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My Small-Space Tomato Game Just Got Better

March 14, 2023 By Heather Blackmore 3 Comments

Firebird Sweet Tomato

Tomato plants, particularly the indeterminates, are tough in small spaces. They want to swallow up every inch of the garden and that's hard to reconcile when every inch matters. And quite honestly, I hate staking and fussing over things. If you follow this blog, you probably know I like plants that produce with little effort on my part aside from starting the seed. Oh, and the occasional water and fertilizer applications. But beyond that, they're on their own. There are those gardeners who are meticulous with their tomato care and that's great. I'm just not that gardener. And yet, things seem to work out well most years. Before last year, I grew mostly indeterminate tomatoes because I like plants that produce constantly over a longer period of time. Unlike determinates that grow less ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: dwarf tomato project, small space garden, tomato, vegetable gardening

Adopting an Organic Approach to Lawn Care

February 17, 2023 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

K9 Officer Jony

Thanks to Gnome for partnering with me on this post. All words and opinions are my own. I've had a change of heart. For the first time in 20 years, my husband will fertilize the backyard lawn this spring. You should have seen his face. It was as though I'd announced "Pizza and beer will be served every day for the rest of our marriage!" We take frequent walks and every time we pass a home with what he considers a prime example of turf perfection, he slows his pace and always asks in a slightly exasperated way "What does this guy use?" because of course, it has to be a man that would exhibit such fastidious lawn prowess who's obviously privy to some closely held knowledge that has yet to be shared with my husband. I'm convinced it's a guy thing since I've never heard any woman, myself ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorized Tagged With: Gnome, grass, lawn, lawn care, lawn fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, organic fertilizer, organic lawn care, turf, turf management

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

January Is A Great Month To Plan A New Garden

January 14, 2023 By Heather Blackmore 8 Comments

Junipers by patio

The Christmas decorations are packed away and I finally have space in my brain to think about something not holiday related. Why Heather, whatever could that be? No surprise here. Gardening is always front and center. In addition to the veg garden that got a glow-up at the end of 2022, I'm also focusing on the garden around our patio. My husband built it for me over a decade ago and I've filled it randomly over the years, without ever making a real plan. How hard could it be to plant a narrow border? Well, as you can see from the photo above, I have my work cut out for me. I've been a let's-throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks sort of gardener. Which isn't always a good thing. There's something to be said for a plan, no matter how big or small and I feel like this small space ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden Tagged With: cedar apple rust, drops of jupiter oregano, french vanilla hibiscus, garden design, new garden, perennial garden, plants for clay soil, plants for sull sun, pollinator gardening, small space border, small space garden, waterwise garden, xeric garden, zone 5b

Choosing the Right Sunflowers for Your Garden

January 6, 2023 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Sunflowers

Happy New Year, garden tribe! It's early January which means I'm buried in seed catalogs and slightly overwhelmed. I want so much! Not because I need it but because I have this thing for plants. Animal shelters have the same effect. If I had the land, and the money, I'd bring everyone home with me. All kidding aside, winter is a time of reflection as well as one of hope for all that's possible in the garden. And as I thought about my garden and how very mediocre it was in 2022, one thing struck me. I really love sunflowers. Perhaps the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" really is true. There wasn't a single sunflower in my garden last year, the first time in over a decade, and I certainly don't want to repeat that in 2023. Of course there were rudbeckia, coneflowers and ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: annuals, branched sunflowers, direct sow, pollinaor flowers, single sunflowers, sunflowers

Glow-Up Part 3: Installing a Crisp Border with Edge Right

December 8, 2022 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Bending Edge Right panel

Thanks to Edge Right for partnering with me on this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I feel like I've been in the home stretch of my veggie garden glow-up for several weeks and the fact of the matter is, it's actually been a few months. Budget plays into everything I do, and sometimes things don't happen as quickly as I'd like. Certain kids need new athletic equipment or there's a last minute school fee we overlooked. So I stay flexible, knowing eventually I'll get to it and all will work out. And if it doesn't, well we call that a character building moment. I've had many. I hate to say what I do is affordable because affordability is relative. So I guess the working word is "plan." Which takes several forms when it comes to a glow-up, indoors or out. Planning in advance ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, My Garden, Uncategorized Tagged With: DIY edging, Edge Right, landscaping edging, metal edging, raised bed gardening, vegetable garden

