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Search Results for: fountain

How To Winterize An Outdoor Garden Fountain

November 16, 2018 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Dove on fountain

For years I admired my neighbor's fountain. I didn't know them. They lived on the next block but I passed their house often and loved their cement fountain. It sat beneath their front windows, near the entryway. I often imagined how lovely it must sound and wondered what birds sipped from it. If I had the money, I knew just where I'd put it in my garden. When I discovered the same fountain for sale at a local garden center and saw the price tag, a whopping $550, I knew it was going to be a while before I could justify the splurge. Or would it? A "For Sale" sign went up on their front lawn. Days later, a "Garage Sale" sign followed and plastic flag bunting was strewn above the driveway. Among the menagerie of household goods sat the fountain and I slammed on the brakes. Thank God no one ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: fountain, fountain maintenance, outdoor fountain, winterizing outdoor fountain

Raised Bed Garden Glow Up Part 1: Pre-Stain Prep

September 16, 2022 By Heather Blackmore 3 Comments

Powerwashing

Absence has definitely made my heart grow fonder and deeply aware that a garden glow-up is in order. It's not that I've lost the love for my garden, namely the raised bed vegetable garden, I've just been away from it and it's painfully obvious. From the weed covered area around the beds to the quagmire of random vegetables spilling out and everywhere, the vegetable garden reflects the year we've had. Stressful and reactive. I planted the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and tomatillos, and that's about all I did. Somehow, things grew and I had a decent harvest which makes me wonder just how important the gardener is to the garden. As a sidenote, many of my just-blushing tomatoes have a single bite in them, courtesy of the growing population of chipmunks in the garden. Add that to the ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: food garden, food gardening, garden diy, power washing, raised beds, vegetable garden, wood staining

From the Biltmore Estate, With Love

September 12, 2019 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Biltmore Estate

Every year, I plan a budget friendly road trip that appeals to the whole family. It's not easy when you're traveling with two teens. But we got lucky. The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, had something for everyone. I wanted gardens. My husband wanted trains. And the girls just wanted to be somewhere other than Illinois. By the end of the Biltmore experience, we all were blown away. You can't grasp the enormity of the place until you pass the entry gate. It was then that I realized we had entered a different world. One where the roads are lined with an impenetrable bamboo thicket and the forest leading up to the estate is pristine and full of enormous trees. Even the small stone bridges were worth admiring. So much care and thought had been put into this very grand, but incredibly ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, Virtual Garden Walks Tagged With: Asheville, Biltmore, Biltmore Estate, budget friendly, family travel, North Carolina, road trip, Trains, Vanderbilt

10 Tough Plants for Dry Shade

March 8, 2019 By Heather Blackmore 4 Comments

Dry Shade Garden

I have a love/hate relationship with dry shade. Love for the leaf textures that make the space interesting, hate for the time it's taken me to discover what works in this most challenging of garden situations. I've killed a lot of stuff in my search for plants that can tough it out without much coddling. No fancy irrigation systems here. Just me and a hose. Fifteen years ago, the southeast corner of our backyard was a soupy mess after every rainfall and consistently damp throughout the rest of the growing season. The lots in our neighborhood are arranged on slopes and each home has a sump pump that empties into the closest sewer which happens to be in our backyard. After living with the situation for five years (I was busy chasing toddlers), I decided to plant trees that could help us ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Top Posts Tagged With: ajuga, bergenia, dry shade, dry shade gardening, hellebore, hosta, Plants for dry shade, pulmonaria, shade gardening, shade gardens, solomons seal, tough plants

An Urban Backyard Reimagined

January 17, 2019 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Urban Garden

One of the perks of my job is receiving permission from homeowners, many of whom I've never met, to poke around in their gardens. I imagine it's a lot like getting a backstage pass to a concert. The thrill is real because I have absolutely no idea what I'll find. I get a little giddy actually and, when a stunning landscape reveals itself, a little choked-up by the beauty of it all. When I walk into a magical place, a space that transports me into another world, well that's pretty cool. And the thing about it is, it doesn't have to be an enormous landscape to elicit an emotional response. I've found that the most memorable spaces are the small intimate ones that make you feel like Mother Nature has enveloped you in her protective embrace. Like the one you're about to experience. I was ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, Top Posts, Virtual Garden Walks Tagged With: edible garden, espalier, outdoor living, small space garden, urban garden

Hi there!

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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There’s nothing like a good before and after 📸 to show you how far you’ve come! Adding the @vego_garden raised beds was the perfect way to use every square foot 📏 of space. 

I have two 6-in-1 raised beds along the fence, one I kept at 6’ long, the other at 5’ to fit the space. On the end I added the Kids First Garden Bed. At 3.5’ long and 2’ deep, it was the perfect size for the tight corner. 

