Skip to content

Subscribe and never miss a post!

Home
Favorite Things
About
Contact

Here She Grows

Blog
Gardening
Houseplants
Videos
Recipes
Health
- SIBO (pronounced See-BO)

/ spring container gardening

spring container gardening

Bulbs | Gardening

Planting Spring Bulbs in Raised Beds: My Secret to Rabbit-Proof Tulips

My someday goal is to harvest enough apples for an

My someday goal is to harvest enough apples for an apple pie 🥧. I’m years away from that, but I’m learning how to grow something new to me and with that comes plenty of trial and error. Planted in my @vego_garden in Spring 2025, my Fruit Snacks Apple trees from @plants_nouveau are doing well and this was my very first harvest. All two of them!

Not only was the flesh beautiful, but it was truly the best apple I’d ever tasted. Slightly tangy, very juicy and totally rewarding.

I’m growing two Fruit Snacks varieties for pollination, Tangy Green and All Red. I didn’t bag them soon enough and would have had several more of each variety if not for the apple maggots 🪱. I’ll do better next year and bag as soon as I see fruit development.

Fruit Snacks Apple trees are fastigiate varieties bred for small space growing. Hardy in zones 4-8, All Red grows 8’-10’ tall and just 2’-3’ wide. Tangy Green is hardy in zones 5-8 and grows slightly larger at 10’-14’ tall and 3’-5’ wide.

My growing zone is 6a and both trees overwintered well in my raised beds.

I hope next year’s harvest will be even better! Eye on the prize! 🥧🥧🥧

#homegrownapples #raisedbedgardening #smallspacegarden #growwhatyoulove #hereshegrows

Our first frost is coming this weekend and I need

Our first frost is coming this weekend and I need to bring my houseplants indoors for the winter.

But before they come inside, I need to debug them or risk an explosion 💥 of ants, spiders, aphids, mealy bugs, pill bugs and who knows what else. I speak from experience. 📣 ALL SPIDERS FEATURED WERE RELOCATED TO THE GARDEN…ALIVE AND UNHARMED.

So here’s what I do…

Avoid harsh detergents and use @drbronner Castille soap. Unlike detergent, Castille soap doesn’t strip away the outer waxy coating on leaves. It’s gentle on the plant and suffocates critters that may be hiding out on leaves and in soil.

For the water bath, I add about a half teaspoon per gallon of water. The entire pot gets submerged.

For the leaf spray, I use 2tsps of Castille soap in a quart of water and apply to all parts of the leaf and stem.

After 15 minutes, everything gets rinsed, making sure to flush soil and rinse leaves well.

⛔️ Not all plants, like my staghorn ferns, appreciate this treatment. For them, I use a strong stream of water to rinse all the nooks and crannies. Fuzzy leaves are a good indicator that water is best.

Rinse and repeat.

#houseplants #plantcare #houseplantcare #hereshegrows #castillesoap

#AD I’m surprising myself once again with my sudde

#AD I’m surprising myself once again with my sudden fondness for red. Yes, red in the garden. @starrosesandplants sent me several of their newest introduction to the Drift rose line-up. Scarlet Drift is one tough cookie, like the rest of her siblings, but she blooms a little earlier and has the biggest single flower of all of them. I planted four in my garden in May and they’ve flowered continuously all summer long and right into fall. No surprise there, since my Apricot Drifts are still going for it too. If you’re looking for a great small-space rose that gives far more than it gets, than Drifts roses are the way to go. Front-of-the-border color all season long is a sure thing. Do you plant red flowers? #driftroses #starrosesandplants #smallspacegardening #hereshegrows

Field research got a little…frolicky. 🌺 I had the

Field research got a little…frolicky. 🌺 I had the pleasure of visiting the @waltersgardens perennial hibiscus fields today where the @provenwinners Summerific series is grown. I love these events because I get to learn so much more about the plants from the experts who grow them. For example, every one of these plants began the year as a tiny plug and the amount of growth you see above ground is matched by an equally as big root system beneath the soil. All the hundreds of thousands of perennial hibiscus plants I saw today will be sold across the country next year, bringing pollinators, tropical energy and an easy-care disposition wherever they’re planted. #summerific #perennialhibiscus #easyplants #tropicalvibes #hereshegrows

If ever there was a chance that woodland creatures

If ever there was a chance that woodland creatures might land on me it’s right now. If only I had a fairy godmother ✨to go with my Monarch Magic ageratum. #gardenhumor #pollinatorgardening #monarchmigration #ageratum #hereshegrows

Just a few images from my little shade garden. I’v

Just a few images from my little shade garden. I’ve used more annuals this year throughout my entire garden than I have in years past. They’re great for filling space as I wait for the perennials to mature. My favorite shade annual is a begonia (who am I?) called Pegasus. I grow it in the ground and in shady containers and it’s a champ. I’m also bananas for a shade loving perennial with big juicy leaves. Speaking of bananas, mine came back! Back to the favorite dry shade perennial…I’ve fallen hard for @provenwinners Peppermint Patty Bergenia aka pig squeak. 🐷 The leaves are bigger than my hand and the stalks of white and pink spring flowers are lovely. #shadegarden #shadeplants #shadegardening #chicagogarden #hereshegrows

#ad | A little front porch refresh goes a long way

#ad | A little front porch refresh goes a long way.

I’ve been wanting to give our front porch a little more personality, and this was a simple way to do it without taking on another big garden project.

One of my favorite things about container gardening is that you can completely change the feel of a space with one well-placed container — and you can change the planting whenever the mood strikes.

For this shady porch, I went with a lush mix of Kong coleus, torenia, tradescantia, foxtail fern and creeping Jenny. The large Regency Zinc planter from @agriframes was the perfect size to make a statement without overwhelming the space.

Sometimes the smallest garden spaces just need a little good design.

#containergardening #shadegarden #agriframes #smallspacegardening

This is my favorite time in the garden. Several pl

This is my favorite time in the garden. Several plants have given up the ghost but those that remain are simply stunning. #latesummergarden #septembergarden #mixedborder #zone6a #hereshegrows

Anyone else find themselves in Middle-earth the mo

Anyone else find themselves in Middle-earth the moment September rolls around? The spider webs are EVERYWHERE. 🕷️🕷️🕷️#lordoftherings #gardenhumor #septembergarden #spiderwebs #hereshegrows

Monarch Magic from @ball.floraplant is absolutely

Monarch Magic from @ball.floraplant is absolutely the best name for this ageratum because it’s irresistible to monarchs and so many other pollinators. I live along the monarch migration path and have planted this in containers and in the landscape for the last few years. Plant it at the front of the border and let it trail. Excellent drought tolerance and an overall low maintenance disposition make it perfect for my garden style. Add Monarch Magic ageratum to your list for next year! #pollinatorgarden #monarchbutterflies #ageratum #easyplants #hereshegrows

Follow on Instagram

Sitemap
Privacy Policy
Terms and Disclaimers

© 2026 Here She Grows • Homestead Theme by Restored 316

Blog
Gardening
Houseplants
Videos
Recipes
Health
- SIBO (pronounced See-BO)

Search for: