. Perhaps you'll find one (or several) here that you can't live without. In which case, we're kindred spirits and you can tell your significant other that Heather made you do it. Here ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: basil, bluestem, brunnera, coleus, dahlia, daylilies, iceberg alley, kniphofia, new plants, peppers, zinnias

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I'm Heather and I love to grow stuff. LOTS of stuff. Most importantly, a healthy family. I'm a stay-at-home mom with a passion for playing in the dirt. Read More…

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It surprises me to say that of the 13 dahlias I gr It surprises me to say that of the 13 dahlias I grew last year, this one was one of my favorites. Never thought I’d say that about a red flower but the Nuit d’Ete cactus dahlia won me over. Big time. #changeofheart #nuitdete #changedmymind #dahlia #dahlialover #dahliasofinstagram #gramyourgarden #cactusdahlia #reddahlia #summerflowers #2020garden #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #zone5 #chicagogardening #chicagogardens #policewifelife #garden #dahliainbloom #hereshegrows #growwhatyoulove #heatherblackmore
The only fish raccoons and herons won’t eat. @fi The only fish raccoons and herons won’t eat. @fishinthegarden #fishinthegarden #snowfish #gardenart #winterfish #inmygardennow #backyardgardeners #backyardgarden #fishdecor #gardendecor #handmade #bluefish #bohohome #zone5bgardening #zone5 #littlegardenhome #wintergardens #snowcovered #hereshegrows #gardenideas #heatherblackmore #chicagogardeners #midwestgarden #smallspacegardens #smallspacegardening #eclectichome #fish
NEW BLOG POST! Great plant combos elevate every ga NEW BLOG POST! Great plant combos elevate every garden space. You learn this over time and through plenty of trial and error. At least that’s how it works with me. I’ve had to silence the little voice in my head that says I must have one of everything in order to hear the voice that knows better. The one that forces me to consider leaf shapes and colors, multi-season interest, flower shapes and colors. I’m no garden designer, but working in a small space drives home the importance of all these factors to make a small space sing. This was my favorite garden vignette of 2020. Follow the link in my bio for info on the plants that make up this tight corner. @firsteditionsplants @selectseeds ... #plantcombos #selectseeds #smallspacegardens #elevateyourspace #plantpartners #gardendrama #inmygarden #mixedborders #perennialgarden #paniclehydrangea #vanillastrawberryhydrangea #hydrangeatree #gardencorner #patiogarden #coleuslover #coleus #suncoleus #salviaargentea #silversage #artemissage #sage #smallspacegardening #gardenplanning #zone5bgardening #gardenideas #chicagogardening #midwestgardens #zone5 #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
The echeveria seems to like the grow lights and to The echeveria seems to like the grow lights and tossed up the most twisted stem of sunset colored flowers. Flowers in January are extra special. #echeveriaflowers #echeveria #succulentsundays #januaryflowers #wintergardening #indoorgardener #containerplants #succulents #succulentflowersofinstagram #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
Partners on the job and at home. #k9handler #malin Partners on the job and at home. #k9handler #malinoisdogs #policedogtraining #workingdogsathome #utilitydogs #happydogclub #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
Why every garden needs an allium or two... This is Why every garden needs an allium or two... This is Millenium Allium. I prefer it to Summer Beauty for both its color and longevity. In my garden, its deeper color holds far longer than Summer Beauty. And it’s truly a multi-season perennial, providing great garden structure in the winter, especially when snow mounds on the rounded seed heads. #alliumflowers #allium #milleniumallium #pollinatorplants #pollinatorgardens #savethebeesplease #purpleflowerseverywhere #inmygarden #easyplantstogrow #perennials #perennialgardens #waterwiseplants #xericplants #lowmaintenancegarden #lowmaintenanceplants #garden #pollinatormagnet #myhappyplace #ilovepurple #zone5bgardening #xericgardening #zone5gardening #chicagogardener #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
It’s hard to show scale here but this is the big It’s hard to show scale here but this is the biggest leaf on my monstera. Like bigger than my head big! Today is leaf dusting day. Haven’t done it in a few months but it’s definitely time. The shine is gone and everything looks dull and slightly fuzzy. #monstera #monsteraleaf #feedmeseymourfeedme #bigleaves #wintergreenhouse #houseplantsofinstagram #myhouseplants #wintergardening #indoorgarden #monsteralover #houseplantlover #bigplants #houseplants #houseplantsofig #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
One of my favorite clematis, Princess Diana never One of my favorite clematis, Princess Diana never disappoints. As a group 3 clematis, it needs little more than an early spring cut back and a bit of fertilizer and she’s good to go. #clematis #group3clematis #clematisofinstagram #vines #princessdianaclematis #perennialvines #lowmaintenanceplants #smallspacegardens #mylittlegardenhome #smallgardenideas #zone5bgardening #zone5 #chicagogardening #midwestgarden #perennials #mixedborders #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
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