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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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After visiting the @naplesbotanical garden, I want After visiting the @naplesbotanical garden, I want to hang orchids from all my trees this summer. Then reality sets in and I remember I live in a cold climate and all the orchids I see in my imagination will have to be brought inside for winter. So yeah, reality check. Aren’t those roots amazing?! #orchids #epiphytes #houseplants #orchidcollection #hangingorchids #orchiddisplay #orchiddendrobium
Happy Spring! American Goldrush rudbeckia is anoth Happy Spring! American Goldrush rudbeckia is another low maintenance perennial that gives way more than it takes. Despite my back and forth with plant choices for the redo of my patio garden, this has been a constant. I have several clumps of it throughout the garden and will divide it again for this space. Other plants in this very narrow garden include Allium ‘Millenium,’ Shasta daisy ‘Becky’ and James Galway climbing rose from David Austin. It’s a popular pollinator spot and so easy to maintain. #pollinatorgarden #pollinatorgardens #rudbeckia #allium #easyplants #garden #gardening #gardendesign #gardenideas #perennialgarden #perennials #perennialborder #zone5b #smallspacegarden #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
Twenty years ago, I was a young mom with two babie Twenty years ago, I was a young mom with two babies in diapers and this was where I began. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and a lot of plants met their end here. The most important part is that I kept gardening and learning more every single day. I think that’s what I love so much. The not knowing. It’s an ongoing experiment and I’ve been in love with the process since the first time I buried my kitchen scraps in this area that I hoped would become something lovely and good. #mygarden #smallspacegarden #chicagogarden #gardening #garden #gardendesign #zone5bgardening #zone5 #perennialgarden #plantcombinations #urbangarden #sungarden #easyplants #latespring #perennialborder #gardeninspo #hereshegrows
My shady entry garden is heavy on foliage, light o My shady entry garden is heavy on foliage, light on flowers and it’s one of my favorite spaces. Hosta, heuchera and geranium macrorrhizum are some of my favorite low maintenance plants for dry shade. I love the patchwork of colors and textures and the randomness of the Everest alliums that dance above it all in the spring. #shadegarden #shadegardening #entrygarden #dryshade #easyplants #gardening #madeintheshade #garden #gardendesignideas #gardenideas #perennialgarden #foliageplants #chicagogarden #zone5bgardening #smallspacegardening #hereshegrows
Flowers are fleeting, but foliage is where it’s Flowers are fleeting, but foliage is where it’s at. You can’t go wrong with coleus, lungwort and colocasia. The coleus was a single plant that I pinched back several times to create this rounded beauty. #foliagefriday #foliage #gardening #coleus #lungwort #gardenideas #gardenplanning #gardendesign #entrygarden #gardengate #zone5b #chicagogarden #urbangarden #smallspacegarden #hereshegrows
I’m happy with how this newest part of my garden I’m happy with how this newest part of my garden is coming together. The Abies concolor ‘Blue Cloak’ was a birthday present I gave myself two years ago. The long blue needles are so beautiful. Eventually, that arbor will be covered in pink David Austin James Galway roses. I planted them bareroot last year so give this area a little more time and we’ll circle back to it. It’s hard to be patient! #garden #firtree #gardenideas #arbor #inmygarden #smallspacegarden #zone5b #chicagogarden #hereshegrows
Using the Hugelkultur method of layers of leaves, Using the Hugelkultur method of layers of leaves, grass clippings, fresh kitchen scraps and finished compost, I filled my raised beds all the way to the top last October. Five months later, the soil line is five inches below the original level. Just a little reminder that this method is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do, creating the best soil for flowers and veg. Be ready to drop in some more compost along the way. I used a bag of @kellogggarden soil for raised beds and containers in each @vego_garden and I expect the level to recede more as things continue to decompose. #hugelkultur #organicgardening #raisedbedgardening #healthysoil #soil #smallspacegardening #vegetablegardening #foodgardening #budgetfriendly #gardening #gardentip #chicagogarden #zone5b #backyardgarden #growwhatyoueat #hereshegrows #vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway
So looking forward to chilling in my garden. #soun So looking forward to chilling in my garden. #soundsofsummer #fountain #garden #smallspacegarden #perennialgarden #waterfeatures #gardening #backyardgarden #myoasis #chicagogardening #mixedborder #zone5b #hereshegrows
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