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Search Results for: redbud tree

Trees: The Importance of Diversity

June 7, 2018 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Parkway planted with Bradford Pear Tree

The main drag through our neighborhood is lined with Bradford pear trees and it's beautiful when in flower. Stinky, like dead fish, but pretty if you can get past the odor. Unfortunately, they are our neighborhood's harbingers of Spring. The trees were planted approximately 18 years ago and I'm guessing were bought for a song by the developer. They're common and it's always concerned me. Even more so now that my neighbor's gorgeous pear trees in her front garden have succumbed to fire blight and will have to be removed. Their invasive nature has landed them on the Illinois Invasive Plant List. In other words, choose something other than a pear. Ironically, the callery pear (Pyrus calleryana), from which the Bradford originates, was brought over from China in an attempt to thwart fire ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: monocultures, trees

Tough Perennials for a Colorful Fall Garden

October 15, 2021 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Japanese Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'

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 ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: anemone, asters, coneflower, drift roses, echincea, fall blooming perennials, fall color, fall flowers, fall garden, flowers, Japanese anemone, pollinator garden, pollinator plants, Roses, salvia, tough perennials, tough plants

Verticillium Wilt: The Soilborne Disease Claiming Victim(s)

May 7, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 7 Comments

Redbud tree

For nearly 17 years, my garden flew under the radar of disease until last year when it was obvious something was wrong with my redbud tree (Cercis canadensis). One of the main branches didn't flower or leaf out. While I remained hopeful, the reality was that I sort of knew what was happening but didn't want to admit it to myself. It was kind of like saying Beetlejuice! three times. Only this was even harder, this was real and attacking my favorite tree. I sawed out the affected branch and waited for another spring, hoping it might bounce back but it didn't. It got worse. Verticillium wilt has consumed two-thirds of the tree and right now, only the branch closest to the gate has flowers. The rest is dead. So I'm enjoying that last branch while at the same time lamenting the loss of the ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: cherry tree, disease, elderberry, lilac, redbud tree, soilborne fungus, verticillium wilt

I Finally Transplanted My Peony

November 8, 2018 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Red Peony with yellow center closeup

Nothing like waiting until the eleventh hour. But in the case of my Scarlet O'Hara peony, that's exactly what I did. I received a bare root peony tuber as a door prize at a garden event about ten years ago. The planting spot I chose was visible from the house and rather close to a redbud tree that, at the time, didn't cast much shade. With plenty of morning and early afternoon sun, the peony thrived. Fast forward to a much bigger redbud and a peony that surprisingly still flowers despite receiving less than two hours of direct sun. Four to six hours is recommended. It's hard to imagine that a three-foot stick of a tree will, if all goes well, eventually create a beautiful green umbrella over the plants below. But that's exactly what the redbud's done and I'm tasked with finding a new ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: peonies, peony, powdery mildew, transplanting peonies

Some Much Needed Inspiration from Walters Gardens

September 1, 2022 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

ornamental grass

My garden has been begging me to get out of it. I think it was the best thing I could do for it this summer. The oldest part of my garden is on the west side of my house, just inside the gate. It's about 15 years old and it's looking it's age. Plants have an expiration date. Either they age out of beauty in the eyes of the gardener or they simply lose their vibrance. I think there's a little of both going on here. I've been staring at the same space with the same plants for years and finding it difficult to reimagine it any other way. I needed a new perspective so I ditched my garden for the day and made a two-hour drive to Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan. I spent the entire morning considering, imagining and snapping pictures of scenes and combos that appealed to me. The colors ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: agapanthus, allium, black plants, elderberry, hibiscus, kniphofia, pennisetum, plant combos, sedum, Walters Gardens

Soil Test Results Say Back Off Organic Matter! What?

May 7, 2021 By Heather Blackmore 4 Comments

Gorilla Wagon full of soil

My soil test results contradict everything a gardener is told to do. As promised, I received a letter in the mail less than two weeks after submitting the soil samples to the lab detailing the shortcomings. As it turns out, both areas are pretty similar despite the fact that one is an established garden, the other hardly touched except for the tricolor beech and two Techny arborvitae that are no bigger than a minute. But there's one significant difference and it's a game changer. The redbud garden, which is no longer home to a redbud on account of verticillium wilt, was one of the first gardens I dug almost 20 years ago. It's seen a lot of compost which explains why it tested "very high" for organic matter. A whopping 10.0! Too much organic matter can be a bad thing. Ummm, wait, what? ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: soil, soil test, soil test results

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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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I’ve never had a garden bag before this beauty f I’ve never had a garden bag before this beauty from @vego_garden arrived today. 

It’s full of all sorts of bells and whistles and will save me trips back and forth to the garage to grab tools and various odds and ends. Built-in hooks make it perfect for hanging on the edge of a raised bed and the five gallon capacity means it can double as a water bucket in a pinch.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and EVERYTHING is buy one get one 25% off! 

Go to my affiliate link in bio to check out their Let Love Bloom Sale! ❤️🌷

Happy Gardening! 

#vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #gardengear #gardenbag #toolbags #worksmarternotharder #toughtools #forthegardener #giftsforgardeners #youdeserveit
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
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