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Search Results for: japanese beetles

Japanese Beetles and Fond Childhood Memories

July 25, 2019 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Cluster of Japanese beetles devouring rugosa rose

My daughters have been trained killers since the ages of three and four. Weapon of choice? Dish soap. It was fun and made mommy happy. I sound like Joan Crawford in the garden. But a few weeks ago, my oldest, Emma, who will be 18 in a few months, told me it wasn't until recently that she realized her childhood memories were slightly different from those of her friends. I cringed as I waited for her to elaborate, my mind Rolodexing for any moment that may have left a mark. The tale she shared with her friends involved death, roses and soap. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures It was late June and the roses were opening. At the time, I had three Frau Dagmar Hastrup rugosas planted beneath my family room windows. Their scent is heavenly. No sooner would a bud open then the Japanese ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Top Posts Tagged With: bugs on roses, insects eating roses, irridescent bugs, japanese beetle control, Japanese beetles, motherhood, organic japanese beetle control, rose pests

Why Rugosa Rose Is A Lazy Gardener’s Dream

January 21, 2023 By Heather Blackmore 4 Comments

Rugosa rose with pink flowers

I was doing a live chat on Instagram a few months ago with my friend Erin, you know her as The Impatient Gardener, and we briefly touched on roses. Our conversation turned to them when I asked her about a plant she was over. She thought for a moment and replied "roses." Too much work, too needy, too demanding. I get it. All valid points. Erin lives in Wisconsin, a stones throw from lake Michigan. Winters are harsh, the season short. We didn't really dig into her response but immediately after she said it, I resisted the urge to argue the case for the rugosa rose. My rugosas are the Rosie the Riveters of the rose world, full of beauty, brawn and multi-season interest. After all, rugose means rugged or rough, which relates to the overall appearance of their thick toothy leaves, but ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: beach rose, cold climate rose, cold climate shrubs, easy care rose, garden rose, hardy roses, low maintenance roses, multiseason interest, Roses, rugosa rose, rugosa roses

Going Native One Plant at a Time in My Backyard

July 9, 2021 By Heather Blackmore 14 Comments

Honeybee flying to milkweed flower

I've partnered with the National Wildlife Federation's Garden for Wildlife program for this post. All thoughts are my own. If you asked me 20 years ago what a native plant was, I probably would have said it was anything I couldn't kill. Which pretty much summed up my awareness. In the beginning, I was like a kid in a candy store with little plant knowledge but wanting one of everything. It was purely superficial and based solely on flowers. I quickly learned that the one of everything approach results in something more like a weed patch and less like a garden. I'm still trying to control that impulse, but I've also learned that my tastes have shifted. I still want beauty, but my definition of it has changed. For me, beauty encompasses all that my garden attracts. From the tiniest ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: Garden for Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, native plants, natives

Letting Go of “Tidy” Spring Garden Cleanup

April 16, 2021 By Heather Blackmore 4 Comments

Daffodils

I'm all for a spring garden cleanup that saves me time and money. Toss in the added bonus of increased organic matter and improved soil health and I'm sold. Several years ago while working at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, I was chatting up my friend Scott Stewart who, at the time, was at the helm of Chicago's Lurie garden. It was mid-March and I mentioned that their compost bins must be overflowing with all the debris they were cutting back. What he said changed my approach to spring garden cleanup forever. You know the drill. Cut, rake, bag it, haul it to the curb, repeat. The curb in early spring used to look like a skirmish line of lawn bags waiting for the garbage truck to haul them away. It bothered me to think that all that garden goodness would benefit someone else. I ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: chop and drop, garden cleanup, soil, spring chores

Autumn Leaves are Lovely, But Acorns Fill My Heart

November 20, 2020 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

acorns

A few days ago, I was listening to a podcast and the conversation touched on the change of seasons and the way each is marked by the things we associate with them. Winter snow. Spring daffodils. Summer tans. Autumn leaves. While colorful leaves are the quintessential poster children of fall, it is the acorn that marks the arrival of autumn. Something about that little brown oak seed with the tan beret takes me to another season of my life, the one marked by the frenzy of small children. When my girls were small, keeping them occupied was challenging. Never one to plop them in front of the TV for hours, I looked to the outdoors for entertainment. That's not to say I wasn't grateful for the respite that a Disney movie offered from time to time. We played in the rain, built snowmen with ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: acorns, autumn, children, daughters, fall, momlife, motherhood, seasons

Perennial Hibiscus: Bridging the Gap Between Summer and Fall

August 27, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Candy Crush hibiscus

I discovered perennial hibiscus almost two decades ago when I spotted Lady Baltimore's enormous pink blooms from across the parking lot of a local home improvement store. I wasn't looking for her, she just found me as most plants do. That happens a lot. At the time, I knew nothing about perennial hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) other than I had to have this tropical looking beauty in my garden. She met her end that next spring when I assumed she was dead and dug her out, only to discover hibiscus is late to rise and often doesn't show signs of life until well into May here in my zone 5 garden. Oops. Perennial hibiscus resumes growth in the spring when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees F and is hardy in zones 4-9. For gardeners in colder climates, this might mean that your plant doesn't ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos, perennial hibiscus, rose mallow, tropical flowers, wet sites

