#AlwaysBePlanting

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

Dried Echinacea seed heads from the garden that possibly hybridized being cleaned to separate the seeds out. We will see what we get, if anything.

Tiny Echinacea cleaned seed from the garden that possibly hybridized. We will see what we get, if anything.

Yesterday’s #AlwaysBePlanting winter sowing list (cont): Spiraea tomentosa; Tridens flavus; Verbena urticifolia; Echinacea (maybe cross-pollinated saved seeds) & tennesseensis; Crocanthemum bicknelli; Eryngium leavenworthii; Symphyotrichum prenanthoide. (3/3) #gardening #seeds #Hope #NativePlants 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

Prepared containers of assorted shapes sowed with seeds and ready to go outside.

Prepared containers of assorted shapes sowed with seeds and ready to go outside.

Yesterday’s #AlwaysBePlanting winter sowing list (cont): Gentiana quinquefolia; Melanthium virginicum; Parthenium integrifolium; Persicaria pensylvanica; Scrophularia lanceolata; Solidago arguta, odora, puberula, petiolaris, rugosa & sempervirens; (2/3) #gardening #seeds #Hope #NativePlants 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

A large rectangular raised bed starting to fill up with various shaped continues of winter sowed seeds.

Yesterday was another big #AlwaysBePlanting winter sowing day. 25+ species, mostly #NativePlants. 67 varieties total so far so filling another bed. Anaphalis margaritacea; Andropogon glomeratus & virginicus; Cinna arundinacea; Euthamia graminifolia & gymnospermoides; (1/3) #gardening #seeds #Hope 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

A row of long skinny raised beds slowly filling up with winter sowing containers as another 20 went out yesterday.

Yesterday’s #AlwaysBePlanting #NativePlants winter sowing list (cont): Polymnia uvedalia; Packera aurea; Rhexia Mariana; Sabatia angularis; Senecio congestus; Silphium albiflorum, astericus & perfoliatum; Symphyotrichum puniceum, dumosum & pilosum; Viola pubescens. (2/2) #gardening 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

A tray of containers sown and ready to move from the basement outside.

A tray of containers sown and ready to move from the basement outside.

Yesterday was another day of #AlwaysBePlanting winter sowing. So many #NativePlants: Camassia lechtini alba; Delphinium carolinianum & exaltatum; Eupatorium pubescens; Eutrochium maculatum; Helianthus decapetalus; Hypericum pyramidatum; Hypericum/Triadenum virginicum; (1/2) #gardening 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

Peekaboo, I see you! Closeup of Charlie the yard bunny in his perfect camo tent spot.

#AlwaysBePlanting direct sowing list: Ludwigia alternifolia, Lupinus perennis & texensis, Mirabilis nyctaginea, Napaea dioica, Oenothera macrocarpa, Oligoneuron rigidum, Ratibida columnifera, Sium suave, Solidago speciosa, Verbena stricta, Verbesina virginica. (2/2) #gardening #NativePlants 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

A wonderful wildlife shelter in one of our deepest beds made from thick sturdy grey Baptisia stems left standing overwinter which support other floppier faded tall plants behind it to create a cave that protects from the elements. A chonk bunny is hiding inside if you like picture puzzles.

Communed with Charlie the yard bunny (such good camo!) while #AlwaysBePlanting direct sowing yesterday: Agalinis tenufolia, Asclepias speciosa, Bidens aristosa, Carex retrorsa, Eryngium yuccifolium, Gaura lindheimeri, Helenium autumnale, Helianthus petiolaris (1/2) #gardening #NativePlants 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

Tray of finished containers ready for transport outside from the basement.

More finished containers ready for transport outside from the basement.

Today’s work in the front of a raised bed. Second year Digitalis rosettes behind them that will bloom this year behind them so can’t pack as many jugs in here as I usually do.

