Here She Grows

Grow something!

  • About
    • Portfolio
  • Gardening
    • My Garden
  • Videos
  • Food
  • Health
    • SIBO (pronounced See-BO)
  • Virtual Garden Walks
  • Blog
  • Contact Heather

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…

Be social

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get Here She Grows Blog Updates

Never miss a weekly post! Subscribe now. I won't rent, sell, or give away your email address.

Instagram

Hellebores!!! #almostspringtime #dryshadegardening Hellebores!!! #almostspringtime #dryshadegardening #shadegardens #toughplants #lowmaintenanceplants #zone5bgardening #zone5gardening #perennials #shadeperennials #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
The creeping thyme is the most lovely shade of pur The creeping thyme is the most lovely shade of purple in the winter. I’ve only just realized that it’s spread so well that many of the flagstone pieces I laid years ago are totally smothered by it. #winterthyme #creepingthyme #groundcovers #lowmaintenanceplants #gardenideas #backyardgardener #steppingstones #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
When your bedroom windows face south, the sills be When your bedroom windows face south, the sills become seed starting central for us gardeners with limited space. #seedstartingtime #indoorseedstarting #smallspacegardeningideas #gardeningonabudget #onmywindowsill #offandrunning #bringonspring #windowsillgardening #zone5bgardening #chicagogardening #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
What’s not to love about a flower as big as your What’s not to love about a flower as big as your head?! Summerific Evening Rose hibiscus is a showstopper. Last summer, I had so many neighbors asking about “that giant flower next to the garage.” I love that the garden is such a conversation starter. @provenwinners #summerific #wowthem #perennialhibiscus #perennialgardening #eveningrose #statementplants #inmygarden #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #chicagogardening #backyardgardeners #smallspacegardens #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore #girlswhogarden
This part of my garden used to be a swamp after a This part of my garden used to be a swamp after a rainfall. With a storm sewer and several adjacent sloped yards draining into our backyard, it was rarely dry. But with good tree choices, like river birch and pussy willow, we were able to remedy the problem. I’d classify this area as dry shade now that the trees are established and hog every last drop of moisture. Thank God for dry shade plants like hellebore, aralia (which is new and quite tiny in this pic), and sweet woodruff! Head to the blog and search “dry shade” for more cool plants for this very challenging growing situation. #dryshade #shadegardening #madeintheshade #toughplants #shadeplants #plantcombos #smallspacegardens #inmygarden #backyardgardening #lowmaintenancegarden #chicagogardening #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #mixedborders #perennialgardens #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
Do you see what I see? #buhbyewinter #springscomin Do you see what I see? #buhbyewinter #springscoming #daffodilseason #daffodils #gardenart #lochness #inmygarden #winterisending #springgarden #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #chicagogardens #backyardgardener #smallgardenspaces #illinoisgarden #smallspacegardens #springbulbs #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
For me, a rose has to have three attributes. 1️⃣Fragrance 2️⃣Disease Resistance and 3️⃣Pollinator Friendliness. Rugosa roses check all these boxes and a few more like fall interest with their huge orange hips and gorgeous plum-colored foliage. They are the easiest roses in my garden, requiring nothing more than a hit of Rosetone fertilizer a few times each spring/summer (if I remember). No need for foliar spray applications, matter of fact they resent it and will let you know. Aside from the Japanese beetles, these repeat blooming roses are unfazed and perfume the air with the most wonderful clove fragrance. I’ve grown several varieties but this one, Frau Dagmar Hastrup, is a smaller form at 3-4 ft tall and wide that fits my smaller garden. Rugosas are tough and worth a look, especially for us cold climate gardeners. They’re hardy to zone 3/4 depending on the cultivar. #rugosarose #pollinatorfriendly #pollinatorgardens #lowmaintenanceplants #pollinatorsofinstagram #rosesofinstagram #coldclimategardening #floweringshrubs #inmygarden #zone5gardening #zone5bgardening #chicagogardening #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
CHICAGO HARDY FIG update on the blog! They’re wa CHICAGO HARDY FIG update on the blog! They’re waking up which can only mean one thing...SPRING IS COMING!!! I’ve been growing two figs in a container for four years, overwintering them in a pitch black basement with very little TLC. So easy to do and so worth it for the sweet goodness it produces every September. #gettinfiggywithit #figsfigsfigs #figtree #containergardening #chicagohardyfig #fruittreesinmybackyard #fruittrees #inmygarden #growfigsincontainers #coldclimategardening #gardeningideas #zone5gardening #chicagogardening #zone5bgardening #hereshegrows #heatherblackmore
Follow on Instagram

2019 Media Award
GWA Media Award logo

Great Garden Reads

Get Here She Grows Blog Updates

Never miss a weekly post! Subscribe now. I won't rent, sell, or give away your email address.

Popular Posts

  • A Traffic Stopping Front Yard Garden
    A Traffic Stopping Front Yard Garden
  • My Mojito Mishap - Know Thy Mint
    My Mojito Mishap - Know Thy Mint
  • 10 Tough Plants for Dry Shade
    10 Tough Plants for Dry Shade

Quicklinks

  • Blog

Be social

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2021 hereshegrows.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy · Terms and Disclaimers