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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

Start Your 2023 Wish List with These New Plants

November 10, 2022 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

August series Rudbeckia

There's a certain amount of anticipation that goes along with an invitation to a garden event showcasing new plants. You know you're not coming away from it unscathed, but in the best sort of way. For me, such invitations result in some serious plant lust, the kind that fills my garden brain with intrusive thoughts throughout the day about how I can use all those new plants. Remember, I have a relatively small garden so space is limited. But the upside is that I have all winter to figure it out. Waiting is the hardest part and what I'm about to show you won't be available until 2023. I thought it best to save this post until you'd buttoned up Garden 2022. It seems to resonate better when one isn't consumed by all the plants currently in their keep. This summer, I toured the display ...

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Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorized Tagged With: AngelDance Angelonia, Ball Horticulture, Canna, Canna Cannova Bronze Peach, Delphinium Red Lark, Jurassic Begonias, new plants, pollinator plants, Rex Begonia, rudbeckia, Rudbeckia August Forest, Rudbeckia August Sun, Sedum Little Shine, Tomato Sun Dipper, tomatoes, Verbena Purple and White

Raised Bed Garden Glow Up Part 2: Staining

September 30, 2022 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

staining a raised bed

Thanks to Vermont Natural Coatings for partnering with me on this post. All thoughts and opinions belong to yours truly. When it comes to staining my raised beds, it's gotta be clean. If you go to any home improvement center looking for exterior wood stain, you'll find shelf after shelf of options that will do the job. Very few however, offer the reassurance I require of anything I use in and around my home. The thought of chemicals invading the soil in my organic garden and infiltrating the fruits and veg I grow for my family creeps me out. I've always been conscious of the foods we eat, especially so following the diagnosis of my daughter's digestive disorder in 2017. I became an even bigger food snob. Quality of life comes down to lifestyle and clean food is a huge part of that ...

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Filed Under: Food, Gardening, My Garden, SIBO (pronounced See-BO), Uncategorized Tagged With: food garden, organic wood stain, PolyWhey Exterior Wood Stain, raised beds, staining wood, Vermont Natural Coatings, wood stain

Raised Bed Garden Glow Up Part 1: Pre-Stain Prep

September 16, 2022 By Heather Blackmore 3 Comments

Powerwashing

Absence has definitely made my heart grow fonder and deeply aware that a garden glow-up is in order. It's not that I've lost the love for my garden, namely the raised bed vegetable garden, I've just been away from it and it's painfully obvious. From the weed covered area around the beds to the quagmire of random vegetables spilling out and everywhere, the vegetable garden reflects the year we've had. Stressful and reactive. I planted the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and tomatillos, and that's about all I did. Somehow, things grew and I had a decent harvest which makes me wonder just how important the gardener is to the garden. As a sidenote, many of my just-blushing tomatoes have a single bite in them, courtesy of the growing population of chipmunks in the garden. Add that to the ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: food garden, food gardening, garden diy, power washing, raised beds, vegetable garden, wood staining

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

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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 love snapping “befores”. They’re a great w I love snapping “befores”. They’re a great way to look back on how far a space has come.

This was my first season growing in my 17” 6-in-1 @vego_garden raised bed with trellis system. At just 24” wide, it tucked in perfectly against the fence and grew delicious climbing zucchini and honeynut squash this summer. 

The narrow footprint made it possible to grow sprawling veg that would have eaten up valuable space had I not taken advantage of vertical space.

Have you thought of ways to make better use of your space? 

#vegogarden #sustainabilityyourway #raisedbedgarden #smallspacegarden #urbangarden #vegetablegardening #growwhatyoulove #foodgarden #potager #chicagogarden #zone5bgardening #hereshegrows
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
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