Winter sowing #AlwaysBePlanting list (cont): Asclepias amplexicaulis, arenaria, asperula, cryptoceras, eriocarpa, erosa, fascicularis, hallii, hirtella, humistrata, labriformis, latifolia, stenophylla, subverticillata, tuberosa, variegata, verticillata, viridiflora. #NativePlants #gardening 🌱 (2/2)

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

Soil components in a variety of trugs and storage containers ready for scooping.

Two rows of milk jugs open and filled with soil ready for sowing.

A little tamping to make sure the seed have good contact when sown plus my favorite garden tool, a Nopales grocery crate Mr. CMG snagged from the alley for me so I can carry 6-10 containers out at once instead of 2 or 4 (small hands).

1st #AlwaysBePlanting winter sowing of 2026–exhausted! Heavy on #MilkweedForMonarchs, Midwest #NativePlants species plus some Western xerics (looking for better fit for my un-prairie urban trouble spots). Also Agastache nepetoides, Cirsium discolor, Galium boreale, & Polytaenia nuttallii. 🌱 (1/2)

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

2 months ago

A large green trug with two massive happy healthy tree peony roots that have been hiding in the dark cool basement waiting for this ground-turning opportunity. Currently soaking before planting.

Today’s hands-in-dirt project is belated planting of end-of-season sale Tree Peony roots I ordered end of Nov before it promptly turned frigid & snowpack on ground for weeks. 45-50F stretch this week before temps drop out again next week so tough babes are going in. #gardening #AlwaysBePlanting 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

5 months ago

Flat and additional plants ready to plant out front.

Front garden #AlwaysBePlanting was 2x each Hypericum frondosum, Coreopsis pubescens, Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’, Glandularia canadensis ‘Cathy’s Candy’, Salvia ‘Furman’s Red’, 4x Kniphofia ‘Redhot Popsicle’, plus 2x Muhlenbergia, Eurybia, Deschampsia & 1x Grindelia & Jamesianthus. (3/3) 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

5 months ago

A flat of plants ready for planting in the backyard.

Backyard #AlwaysBePlanting was 2x Verbesina alternifolia, 2x Eurybia surculosa, 1x Jamesianthus alabamenis, 1x Grindelia lanceolata, 2x Gaura lindheimerii ‘Whirling Butterflies, 2x Muhlenbergia reverchonii ‘Undaunted’, 4x Deschampsia caespitosa ‘Tardiflora’, & 2x Kniphofia ‘Solar Flare. (2/3) 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

5 months ago

#AlwaysBePlanting rampage yesterday—put in 72 #NativePlants plugs plus another 36 plants. Then hand-watered front & back because 2wks no rain & temps near 90F in Oct 😢. 12x each Carex umbellata, Carex muskingumensis, Schizachyrium scoparium, Tradescantia bracteata & 24x Monarda bradburiana. (1/3) 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

5 months ago

A cardboard box framing a flat of five different types of native plant plugs (72 total) looking full and healthy and ready for a busy day of planting tomorrow.

#TFW your end-of-season clearance #NativePlants plugs arrive are they are goooorgeoouusss!

#gardening #AlwaysBePlanting #WorkToDo #ecosystem 🌱

Julie Butcher 🌴

@juliebutcher.bsky.social

6 months ago

Seriously! I'm trimming and deadheading and getting my garden ready for fall planting! Spinach, anyone?

#AlwaysBePlanting 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

6 months ago

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting report, clearance #NativePlants edition: 4x Monarda fistulosa; 6x Sporobolus heterolepis; 6x Parthenium auriculatum; 6x Phlox ‘Rose Bouquet’; & 1x Physostegia virginiana ‘Vivid’. As always, focus on #biodiversity & #February2Frost blooms.