☀️ I overestimated the amount of sun this bed received and had to move the raspberry bush to a sunnier location. 

Every growing season is full of ups and downs but it’s about enjoying the process. It wasn’t much fun when the wind pummeled my corn 🌽 but I was able to save it ⛑️ and still get a decent harvest. 

Cheers to experimenting and always learning in the garden! 

#vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #vegetablegardening #beforeandaftergarden #raisedbeds #smallspacegarden #growyourown #foodgardens #urbangardeningideas #potager #organicgardening #gardenlife #zone5bgardening #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
My little honeynut squash is the last veg to be ha My little honeynut squash is the last veg to be harvested in this bed and I enjoy checking on these cute little guys. Once all signs of green are gone and the flesh is a delicious caramel orange color, it’ll be picking time. I can’t wait to roast these cuties with a bit of butter 🧈. 

The @vego_garden trellis has been great for taking advantage of vertical space, especially in a small space garden where every inch matters. 

Use code HEATHERHERESHEGROWS5% for an additional savings on the 17” tall 9-in-1 raised bed. Includes free shipping too! Code good through October 2.

Combine it with the current Fall Harvest Sale for double the savings!

Happy Gardening!

#vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #honeynutsquash #raisedbedgardening #smallspacegarden #verticalgardening #raisedbeds #vegetablegardener #urbangarden #zone5bgardening #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
A color echo is simply nothing more than the color A color echo is simply nothing more than the color of a flower or leaf repeated in another nearby plant. In this case the red throat of my purple pillar hibiscus from @pwcolorchoice is echoed in the Velveteen coleus from @provenwinners Color echoes are an easy way to create repetition and knit it all together. Try it! #colorecho #repetition #gardendesign #gardentip #smallspacegarden #zone5bgardening #chicagogarden #colorcombos #plantcombo #perennialgarden #roseofsharon #coleus #hereshegrows
What’s your favorite month in the garden? Mine i What’s your favorite month in the garden? Mine is September. Tell me in the comments ⬇️ #septembergarden #fallgarden #gardenarbor #clematis #fallflowers #gardening #mixedborder #smallspacegarden #chicagogarden #zone5b #hereshegrows
It’s been a good year in the garden. Some things It’s been a good year in the garden. Some things worked out while others didn’t and that’s gardening! How was it in your garden? #inmygarden #latesummergarden #smallspacegarden #gardeninspo #perennialgardens #backyardgardens #chicagogarden #zone5b #hereshegrows
Just in time for the container garden change-up! M Just in time for the container garden change-up! My Ferry-Morse Plantlings are here and ready to go. Check out their website for a complete list of healthy plantlings to spruce up your fall containers or stretch the harvest in your veg garden. Link in stories! Happy Gardening!!! @ferrymorseseed #ferrymorse #plantlings #fallplanting #mailorderplants #hereshegrows #ad
If you have trouble getting Hydrangea macrophylla If you have trouble getting Hydrangea macrophylla to bloom in your cold climate, you’re not alone. Consider Hydrangea serrata or mountain hydrangea instead.

I dropped in a Tuff Stuff Top Fun reblooming
mountain hydrangea today, a new variety from @pwcolorchoice that will be available in 2024. 

It has excellent cold tolerance which means there’s a good chance I’ll have pink or purple lacecap flowers next spring. The amount of available aluminum in my soil will determine the color of the flowers. I think mine will lean more toward pink 💕 and I’m cool with that.

At 2’-3’ tall and wide, this should look gorgeous next to my Tamukeyama Japanese maple all summer long. Foliage turns a plummy purple color in the fall which should be striking next to the firey red late-season color on the maple.

Hardy in zones 4-9, I’m looking forward to what Tuff Stuff Top Fun does in my sideyard garden!

@provenwinners #provenwinners #hydrangeaserrata #pwcolorchoice #mountainhydrangea #floweringshrubs #hydrangealove #gardening #coldclimategardening #zone5b #smallspacegardening #chicagogardening #rebloominghydrangea #hereshegrows
All the male hummers seem to have flown south whil All the male hummers seem to have flown south while the females hang back and fight it out to the very end. These cheeky girls fight all day over the Rockin’ Fuchsia salvia from @provenwinners and are so used to me that they fly right up to my face, hover and carry on. I’ll miss them when they go. #hummingbirds #rubythroatedhummingbirds #birdlover #pollinatorgardens #salvia #pollinatorgarden #inmygarden #septembergarden #birdwatching #smallspacegarden #chicagogarden #zone5bgardening #hereshegrows #meangirls
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