IT'S TIME TO TALK BULBS + SOME FOR YOU TOO

Longtime readers will know that I'm not one to rush the seasons (other than winter, which I'm happy to mentally check out of sometime around January 5), but we need to talk about autumn. And maybe a little bit about spring. Because even though my garden is currently enjoying a very summerlike couple of weeks, the autumnal equinox is Friday, which means it's time to get serious about fall garden jobs.

Some of my favorite daffodils that I grew last year, including three split corona varieties and one multi-flowered variety.

And among all the less-than-pleasant jobs (endless raking, anyone?) is one that I guarantee will bring you more satisfaction than any other: bulb planting. OK, so you'll have to wait a few months for the real satisfaction but I promise that there is nothing better seeing the first flowers pop up in spring when the rest of the world is gray.

Because I live in an area with a lot of deer and, more recently, a healthy rabbit population as well, I only plant bulbs that are critter resistant. I can protect my garden in summer from animal browsing by using animal repellents, but I'm not going to pull on my parka in late winter or early spring to go out and spray flowers. That means that my go-to fall-planted bulbs are daffodils and alliums, both of which I can all but guarantee won't be eaten by anything.

A naturalizing daffodil mix I planted in a wooded area last fall bloomed for months in spring, starting with these yellow trumpet daffodils before they gave way to all sort of other varieties.

When planting almost any bulb, my advice is the same: think drifts, not dots. There is something so spectacular about swaths of flowers in spring. Some bulbs naturalize better than others, so last fall I planted a naturalizing mix in the woodsy area along the driveway. They were fabulous last spring, but I anticipate they will get even better as they multiple in future years.

An exotic and unusual double with orange accents.

Daffodils are tough buggers, as this one that seemed intent on blooming through a nest of mayapples proved. 

There are "fancier" daffodils out there as well, and those I like to save for areas closer to the house where their finer details can be admired. The doubles look like roses, the miniatures are charming and sweet and those with reflex petals are downright intriguing. But last year I discovered a group of daffodils that really stole my heart: the split coronas. I can't explain why I had never paid much attention to this before, but last spring they were the real standouts for me.

'Mount Everest' allium was a lovely addition to this part of the garden in early summer. 

'Purple Sensation' alliums looked great from afar and up close. 

If daffodils are the good-doers of spring, alliums are the statement pieces of early summer. Although they come in myriad forms and a handful of colors from deep purple to blue and snow white to pale pink (with the occasional yellow and maroon thrown in), all alliums do one thing better than any other flower: draw your eye. Be they tall like 'Globemaster' or 'Gladiator' or shorter in stature like 'Ivory Queen', just the form of alliums is an attention-getter. I let them stand in the garden long after their flowers have faded as even the dried flowers add important texture.

Quick aside: Here's the how-to on my favorite way to plant bulbs. When you buy them in massive quantities as I tend to do, you have to find an efficient way to get them in the ground and this is fast!

OK, you're sold (as you should be!). But if you're expecting me to tell you to get out there and start planting, you're going to be disappointed. Because in most places in the U.S., it's still too early. You want your bulbs to have time to settle in, but you don't want them thinking, "Hey, it's go time!" I wait until there is a decided nip in the air, usually before a frost. That puts my personal bulb planting time around mid-October, although you can plant them right up until the ground is frozen if you really have to. So why the rush on talking about bulbs now? Because if you don't buy them now, all the good stuff will be gone by the time you do.

So here's me, telling you to shop. Seriously ... go for it, and I promise you will thank me come spring.

To help get you started, Longfield Gardens has agreed to give a selection of daffodils and alliums to two lucky readers. I'll be giving away one Naturalizing Daffodil Mix with 100 bulbs, perfect for creating a swath of gorgeous blooms that should multiple over the years, and one Amazing Allium Mix with 63 bulbs of four varieties of alliums, including 'Christophii', which is a favorite of mine.

Enter using the widget below. There are a lot of ways to enter to maximize your chances, but if you're short on time all you have to do is log in and click and you're in!

