June is Bustin' Out All Over!
Hello!!
I mean, seriously! June is Bustin’ Out All Over here — the roses have been blooming for a few days (early) and are overlapping with the peonies and the gardens are positively humming with bees and bugs of every kind. It’s glorious!
As I suspected, we did not even come close to finishing the ORC. Oh, well! Someday that laundry room will look grand, but for now I have too much gardening and too many other projects happening all at once.
Here’s the June project list:
New Deck: this is a BIG one! The demolition of our old concrete patio is done, and we have started to put in the footings. I’m so excited about this project! It’s the last big piece in our backyard master plan, and it’s going to be fabulous. This project is sponsored by Tanzite, a Canadian stone decking company, and we are anxiously awaiting delivery of our materials.
To follow along: updates in Instagram stories several times per week, and I’ll have other content coming, too.
Waterwise Lawns: have you watched Rebecca McMackin’s TedTalk about lawns and native plantings? If you haven’t, do! It’s wonderful. My favorite quote in her talk: “Lawns should be area rugs, not wall-to-wall carpet.” I could not agree more! And we are taking on what is left of a lawn in both our front and back yards this month. It’s a little insane, frankly, but I can’t wait to show you how this will unfold. We will use two different approaches — both waterwise and both DIY. More on that to come, too. This is a partnership with my friends at High Country Gardens, too.
To follow along: updates in Instagram stories once we start the work, and I’ll have a big blog post and video guide when it is all done.
Phew! If we get through all of this in one piece, It will be quite the accomplishment! But it’s going to be a good month of progress, completion, and change!
As always, I have a monthly checklist for you, too! Here’s your June Gardening Checklist! And please do me a favor: every like and subscribe really helps a small account like mine. Will you please click the link, like and subscribe? That would mean the world to me!
I welcome questions and queries, and I’m so thankful for your ongoing love and support! Happy spring!!
Love,
Angela
Wondering where to find me? Here’s the breakdown:
Stories: daily project updates
Reels & Posts: a few times per week, bigger project updates and lots of gardening education
Highlights: plant and product recommendations, project updates collected in one place
YouTube: I am hanging out here a lot more of late!
Longform Videos: monthly Gardening Checklists, gardening education, big project recaps
Shortform Videos: a few times per week, bigger project updates and lots of gardening education
Blog and Website: you are HERE!
Pages: big project recaps, how-to projects, reviews, and idea lists; use the search and the top navigation to find all kinds of goodies!
Blog: monthly updates with links to new content
ORC blog: weekly updates when a project is underway
Spring is on the Way!
Signs of Spring and a seed starting guide
Friends,
I hope you are well! We are buttoning up here for a big snowstorm, and I must remind myself that March and April are our snowiest months, but those storms bring great moisture. So all is well!
I have been busy in the greenhouse getting all kinds of seeds started. It's such fun to see those little baby plants emerge, and every day I check to see who is the newest arrival!
And even outside there are distinct signs of spring including my first blooms! Iris reticulata wins the race — and look at that gorgeous purple!
Iris reticulata in early March
If you are looking to start some seeds, I have a new seed starting video to give you my favorite mix recipe as well as some tips, too. So I hope you’ll check that out!
And don’t forget the March Checklist, too:
If you are gardening, don’t forget: peat-free is best! Here’s my guide to Peat-free gardening — and a reminder of why destroying peat bogs isn’t a necessary part of gardening.
Wishing you all the best as spring arrives! Be sure to let me know if you are doing the Spring Grow Along — and it’s not too late to join, too!
Cheers!
Angela
A Spring Cutting Garden Grow Along!
Happy February, Friends!
As I write this, the snow is melting from last weekend, but it is clearly still covering the ground and there is a decided chill in the air. I discovered today that voles have been at work in The Orchard and ate the entire root system of one of my apple trees, so I have to think about that unfortunate situation! But aside from that unpleasant discovery, all is well here.
