The expression "Go big or go home" resonates these days. I had been looking for a job this last year. Something full-time. Little did I know I'd find myself managing the largest raised bed garden on a farm in Illinois. Twenty years of freelance writing and photography done ten feet away from my bedroom has taken it's toll. I've wanted a little more distance between my work life and my home life. With the girls away at school, there's no need for me to stay here doing something that no longer brings me joy. A quiet house gets lonely, fast. The idea of returning to full-time employment both thrills and scares me. When you're a work-from-home mom, you're the boss. You get used to it. The schedule, the errands, the flow. Transitioning to someone else's schedule is slightly daunting. ...
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Tough Perennials for a Colorful Fall Garden
Place the word "tough" in front of a word and oftentimes you get a negative meaning. Meat. Disposition. Decision. Childhood. No one likes tough meat or a tough childhood for that matter! But put it in front of "plants" and every gardener listens. Tough plant you say? To survive in my garden, you (the plants) gotta be tough. I'm not a plant coddler but instead subscribe to the Joan Crawford school of gardening. So when I was planning my side yard last winter, I focused on tough plants for a fall garden. It's very specific, but being specific keeps me on point and narrows my focus. With so many plants from which to choose, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Here's my criteria: 1. I want flowers until frost. 2. I want to to see them from inside the house. 3. I want to do as little as possible ...
Root Bound Tree? Try Root Washing Before Planting
Spring is overwhelming. There are a million things to do in the garden, not to mention all the family stuff. One daughter coming home from college. The other about to graduate high school and playing lacrosse all over the Chicago area. Everything's a blur right now. Then I decide to plant a new garden complete with a Tina dwarf crabapple. Restraint is not my strong suit. It should have been a quick planting job. The tree was small, container grown in a 10-gallon pot. No big deal. So I dug the hole, slipped the tree out of it's home and realized this "quick" job was about to get a little more involved...and dirty. Not hard, just time consuming and time is limited right now. But I want to do this right. Trees are an investment, something you hope will last for many years, not just the ...
My Favorite Plant Combo of 2020
A great plant combo is key to pulling off a small garden space. Looking back on the previous year provides great insight and I get a better idea of what worked and what was just meh. Because my garden is small, full of shallow beds and tight angles, I have to really think about plant groupings for the best impact. I've matured from the one-of-everything gardener to one who considers how plants jive together. The result is so much better. It's easy to think of a small garden as one that would be easy to plant and I'm the first to say you're unequivocally WRONG. As a new gardener, I wanted one of everything, my planting style reflected it and the garden was a mess with no thought given to plant combos. I still like that somewhat unkempt, cottage vibe but one that looks knit together as ...
Grow Birdhouse Gourds to Make…Birdhouses, Duh!
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 ...
Autumn Leaves are Lovely, But Acorns Fill My Heart
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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