Spring blooming bulbs

MY QUEST FOR THE PRETTY GOOD LAWN + A GIVEAWAY

Hey friends! This post is sponsored by Troy-Bilt, who sent me a mower to review and paid me for my time. But you know all opinions are my own. As are all the weeds in my lawn. 

I've come to accept that I'll never have the perfect lawn. There will always be weeds in it and it will never feel like a pillow under my bare feet. Because we choose not to use synthetic herbicides and fertilizers, maintaining a pristine yard is more challenging.

But that doesn't mean we don't like a nice looking lawn. We overseed when necessary, fertilize at appropriate times with an organic fertilizer, repair bare spots, hand pull bad weeds where we can (dandelions are at the top of the hit list), make sure to keep the mower blade high enough that we're not scalping the lawn, water on rare occasion if absolutely necessary, mulch clippings onto the lawn and trim edges to make everything look neat.

I want a good looking lawn when I look at it from the patio. Get in close and you'll see lots of clover, a bit of moss in some spots and various other less-than-perfect areas. From the long-view though, it looks pretty good, especially after it has recently been cut.

I have huge respect for people who love their lawns. I'm an admirer of gardens and gardening and to me, lawns are part of that. But for my life, I need a good looking lawn that is maybe a bit (or a lot) shy of perfect. And I need it to look that way without a lot of effort.

I accomplish this level of looks-good-from-the-patio through a bit of work in the spring. This is when the holes are patched, thatch is raked up, big weeds are pulled and, a week or so before Memorial Day, the lawn is fertilized with Milorganite. I also do a very simple form of relieving compaction in frequently traveled areas by sticking my garden fork in and rocking it back and forth (over and over again). Then I spread a thin layer of sifted compost over the top and reseed.

I like a good walk-behind mower for quick mowing just around the house. And this one will pretty much pull you around the yard. All you have to do is steer.

But after that, the lawn is pretty much on its own for summer. The sum total of the time I'm willing to spend it on during the high season is a weekly mowing and trimming. And I like to get it done quickly. Often that means we only mow the areas closest to the house. Or sometimes the weekend gets away from us and we need to do a quickly cleanup before company comes over. That's when a good walk-behind mower is best. We have the big Horse XP tractor for when we're doing the whole enchilada, but that's overkill for a quick job.

Troy-Bilt recently sent me the TB490 XP self-propelled mower to test. It has all of the bells and whistles you'd expect on a mower like this (bagging, mulching or blowing ability; hose rinse connection; easy pull start, etc.) but I'll it shines in its versatility. It has front-wheel drive (good for maneuverability), rear-wheel drive (good for our varying terrain) and all-wheel drive (for the best of both) and you can easily switch among the different modes with the hand controls. See how those rear wheels are big? That means that when it's in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, this baby has some get up and go, to the point where it can take you a little off guard when you first try it (not in a dangerous way, but in a lace-up-your-tennies kind of way).

What I'm getting at here is that this thing will pull you around the yard if you want it to. Meaning all you have to do is steer. It's the ultimate in lazy-man's mowing, which I think you'll see is right up my alley.

You can check out a quick video review I did of it on YouTube.

Most people I know strive for great looking lawns, and if you enjoy taking care of a lawn, I think attempting to achieve the perfect lawn is a noble exercise. But I think it's OK to strive for a pretty good lawn too. In fact, I'm perfecting the good-enough lawn. Come see my green weeds. I bet you can't spot them from the patio, especially if I get a drink your hand first.

I have great news for you! Troy-Bilt has offered to give one of my readers a $100 Lowe's gift card! Use it to pick up a new mower, buy more plants or whatever you might be needing. How about picking up something great for Father's Day. (P.S. I don't think you'll get the card in time for Father's Day, but I'll pick a winner on Friday so you can at least go shopping!)

$100 Lowe's gift card giveaway

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DAHLIAS I HAVE LOVED + A GIVEAWAY

It would be cruel to ask me (or any gardener) to name my favorite flower, but I can say without any hesitancy that I can't imagine a garden of mine ever being without dahlias. They are, to me, the quintessential flower. And there are so many varieties I can't imagine that everyone couldn't find at least one (ha!) that they wouldn't love to grow in their garden.

'Cafe au Lait' dahlias in a variety of colors from my garden last year. 

