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About Heather

 

For 20 years, I’ve applied my passions for health, gardening and family to stories for regional and national publications including the Chicago Tribune, Elite magazine, Chicagoland Gardening, Make It Better and the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Since 2011, I’ve been a garden field editor for Better Homes and Gardens magazine and their special interest publications including Country Gardens and Outdoor Spaces. It’s a dream job that allows me the flexibility to be the mom I want to be while maintaining my place in the working world. I’m always learning and forever curious.

Completely filthy and totally happy in my favorite sundae tee.

I’m a tomboy at heart and my dog Stella gets excited when I sport my two signature pieces, a baseball cap and my work jeans. She knows I’ll be in her territory for the day and we’ll garden together. From the rugby pitch to the garden patch, I’m no delicate flower. I can jump double Dutch like you wouldn’t believe and throw a perfect spiral with precision. And my camera is my best (non-human) friend.

I’ve paid for two manicures and one pedicure in my lifetime. It just doesn’t make sense to pay to make pretty hands that are constantly compelled to dig, plant and pick stuff up (I’m an avid weightlifter with a fondness for deadlifts and Turkish get-ups). But most importantly, I’m a wife and mother determined to make a happy healthy home for my family. And much of my reality has its roots in a garden. I gain so much joy and peace from sinking my hands in this heavy clay soil and sharing what I’ve learned with my children, who can identify the plants, birds and insects that inhabit our small suburban Chicago landscape. There’s something to be said for children who understand that they’re just a small piece of a giant equation and that piece, no matter how tiny, has a role to play.

They’re teenagers now and still thrill (it’s more like a subdued enthusiasm, but I’ll take it nonetheless) at their first spring siting of a ruby-throated hummingbird and mention when they no longer see them at our window feeders when the sun dips low and summer wanes. They recognize how few or many varieties of butterfly visit our yard from year to year and are keen to the appearance of the Monarch who visits the milkweed we let spread throughout our garden. I’m grateful they know.

During a visit to the butterfly tent at Brookfield Zoo, a butterfly hitched a ride in my husband’s hair and remained there the entire time.

My husband is a city-boy gone country. Plants and gardens were not a part of his childhood until we met and he had no choice but to embrace, and ultimately fall in the love with, the garden that hugs our home. He’s a great sport, humoring me and my ideas for pergolas, patios and espalier. Thank God he’s a wonderful carpenter! And every year, he loses a little more turf to my ever expanding garden. The poor guy’s surrounded by estrogen, even the dog and hamsters are female, but he navigates girl world with a terrific sense of humor and the girls and I are lucky to have such a hard-working and devoted man in our lives.

I believe in the power of small things. Tiny seeds. Little hands. Furry paws. A nourishing meal made from the simplest ingredients. The ability to create something beautiful for the soul and the body, whether it’s through food, a flower, a kind word or a handwritten note just because.

I’m glad you’re here and hope that through my pictures and stories you’ll be inspired to garden, appreciate the little things and try something new.

Toodles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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