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Search Results for: urban backyard

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

Taking My Backyard Garden Skills to Navarro Farm

April 10, 2022 By Heather Blackmore 9 Comments

Navarro Farm

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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Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorized Tagged With: farm, farm to table, farming, Navarro Farm, raised bed gardening, raised beds, special needs, vegetable gardening

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

Portfolio

It’s been my pleasure to linger in all of these gardens, get to know their gardeners, and tell the story of how these lovely spaces evolved. I’ve worn many hats – writer, photographer, stylist, producer – to bring these gardens to life in regional and national publications. From rebuilding a flooded garden the night before a shoot to coordinating 20 dogs and their humans for a garden party, it fulfills my insatiable desire to experience beauty and the unique ways gardeners express it in their spaces. Country Gardens Early Spring 2018 Article: The Early Show - Written and Produced Synopsis: Drifts of spring-blooming bulbs and perennials are the key to creating a garden seemingly designed by Mother Nature herself. Chicagoland Gardening Jul-Aug 2018 Article: When Great Garden Minds ...

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A Traffic Stopping Front Yard Garden

January 24, 2020 By Heather Blackmore 12 Comments

front yard garden

In all my garden scouting, I very rarely saw front yard gardens. Most had the typical smattering of evergreens and deciduous trees, but few relied on perennials to carry a design. Oftentimes, front yard gardens are like mullets - business in the front, party in the back. Fortunately, the figurative garden mullet is much more appealing than the actual hairstyle. Homeowners often save the good stuff for the backyard or more intimate spaces not observable from the street. What a treat it was to experience a true front yard garden where the homeowner let it all hang out! In a good way, of course. The garden was designed by landscape architect Robert Milani for a home on Chicago's North Shore. There's nothing cookie cutter about the area. The one thing most homes have in common though, is a ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, Top Posts, Virtual Garden Walks Tagged With: Detroit Garden Works, front yard garden, garden design, Midwest garden, perennial gardens, perennials, Robert Milani

The Splinter That Inspired A Pergola

April 11, 2019 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Finished pergola

In 2007, opportunity knocked in the form of a three-inch sliver in my four-year-old daughter's little foot. It was as gruesome as it sounds. Despite that, I asked the surgeon to save the piece of wood for posterity. For now, it's in her baby box that contains lots of "firsts." First sippy cup. First favorite toy. First story book. I'm willing to bet she's the only kid with a giant piece of wood sealed in a urine specimen jar with a label that reads "Abigail's First Sliver" along with the date. She'll be 16 in a few months and has yet to inquire about it. Too many bad memories, I suppose. To this day, I don't know why I told her to come in and put shoes on. We tend to run around barefoot in the backyard. But I suspect it had everything to do with an article I read about skin-penetrating ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: outdoor living, outdoor room, patio, pergola, vines

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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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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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