I've always loved dahlias but growing them in our zone 5b climate along Lake Michigan, which makes a deal with the devil to offer warm, long autumn at the expense of warm springs, is an exercise in patience. Dahlias are, in general, at their best in late summer, but the cold soil in my garden in spring pushed that back even later.

Several years ago I figured out a way to circumvent this problem. I now pot up tubers in gallon-size nursery pots in mid-April so that dahlias have a good amount of growth on them by the time the soil is warm enough to plant them out. You must never plant a dahlia in cold soil; it will sulk at best and rot at worst.

A collection of dahlias cut before frost a couple years ago. The center flower is 'Pablo' and the orange flowers are 'David Howard'.

My taste in dahlias varies from year to year. There are so many categories of dahlias and varieties within each category, that the idea of never delving into the other options is appalling to me.

Best known are the dinnerplate dahlias, so called for their enormous flowers, although to truly get flowers the size of a dinner plate, you'll need to be ruthless about pinching out side shoots, allowing all the nutrients and plant love to go to one single, favored bud per stem. This is how dahlias are grown for show and I'm far too greedy a gardener to follow this practice. I'll take four 6- or 7-inch blooms over one giant one any day. Dinnerplate dahlias must also be staked because their heavy blooms will certainly make the stems topple over. I've admitted my staking mistakes here regularly but this is one of those do-as-I-say not do-as-I-do things. Stake them either with some sort of cage or metal support or with individual supports (i.e. bamboo canes) for each major stem when the buds begin to swell, if not before.

Because of the hassle factor, I don't grow a lot of dinnerplates. I also find that they can be a touch difficult to incorporate into a border so unless you have a specific cutting garden area you have to be a little choosy about siting them. For the last several years, however, 'Cafe au Lait' has been the star of my garden. I think I first became aware of this dahlia when Erin from Floret started using them in her amazing bouquets. The color on it will range from buff or blush to almost candy pink and everything in between.

The seductive center of a 'Cafe au Lait' from my garden.

'Labyrinth' Longfield Gardens photo

I grow 'Cafe au Lait' in the skinny bed that runs between the house and the patio (quite the micro-climate there), but the rest of that garden has become quite colorful as I fill it with mostly annuals grown from seed. So this year I'll be alternating 'Cafe au Lait' at the back of that garden with 'Labyrinth', which is similar in form and style to 'Cafe au Lait' but much brighter. I look at it almost as a more saturate 'Cafe au Lait'.

'David Howard'

'HS Flame' Longfield Garden photo

I am also fond of dark-leaved dahlias although in a book I'm reading the great Christopher Lloyd (the late owner of the famed British garden and home Great Dixter) said he thought they could be "funereal" (on this point, Lloyd and I do not agree). 'David Howard' is an excellent example and of all the dahlias I've grown it produces the most flowers year after year. This year I'll be adding a red-flowered, dark foliage dahlia called 'HS Flame', which also has the single petals that pollinators appreciate and looks just a little less fussy than some dahlias. I'll be devoting a section of the circle garden to this dahlia.

'Roxy'

Last year I also grew a dark-leaved one called 'Roxy' which was a good performer in a pot for me. All three of these last dahlias I've mentioned have the benefit of being lower growing, so in many cases do not require staking, although 'David Howard' always grows taller than it should for me and flops by the end of summer.

'Crichton Honey'

I have an affinity for ball-shaped dahlias as well. There is something so orderly and almost unnatural about the shape of them that I find captivating. By far the best of these that I grew last year was 'Crichton Honey', which again varied in color (on the same flower, no less) from yellow to salmon to orange with a bright green center. I also like the tiny pom dahlias, although I've not had good luck with these and for some reason the slugs in my garden attack these over all others. I think that's a coincidence more than anything, but it's a shame because I think a pom dahlia thrown in a bouquet of more natural-shaped flowers is a lovely thing.