#gardening #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

6 months ago

All the plants I brought home from my birthday mini road trip across the border into Wisconsin with a delightful mix of foliage shapes and colors, some native, some just adored by #pollinators anyway, & one very miffed #GardenDogs #WeAreAllZoey in the background pouting behind the screen door because she was not invited.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, birthday haul edition: 1x Zauschneria ‘Orange Carpet’; 2x Sedum ‘Stardust’; 1x Sedum ‘Pillowtalk’; 1x Sedum ‘Abbeydore’; 1x Symphyotrichum shortii; 1x Chelone glabra; 1x Desmanthus illinoensis; 2x Eryngium yuccifolium ‘Prairie Moon’; 1x Arnoglossum plantagineum. 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

6 months ago

Screenshots showing the same plant names listed in the text with small thumbnail photos of each plant.

Plants on the deck waiting for planting including the Echinacea paradoxa, Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’ and Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’ mentioned in the text.

#AlwaysBePlanting (cont.): 2x Grindelia lanceolata; 2x Sericocoarpus linariifolius; 2x Salvia nemorosa ‘Lyrical White’; 2x Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Ha Ha Tonka’; 2x Echinacea paradoxa; 1x Silphium mohrii; 1x Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Autumn Sun’; 4x Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’; 2x Liatris scariosa ‘Alba’. 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

6 months ago

Screenshots showing the same plant names listed in the text with small thumbnail photos of each plant.

Screenshots showing the same plant names listed in the text with small thumbnail photos of each plant.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting report, plants for #bees & #butterflies edition: 2x Ruta graveolens ‘Jackman’s Blue Strain’; 1x Passiflora lutea; 2x Hydrastis canadensis; 2x Packera obvata; 2x Galium boreale; 2x Pycnanthemum montanum; 2x Viola sororia ‘Freckles’; 1x Aster novae-angliae ‘Honeysong Pink’; 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

7 months ago

Colorful seed packets lined up on the deck railing awaiting planting in the sunshine: Bossa Nova, Ronde de Nice, Yellow Custard & Mexicana Summer Squash; Farthest North Galia & Tuscany Melon.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, direct sowing short season varieties: Bossa Nova, Ronde de Nice, Yellow Custard & Mexicana Summer Squash; Tuscany & Farthest North Galia Melon; Meraviglia di Venezia, Red Asparagus, Early Dun Colored & Rojo de Seda Beans. (2/2) #gardening #KitchenGarden #GrowFood 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

7 months ago

White seed packets printed in black showing the six different cucumber varieties listed in the text of the post.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, finally getting around to direct sowing cucumbers: Morden Early Pickling, Itachi, Carosello Mezzo Lungo, Mideast Peace, Lemon & Sikkim. Our Fall is getting so mild we should still have plenty of time to harvest. (1/2) #gardening #KitchenGarden #GrowFood 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

7 months ago

Lilium michiganense are small but were $2 each on clearance and have healthy growth so I can be patient, plus the rest of my bounty of plants waiting for planting today. The golden Panicum and Ligularia are particularly striking but I’m a sucker for #FantasticFoliage.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report: 6x Lilium michiganense;
4x Onoclea sensibilis; 2x Sanguisorba canadensis; 2x Panicum virgatum ‘Northwind’; 1x Ligularia ‘Treasure Island’; 1x Actea pachypoda. Mostly #NativePlants minus Ligularia but it was very pretty & I need more shade flowers. (1/2) #gardening 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

8 months ago

Finally underplanting the indeterminate tomatoes with tons of Basil ‘Cardinal’ & just a few Basil ‘Everleaf Lemon’ at the end of both raised beds before the heatwave.

Green-leaved Basil ‘Cinnamon’ & purple & green-mottled Basil ‘Persian’ waiting for planting.