I held off on my monthly update, because I had a very fun announcement to make: I am doing a Cutting Garden Grow Along with my partner, Botanical Interests! If you have ever wished you could have a cutting garden, let’s start one together!
All of the details can be found in this blog post:
Grow Along Details
Everything You Need to Know to Join the Cutting Garden Grow Along!
And the seed list is available here:
Grow Along Seed List
Choose the seeds that will work for your garden!
A cutting garden can be any size, and I chose seeds which will work in most zones. There are flowers for every climate, but choose what you like to grow. And choose what will work where you are, too!
I will be posting all kinds of content both on Instagram and on YouTube for the Grow Along, and I’ll post updates here as well. Be sure to subscribe and follow on Instagram and YouTube to stay up to date!
If you have questions about the Grow Along, don’t hesitate to ask!
And here’s your February Gardening Checklist, too!
OMG! Big News!
More content in new places!
So I wrote that I had some big news coming in the last update. Here it is: I’m partnering with Botanical Interests and Epic Gardening — creating new content together! I’ll be teaching gardening basics from starting seeds to planning whole gardens. I’m so excited about this new venture, and I hope you’ll stop by to check it out.
Be sure to like and subscribe, so you will never miss an update.
Speaking of updates, the One Room Challenge begins next week, too, so it is busy around here. More to come!
Happy Gardening!
Angela
Hello, September!
Finally harvesting veggies!
Happy September! I was taking a dip in our stock tank pool today over lunch and marveling at how quickly the summer passed. We were so busy, and time simply flew by! I hope you are well and are enjoying some beautiful days. I am already starting to see signs of the changing seasons — migrating birds, browning grass heads — even as we are finally reaching a harvest in the vegetable garden.
Our unseasonably mild and wet summer, while absolutely delightful for gardening, has meant a later harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers and nearly NO dahlias so far. It has been a strange summer here to be sure.
But I am so thankful for all of the moisture, and the new Wildlife Garden is THRIVING because of the rain. Planning a big project like this feels a bit like playing the lottery. We could have had a dry, ghastly summer like Texas has had which would have made keeping these little plants alive and thriving much more labor intensive: more watering, providing artificial shade, and worrying. Instead, the rain has allowed all of those little plants from High Country Gardens to reach into the soil, put down their roots, and even BLOOM!
Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit, Salvia sylvestris Caradonna, and Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm blooming in the Wildlife Garden.
Scrophularia macrantha and Coreopsis verticillata Moonbeam are blooming together, too.
To learn more about this exciting new project, check out the new Wildlife Garden section of the website!
There is also still room in my new class: The Art of the Word! Sign up before it is filled up, though! I’m so excited to be teaching this again, and I hope you’ll join us for this live Zoom class in October. More info here:
Did you see the Blue Moon the other night? Here it is shining over the Shade House — magnificent!
Blue moon over the Shade House
The Shade House is one of our favorite places to be these days — cool and shady and so comfortable all day long.
I will have some BIG news to share with you next week, so stay tuned for that. I’m really, really excited about this! I mean: really excited! That’s why this is in BOLD! OMG! You’ll see it first on Instagram, so be sure you are following me there.
Until then, I have some other exciting news to share! HoseLink, one of my partners, is having a month-long sale: 10% off all watering and gardening 😊 Retractable Hose Reels, Weed Puller, Secateurs, Sprinklers, you get the idea – all 10% off! I genuinely LOVE my HoseLink hose reels, and I highly recommend them. And their sprinklers are fab, too!
Here’s my affiliate link in case you are going to do some shopping:
Go get those discounts!
OK. Stay tuned for the BIG news next week — it’s exciting! And until then, happy gardening and happy September!
Cheers!
Angela
New Gardening Project: The Wildlife Garden
Not only is the first of August gone, but I’ve missed the 15th, too! It’s been a busy month — and a good one, though.
It’s my birthday month, and I started off with some celebrating and travel to Las Vegas. A highlight? The Neon Museum after dark with sooo many great examples of signage from Vegas history on display. I highly recommend it! Vegas isn’t really my scene, but I went with a dear friend to see Adele in concert — which is very much my thing!