'Art Deco'

Gallery dahlias are fabulous because they are the lowest growing of the dahlias and are perfect for the front of a bed or a container and will never need staking (hallelujah). Sometimes, though, I find them almost too compact, without a lot of room for them to really show off their flowers. Such problems. Their color and form is somewhat limited as well. 'Art Deco' is a lovely deep salmon color. A few years ago I got a mixed bag of unknown gallery dahlias and there was one spectacular one that I didn't know the name of at the time. I now believe it was 'Pablo' and it was outstanding.

'Serkan' Longfield Gardens photo

As I said, I'm far to undisciplined of a gardener to stick to just a few varieties of dahlias and this year I'll be growing a few new ones. First is 'Serkan', a blue-purple waterlily variety that will also go in the circle garden. The waterlily dahlias are so unusual compared to other varieties and there's something graceful about them. I think the flower shape is a good juxtaposition with a lot of other flower forms that may be growing near it.

'Myrtles Folly' Longfield Gardens photo

'Nuit d'Ete' Longfield Gardens photo

If there was ever a flower to go a little wild with, it's dahlias and that's what led me to these next two varieties; they are just a little nutty. The first is 'Myrtles Folly', a big, almost fuzzy looking flower with split petals and bright colors. And the second is 'Nuit d'Ete', which is said to be one of the darkest dahlias and the cactus form is always interesting. I'm thinking I may grow them together, as dark flowers are no use if you don't have something near them to set them off so they don't get lost in the background.

Dahlias will keep blooming if you are good about deadheading them. Here's some information on how to do that.

Now, onto the fun part. I want to prove to you that:

1. Dahlias are easy to grow,
2. Everyone should grow some, and
3. Once you grow them you'll fall in love with them too.

Longfield's Summer Wine mix

Longfield's Sugar Plum mix

Longfield Gardens has offered to give TWO lucky readers one of their dahlia collections. I picked out two that I thought were fantastic: their Summer Wine mix and a Sugar Plum mix. Right now most of their dahlias are on sale so if you haven't ordered yet, make sure you do before they are sold out!

Just clicking will get you one entry but you can earn additional entries as well. If you have some sun in your garden or a place you can put a pot in the sun, you can grow these!

Longfield Gardens Dahlia collection giveaway

Longfield Gardens has offered to give away two dahlia collections to The Impatient Gardener readers and has offered me a few dahlia varieties to try free of charge. All opinions are my own. 

THE ALMIGHTY ALLIUM + A GIVEAWAY

I remember the first time I took notice of an allium. It was on Mackinac Island where a side garden at the Hotel Iroquois was planted with what must have been hundreds of Globemaster alliums, with 8-inch (or better) flowers standing proud. It was stunning.

When I think of punctuation in a garden my first thought is always to alliums. They serve as a literal exclamation point and manage to provide a certain amount of structure in even the most casual of gardens. In fact, that's where I tend to like them best because the juxtaposition of style and form is the most dramatic.

I wasn't the least bit surprised when I saw that the National Garden Bureau named 2016 the "Year of the Allium," essentially naming it their favorite bulb of the year. With so many varieties I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't have some. OK, some varieties (Allium spaerocephalon, aka Drumstick allium comes to mind) have a tendency to be somewhat prolific reseeders, but I've never found this to be a bad thing. I wish more varieties did that in my garden!

Purple Sensation allium has large, sort of fluffy flowers. Longfield Gardens photo

For as pretty as they are, if it weren't for one major benefit of alliums, I'd never grow them. As members of the onion family, they are critter (deer, squirrel, vole, you name it) resistant. I long ago gave up on tulips because no sooner would they bloom than a rabbit or deer would snag the flower (or worse, chew down the leaves to nibs before a flower even had a chance). When it comes to bulbs, I only grow those not targeted by wildlife and alliums certainly fit that bill.

Over the past several months several garden designers and bloggers have worked with Longfield Gardens to create custom collections of alliums. I've been enjoying following these, but was particularly taken with Nick McCullough's designs. Instead of thinking of bulbs after the rest of a perennial garden is established, he created a design that incorporates them from the get-go. I love this idea (and this is why he's a professional garden designer and I'm not), but I'm also thankful that alliums are so easy to incorporate into an existing garden design.