Rippled green-leaved Basil ‘Mrihani’ waiting for planting.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, finally *DONE* getting all my #homegrown seedlings in (only some Winter Sowing jugs left): 12x Tithonia ‘Yellow Torch’; 18x Basil ‘Cardinal’; 5x Basil ‘Everleaf Lemon’; 9x Basil ‘Cinnamon’; 9x Basil ‘Mrihani’; 12x Basil ‘Persian’; 7x Tulsi. #gardening #GYO #seeds 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

8 months ago

A tray of Dahlia I started from seed last year but never planted and then overwintered in their containers dry under the house. A mix of #FantasticFoliage colors from 2 or 3 varieties.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, more racing to settle things in before the storm for free sky watering: 12x Helenium flexuosum; 1x Rudbeckia amplexicaulis; 8x assorted 2yr Dahlia from seed. (2/2) #gardening #GYO #seeds 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

8 months ago

Some happy winter sowing jugs including left row top to bottom Cinna arundinacea, Bromus pubescens, & Carex gracilima. Right top is Spiraea tomentosa. Right bottom is Camassia scilloides which took two winters.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, rain dodger: Winter sowing jugs Cinna arundinacea, Bromus pubescens, Carex gracilima, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Sisyrinchium campestre, Sphaeralcea coccinea, Spiraea tomentosa, Camassia scilloides, Penstemon palmeri & laevigatus. (1/2) #gardening #NativePlants 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

9 months ago

Heliotropium aborescens ‘Deep Marine’ seedlings started from seed.

Lychnis viscaria ‘atropurpurea’, Penstemon canescens, & Digitalis obscura ‘Sunset’ from seed looking a little tired from waiting to be planting in 90F heat yesterday.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report: 12x each Bouteloua gracilis, Allium cernuum, Echinacea pallida, Solidago nemoralis, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Liatris ligulistylis; 6x Digitalis obscura ‘Sunset’; 12x Penstemon canescens; 18x each Lychnis viscaria ‘Atropurpurea’ & Heliotrope ‘Deep Marine’ #gardening 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

9 months ago

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report: Finally planted 3rd tray—18x Callistephus ‘Salmon Janina’. Plus 2x Salvia ‘Marvel Sky Blue’ & late sweet peppers: 2x ‘Holy Italian’; 2x ‘Cardinal Black’; 4x ‘Red Impact’; 1x ‘Super Heavyweight’; 3x ‘Mamma Mia Gallo’; & 4x ‘Giant Aconcagua’. #gardening #GrowFood 🌱

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

9 months ago

Huge 5 gallon pots of Helleborus in the back when I dug them last week. They perked up with shade and water. Finally had time to literally saw them into numerous divisions.

Dotting various Helleborus through the shady edges to add some semi-evergreen appeal and more early blooms. They grow very well for me in our tough dry shade.

Dotting various Helleborus through the shady edges to add some semi-evergreen appeal and more early blooms. They grow very well for me in our tough dry shade.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report, finally sawing up huge clumps of 3 different Helleborus (only faded blooms left so will be surprise) from Secret Garden salvage. Shared some with neighbor & helped her pick a good spot. More early bloomers for confused warm-day-in-winter #pollinators! #gardening 🌱

Julie Butcher 🌴

@juliebutcher.bsky.social

9 months ago

pink cornflower bloom and bud against a blurry background

“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.”
~ John Lennon

🌱 A joyful puff #FlowersOnFriday kind gardeners of BlueSky #FlowerReport 🪷 #BloomScrolling 🌺 #AlwaysBePlanting ☀️

City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

9 months ago

Three trays (18 plants per tray) of overdue-for-planting but happy Callistephus (starting to try to flower) & Digitalis. Only planted Digitalis & one tray of Callistephus today… another day for the other color.

Two long skinny raised beds of indeterminate tomatoes freshly trimmed/plucked and clipped into bright yellow jute twine connected to long steel horizontal trellises above and retied into newly placed supports near ground level since the plant roots will not be holding the twine in place this year. Back to the old dependable twine next year.

Today’s #AlwaysBePlanting Report: hoped to do 3 trays pictured but body failed so only planted 18x each Callistephus ‘Tower Violet’ & Digitalis ‘Pink Gin’. Spent remaining energy hacking a solution for string-trained tomatoes (dumb fashion twine failed at dirt level within 48 hours). #gardening 🌱