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Growing Figs in the Midwest: An Experiment

January 24, 2018 By Heather Blackmore 3 Comments

Chicago Hardy Fig Tree seedlings in container

Hard to believe, but I had big plans for these two little sticks the moment I laid eyes on them at Costco last March. What gardener isn't hungry to play in the dirt after a long winter? They didn't look like much but the moment I realized they were Chicago Hardy figs (Ficus carica) I was instantly envisioning fig jam, prosciutto wrapped figs, figs stuffed with blue cheese. Figs. Figs. Figs. The reality however, is that I haven't got a clue how to grow a fig tree, but the fact that it's got Chicago AND Hardy in it's name has to mean I might not kill them. Right? At just four inches from root to tip, the saplings were on the dry side, the tiny leaves crisp and barely hanging on. A bit of condensation on the inside of each bag told me they weren't completely parched but the roots would ...

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Filed Under: Food, Gardening Tagged With: Chicago Hardy Fig, Cold Climate, fig trees, Figs

SIBO: More Than Just A Tummy Ache

January 10, 2018 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Abigail White Sox Game after SIBO

You never realize the importance of the passenger seat airbag "ON" light illuminating until it doesn't any longer. Little things like this are taken for granted. Kinda like how the sun will always rise. Until it doesn't. So when the light glowed last week (for the first time in over a year) as my daughter Abigail settled into the seat, we were silent. It's significance meant more than just the reassurance it provided, it meant my daughter was healing. The sun was rising and man was it bright. At 82 pounds and 13 years old, she was slight but strong, her weight enough to allow her to sit in the front passenger seat. This was June 2016 and around this time, things started to change. Long tearful stints in the bathroom, tummy aches after every meal or snack. A general feeling of malaise that ...

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Filed Under: Health, SIBO (pronounced See-BO), Top Posts Tagged With: IBS, SIBO

Espalier DIY: A Small Space Garden Solution

November 30, 2017 By Heather Blackmore 2 Comments

Espalier Kefir Pear

In 2012, I was scouting magazine locations and came across a garden along Chicago's North Shore unlike any I had ever seen. What stood out was the tree positioned in a narrow planting bed on a north-facing wall and I was instantly intrigued. So much so that I knew I had to figure out how to put something like that in my small garden. The homeowner, Kim Visokey (a self-proclaimed Garden Freak), had planted an espaliered Kieffer pear tree that produced plenty of edible fruit. Espalier is a pruning technique developed by a French monk, Father Legendre, in the mid 1600s, who stumbled upon the idea purely by happenstance. Food production can be a challenge, especially when you're faced with the task of feeding a monastery. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. Fruit buds ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: espalier, fruit trees, gardening, small space gardening

A Grateful Gardener Gives Thanks

November 21, 2017 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Grateful Gardener Cat on Fence

  Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if I didn't have a garden. It's work, man is it work. But when you love something so much, it doesn't feel like it. Ok, sometimes it does. Like when the English ivy is sucking the life out of your serviceberry and you have to remove every. last. bit. of. it. Ugh. But it's done and the robins and cedar waxwings will be thrilled to have their favorite tree restored. I've learned to NEVER plant ivy, no matter how lovely a ground cover, again. In retrospect, I'm thankful for the lesson. Plants with attributes like "will tolerate sun and shade" or "fast spreading" and "tough as nails" are glaring red flags. Too much of anything is often not good. Unless it's chocolate. Every year brings new challenges, new realizations and plenty of new ...

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Filed Under: About, Gardening Tagged With: gardener, gratitude, soil, Thanksgiving

Slow Food With Strangers for Thanksgiving

November 2, 2017 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Slow Food Candelight Dinner

If thoughts of gathering round the table with family for Thanksgiving send your blood pressure through the roof, consider dining with strangers, seriously. They can't sling dirt, they don't know you. And even if they did, you'll likely never have to see them again. It's a win, win. Agritainment, a national trend that gives people a taste of the rural life, might be the solution for the holidays. This was my first experience and it got me thinking that this type of venue may be perfect for people who don't exactly enjoy family dinners. My husband and I were invited to experience one of Locavore Farm's Dine On The Land events. What a treat! This was business and pleasure for me as I was scouting the location for a potential magazine story. The invitation came from Rachael Jones, AKA ...

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Filed Under: Food Tagged With: dinner, farm-to-table, food, organic, slow food, Thanksgiving

Amaryllis: Forcing For the Holidays

October 25, 2017 By Heather Blackmore Leave a Comment

Aphrodite amaryllis

For as long as I can remember, an amaryllis has graced my kitchen windowsill at Christmas time. They're elegant, incredibly easy and, as I learned this summer, full of surprises. Typically I'll buy a bulb in October and plant it in potting mix, or sometimes leave the soil out entirely and allow only the root plate to touch the water in a clear glass vase. Long, strappy leaves emerge like green tongues from the bulb and grow incredibly fast, giving way to a thick stalk that houses the bloom. The south-facing window offers up plenty of light and I get something to look at as I conquer the nightly dishes. Aphrodite bloomed last Christmas. In the past, I've gotten amaryllis bulbs from big box stores for $5. At $15, Aphrodite was a splurge, but so worth it with her pink edged, frilly white ...

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Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: bulb forcing, flowers, Indoor gardening

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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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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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