Mount Everest is a large white allium that's a nice change from the usual purple but also looks great intermixed with other varieties of alliums. Longfield Gardens photo

That's what I plan to do with most of the Daring Forms collection from Longfield. More than most years, I took note of holes in my plantings that needed a little something else. I'll plant the Gladiator alliums (one of the big daddy varieties) are going in the garden by the garage, because they are just what is needed to draw your eye there in the early summer when most of that garden is green. Purple Sensation alliums have a fluffier flower (to my eye, anyway) that I think will be better appreciated up close, so I'm going to plant those in the gardens that flank the patio. And the stunning Mount Everest alliums, a lovely, moderately tall white variety, is going to go in the newly redesigned oval circle garden.

Gladiator is one of the biggest alliums. Longfield Gardens photo

We've had a warm fall here so I've been holding off on planting the bulbs that Longfield Gardens sent for me to try. That's no problem, as alliums will do just fine waiting a bit so long as you store them in a cool, dark and dry spot. You can plant bulbs until the ground is frozen, so even though the oval circle garden is nowhere near ready for bulbs, I'll still have plenty of time to get the Mount Everest bulbs in for a great display next year.

The allium collections come packed with each variety in a different, clearly labeled bag. That's where they'll stay until I plant them as all alliums bulbs look pretty much alike. The bottom photo is me holding the bag of Mount Everest bulbs to give you an idea of their size. 

In addition to sending me one of the Daring Forms collection to try, Longfield Gardens is also giving one lucky reader of this blog their own Daring Forms collection. Use the widget below to enter. Longfield is also offering 20% of your first order using the code LFG20.

Longfield Gardens allium giveaway

A HAND HOE TO LOVE: A REVIEW + A GIVEAWAY

I've not been quiet about my relatively recently discovered love for Dutch-made Sneeboer tools. After years of buying less expensive gardening tools at the local hardware store or garden center, I broke down and bought a Sneeboer Ladies Garden Spade (my mom is about 5'5" and she likes the Border Spade which has the same size head but a slightly longer handle) after talking with the owners of Garden Tool Company, Blake and Anne Schrek. At the time I couldn't believe I would spend so much on a garden tool, but when it came I was in love. Because I had a took that was correctly sized and impeccably designed, gardening was a true pleasure. And the spade was a thing of beauty. It felt right and it looked good and I loved using it. 

On a warm day in late February I pulled out all my Sneeboer tools for a good cleaning and sharpening.

My collection of Sneeboer tools grew from there as a I added a garden fork and the Royal Dutch Hoe. The latter is currently the most frequently used tool in my arsenal as I've discovered the art and benefit of hoeing (especially this time of year when chickweed tries to eat my garden). I love that thing because it obliterates weeds on both the push and the push and the long handle allows me to reach far into the garden. I can quickly clean up large areas of the garden.

When I found out that Sneeboer and Garden Tool Company was now offering a handheld version of the Royal Dutch Hoe I was thrilled and even more so when Garden Tool Company asked me to test it out.

The Royal Dutch Hand Hoe is about half the width of the original Royal Dutch Hoe blade and 12 inches long, which makes it perfect for raised beds, containers and tight areas. I took it out for a spin first in the raised vegetable garden. It took literally about a minute to snip off the small weeds rearing their ugly heads in the bed. The hand hoe, like its big sister, glides just under the surface the soil, nips off even weeds that haven't emerged yet.

As you can see, some tiny weeds were taking hold in one of the raised vegetable gardens.

The Royal Dutch Hand Hoe works on both the push and the pull and easily glides just under the surface of the soil to cut those buggers down low.

It was perfect for getting into tight areas of the bed in between the rapidly growing kale.

And here's what it looked like just a few minutes later.

I found myself reaching for this new hoe again later when it came to deal with the dreaded creeping bellflower in the latest part of the garden where it has taken hold (hoeing and pulling it won't make it go away, but I can at least keep it under control using those methods). I was able to use it right next to the truck of a small tree, where the larger hoe couldn't maneuver. And while I was down there I also used it under the leaves of larger hostas where more weeds where lurking.