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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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Let’s eat! Nothing’s better than homegrown! So Let’s eat! Nothing’s better than homegrown! So grow what you love and make the kind of food you’ll never find at the grocery store! #homegrownfood #backyardgardener #organicgardener #raisedbedgardening #growyourown #vegetablegardening #letseat #gardenlife #sustainabilityyourway #potager #happygardener #raisedbeds #homecookingisthebest #canningandpreserving #gyo #zone5b #urbangardens #smallspacegardening #bountifulharvest #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
It’s 1 degree today! And my @vego_garden raised It’s 1 degree today! And my @vego_garden raised beds won’t see seeds or plants for a few more months. Having built and filled them last fall, it’s nice knowing they’re ready to go just as soon as Old Man Winter decides to loosen his grip. Check out my bio for the link to the beds! They’re on sale! 😉#vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #raisedbeds #raisedbedgardening #backyardgardener #backyardgarden #foodgarden #growyourown #growwhatyoulove #zone5b #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
It’s a great time to butter your branches! Unswe It’s a great time to butter your branches! Unsweetened natural peanut butter spread on your tree branches is a great source of calories and fats for birds at a time when food sources aren’t as plentiful. I do this for them and me as I’ve been an avid bird watcher since I was little. It’s something I inherited from my dad who used to walk around England’s @ntkingstonlacy estate with a jackdaw, a small grey crow, perched on his shoulder. His grandfather was a gardener living on the grounds. I can’t imagine a garden without birds. #forthebirds #birdfood #birdfeeding #backyardbirder #birdwatching #ilovebirds #birdfeedingtips #forthebirds #birdloversofinstagram #winterbirds #birdfeeding #peanutbuttertime #urbanbirding #chicagobirding #feedthebirds #highcalories #birdlover #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
It’s going to be many weeks before I can plant m It’s going to be many weeks before I can plant my @vego_garden raised beds. The soil is frozen solid! But it’s not too soon to think about crops that will germinate in cool soil and extend my growing season into the chilly first weeks of spring. As soon as soil is workable and around 50 degrees F or 10 degrees C, direct sow peas, spinach, arugula, salad greens and radish. With the exception of the peas which take about 70 days to mature, all are quick-turn crops producing delicious, harvestable veg in 35 days or less. It’s a great way to get the most bang for my garden buck! #vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #coolseasoncrops #earlyspringgarden #raisedbedgarden #vegetablegardening #potager #growwhatyoulove #foodgardening #eatyourveg #urbangarden #directsow #plantseeds #backyardgardening #hereshegrows
Another reason to leave those hydrangea blooms up Another reason to leave those hydrangea blooms up for winter interest! Your snow woman will have the best hairdo. Add to that long arborvitae lashes and a rose hip mouth and she’s one lovely lady. I miss my girls, especially on days when the snow packs so well. Today’s one of those days. If they were home, we’d have the best time making our snow girl. But I built one by myself and was joined by my dear friend and neighbor. #missingyou❤️ #snowman #snowwoman #snowday #momlife #emptynestmom #wintergarden #lovemydaughters #gardenlife #chicagogardener #hereshegrows
Do you grow asiatic lilies? I have a few varieties Do you grow asiatic lilies? I have a few varieties in my garden and they thrive despite my heavy clay soil. The secret is full sun and fast draining soil all year long. Wet soil leads to rot and these beauties are on the west side of my garden, the hottest part next to the house. Things dry out quickly here which is the key to their success. In order of appearance: Forever Susan, Black Beauty and Conca D’Or. #asiaticlily #orienpetlily #lillies #trumpetlily #fragrantflowers #summerbulbs #flowerbulbs #perennialgarden #fullsun #sunnygarden #chicagogarden #zone5bgardening #urbangarden #backyardgarden #hereshegrows #gardenideas #gardendesignideas #bigflowers #turkscap #summergarden
Have you decided what you’ll be growing this yea Have you decided what you’ll be growing this year in your veg garden? I can’t wait to get out here and get growing! My goal last year was to make this small space as productive as possible for 2023. The addition of two 6-in-1 @vego_garden raised beds along the fence means I can take advantage of the narrow space and also use the fence to grow up. Configured in this way, the beds are just two feet wide, allowing me ample room to get a cart in here while still growing plenty of veg. You’d be surprised just how much you can grow in a 6.5’x2’ bed! Follow me and we’ll grow together! #vegogarden #sustainabilitymyway #vegetablegarden #foodgarden #smallspacegardening #smallspacegarden #raisedbeds #backyardgarden #growfood #organicgarden #growwhatyoulove #growyourown #eattherainbow #potager #youarewhatyoueat #gyo #mygardenlife #chicagogarden #urbangardeningideas #urbangarden #zone5b #hereshegrows
It’s workbench Wednesday! Before anything else c It’s workbench Wednesday! Before anything else can happen in the garden this year, I have to get my work bench sorted. How’s yours looking? #mygardenlife #workbenchwednesday #gardenchores #ihatecleaning #justthrowthatanywhere #hereshegrows
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