But it hasn’t all been fun and games around here! While I was playing, the garden was doing it’s thing, and I came home to weeds and overgrown beds and all the rest. So, I’ve been working feverishly to get things back into shape. That’s the problem with vacation: the gardening fairies never show up to take care of things while I’m gone!
But the Amaranth and sunflowers that I planted this year are stealing my heart! Both are native North American plants. Amaranth is actually a grain, but the flowers and seedheads are so sculptural and glorious, that they make huge, beautiful bouquets. Add some sunflowers — well, it is spectactular!
My new favorite combination: sunflowers and amaranth!
The Wildlife Garden is coming along beautifully! While I am doing a LOT of weeding, the plants are absolutely thriving. I have started a whole section about the Wildlife Garden here on MidModernMama. Not only will there be information here, but also on HighCountryGardens.com. And, of course, I’ll be doing updates on Instagram as well.
I am so proud of this particular project. I hope you will hop over and read all about it. I often feel pretty gloomy about the state of the world and the enviromental damage we continue to do. But wildlife gardening is so empowering! I am actually doing something that will have a profound impact on the flora and fauna in my neighborhood. And while my one yard isn’t going to change the world, imagine the impact of a hundred yards — or a thousand — or a million… That’s the thing about gardening. It is a tangible, real way to advocate for change without waiting around for other people to take action.
Anyway, I hope you’ll follow along!
Stay cool, everybody! And happy gardening!
Cheers!
Angela
Summer's Sizzle
I hope you are doing well and are keeping cool. So many of you are already suffering in lingering heat. I am so sorry! Here’s hoping for a respite soon!
I can FINALLY tell you about our huge gardening project — if you don’t already know. Last winter I took a garden-planning class with garden designer Kelly D. Norris. It was a wonderful experience, and I am now putting all of his ideas — and a lot of my own — to work in our front yard. This huge transformation which we are calling the Wildlife Garden will ultimately involve more than 1000 plants, nearly 50 species, trees, borders, and more.
My goal: creating a wildlife-friendly habitat for birds, bees, bugs, microbes, fungi, and more. I’ve been gardening for wildlife for years now, but this is the biggest, most ambitious project I have ever taken on.
Those before photos are pretty bleak. Our yard has been a blank slate — just weeds and more weeds and barren soil — for the last six years (and probably a lot longer). But with the help of my sponsor, High Country Gardens, this yard will, over the next three years, be transformed. This isn’t a quick fix. I’m focused on planting native North American plants, and they will take some time to grow in and mature. But I’ll be sharing the whole journey with you both here and on Instagram. So I hope you will follow along!
Ok. I’ve got some weeding to do! Happy July! Stay cool out there!
Cheers!
Angela
How to Choose the RIGHT Roses!
Plus a great discount at Heirloom Roses!
In our first house in Sacramento we had a tiny yard dominated by a 200 year old oak tree. And in the middle of that tiny yard, a tiny rose bush emerged. I suspect it was a grocery store rose thrown out by the previous owners — maybe even a cutting. I don’t know. But it grew. And it grew. It was planted in a terrible spot, so I moved it. In fact, over the years, I moved it to three different locations. But that rose loved our yard. It grew from a tiny little sprig into a giant bush that clambered over the fence — and might even still be there. The thing is: roses have a reputation for being fussy, but they really aren’t.
It’s truly a matter of choosing the right plant for the right place!
I love roses, and I have a new post all about choosing the RIGHT rose for your yard. AND, in case you needed more inspiration, I also have a great discount for you from Heirloom Roses — my FAVORITE place to order roses!
Use the code MODERNMAMA10 for $10 off any purchase of $50 or more. Good from 3/13- 3/18!
So be sure to check out the new guide to choosing the right roses, and then pop over to place an order for yourself! Spring is coming, friends! I promise!
XOXO
Angela