Like all of my Sneeboer tools, it has a beautifully shaped handle. It's available in ash and cherry and I chose the ash because it matches the rest of my tools, and a gorgeous finish on the blade. One of the things I like about the Sneeboer tools is that they are incredibly finely crafted but you can tell when you look at them that they are hand made. I love knowing that a person made my tools, not a machine.

So here's the best news: Garden Tool Company sent me a second Royal Dutch Hand Hoe to give to one lucky reader. This one has the beautiful cherry handle and I guarantee it will become one of your favorite tools. 

Just use the widget below to enter to win. I'll pick a winner next Friday so you have lots of time to use it in the garden this year. But who knows, when the weeds see you coming with a tool this good looking they might leave on their own.

Disclaimer: Garden Tool Company provided me with two Royal Dutch Hand Hoes. This allowed me to test it out so I can tell you what I really think and to give one away to a lucky reader. As always, all opinions are my own. No other compensation was provided.

Sneeboer Royal Dutch Hand Hoe giveaway

A REVIEW + GIVEAWAY OF GARDEN TOOLS

I love garden tools. I can't get enough of them, really. Every tool has subtle differences and I live playing around with them to see what works best for me.

Troy-Bilt came out with a line of garden tools this year and I put them to the test. I noticed two things right off the bat: They felt light, but not cheap or lacking in sturdiness. I appreciate tools that have been designed to be light, so long as it doesn't sacrifice durability and while I can't say I've used these long enough to really test their durability, I didn't notice anything that made me think they'd be breaking any time soon.

Here's the other thing I'm liking about these tools: the pricepoint. I've written a lot about my favorite tools in the past and I'm not opposed to spending a lot of money on a great tool. For that reason, I'm sometimes reluctant to take my favorite tools outside of my yard. When I garden at one of our master gardener projects I practically bring a dog along to guard my stuff because when you have a dozen people working on one garden at the same time, stuff gets mixed up. These tools are good enough quality to do everything I need them to do but not so precious that I'd cry in my cocktail if I forgot one out in the rain.

Here's what I tested (and what you can win):

• Comfort Classic Anvil Pruner ($19.99)
• Premium Flower Trowel ($5.99)
• Premium Planting Trowel ($5.99)
• Premium Garden Rake ($5.99)
• Comfort Classic Anvil Lopper ($59.99)

I'm not going to sit here and tell you these are the most amazing trowels the world has ever seen. They are nice, sturdy tools that feel good in your hand and serve their purpose admirably. I'm not sure I need anything else from a trowel. I like 'em and so did the other gardeners who used them at the public garden (I told you you have to guard your tools!).

I've never used a mini garden rake before and I can't imagine why. What a handy little tool this is! I used it for all kinds of things but my absolute favorite was for forking weeds out my gravel paths. It worked perfectly and it was so much easier than pinching them out with my fingers. Love it. I'd happily buy this at three times the price.

I'm going to preface my comments on the pruner and the lopper by pointing out that they were both anvil style, which is not my preference. A dull anvil blade can crush a tender stem, doing damage to a plant. Troy-Bilt also offers these tools in bypass styles.

I tell you what, after trying these, I can see why I need both anvil and bypass pruners in my kit. I sought out some woody, old stems and cut them with both the Comfort Classic Anvil Pruner and my favorite bypass pruner. The anvil pruner worked better. Beyond that, I was impressed with how comfortable the Troy-Bilt pruner was to hold. I have small hands and find a lot of pruners to be uncomfortable, but that wasn't the case here. It also has a rust-resistant coating and I purposely left it out in the rain overnight. Whereas other tools I have would have not been happy with that treatment, even in the short term, the Troy-Bilt pruner was no worse for the wear.

Newfoundland shown for scale only; he is not included in the giveaway nor did he test any garden tools.

The anvil lopper is huge. This thing will be able to go after some serious pruning tasks and because it opens so wide, you'll be able to fit it in some odd spaces. Wanna know just how wide it spreads? Good thing I had a Newfoundland handy for scale. 

So now it's your turn to try these babies out. One lucky winner will receive a set of Troy-Bilt tools like I tested. Just use the widget below to enter. Entries close at midnight Thursday, Sept. 3.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a set of Troy-Bilt garden tools for review free of charge. All opinions are my own.

MY FAVORITE GIVEAWAYS: LET'S GO PLANT SHOPPING!

It's the final day of my favorite giveaways and I want to thank you for participating this week. If you haven't already entered to win all the great items I'm giving away, you still can. I'm leaving every giveaway open for a week from when they began, but just enter them all now and then sit back and wait to win.

If you didn't catch them all, here's what you missed:

Monday: The Perfect Garden Hose
Tuesday: A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife
Wednesday: Authentic Haven Brand's Manure Tea
Thursday: Sneeboer Ladies' Spade from Garden Tool Co.

And today I'm keeping it simple and I'm giving away a $50 gift certificate to one of my favorite nurseries. The winner can choose from a gift certificate from one of these nurseries:

Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery
Brushwood Nursery
Plants Delight Nursery

Roy Klehm of Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery checking boxes at one of their few open days at the nursery. It was a great shopping trip but most of the time I just order off the website. 

I've been thrilled with the plants I've received from these nurseries, which all also have excellent, interesting collections of plants and I think you'll be happy with them too.

Lots of ways to win below. For your first entry, all you have to do is log in and click. More entry options are available after that for the more ambitious among you. I'll pick a winner next Friday!

Both Klehm's and Brushwood have excellent clematis selections. This is one of my favorites: Guernsey Cream.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MY FAVORITE GIVEAWAYS: A LIFE-CHANGING SPADE

I'm so excited about today's giveaway because this one is a life changer. Once you lay your hands on this, you will never look at gardening tools the same way again.

But let me start with this: You deserve great gardening tools. I think way too many gardeners are quick to pick up a tool that's cheap or easily acquired at a big box store and then treat it like a cheap tool they can replace the next time they go to the big box store. Forgive me, but you're doing it wrong.

This is not to say that expensive necessarily means a tool is great. Certainly that's not always the case and I can think of a few tools I have that can be picked up at the big box store that I bet are better than their counterparts that cost twice as much.

But sometimes, a tool costs more because it is legitimately worth more. It is designed by artisans to account for finer details of its use, it is made from high quality ingredients and it is crafted by people who take pride in their work. And lastly, it's sold by people who actually care.

You'll have to forgive me here, because I'm about to spend some time waxing poetic about the tool (and the people behind the tool) that I'm giving away today. It's the Sneeboer Ladies' Spade from Garden Tool Co.

A few of my tools: The shovel I used to garden with, now reserved for its proper purpose of shoveling piles of dirt, my Sneeboer Ladies' Spade, my A.M. Deluxe Soil Knife, that you can win here, and my Bahco pruners. 

I used to garden with a shovel; it's what I learned from my mom, who until last week, also used a big ol' shovel (guess what she's using now; let's just say she's seen the light). Ergonomically, unless you're shoveling massive mounds of dirt, everything about a shovel is wrong for gardening, especially if you are a smaller person. The angle of the head is wrong, the handle is too long, the head is way too big, causing undue strain, and it's too curved to be good for planting, dividing or doing most of the other things we do in the garden.

The Ladies' Spade has a shorter handle so you can get real leverage when digging. It has a special T handle that is somewhat smaller than on other Sneeboer spades, because it fits better in a smaller hand. The handle is ash from certified sustainable forests.

Then you get down to the business end, where shiny stainless steel (that will put the sheen on your favorite kitchen appliance to shame) is so pretty it makes you not want to get it dirty. Sturdy steps protect your foot from strain after a day of dividing the toughest perennials. The blade is so sharp (and easily sharpened) that it laughs in the face of the most densely packed hosta, and it has the perfect subtle curve to make moving soil easy while still allowing you to cut a straight line.

I did a lot of research before I ordered this spade. It sells for $131 and a tool definitely has to be worth it to drop that kind of money on it. I was worried that it would be too small for my liking, but then the nice folks at Garden Tool Co. (more on them in a second), talked me through all the various sizes of spades and told me that it's important to work efficiently, and you do that by using the proper size tool. Sure, my old gargantuan shovel moved more soil than my spade does, but it also gave me a shoulder ache after 15 minutes. I can work with the Ladies' Spade for hours on end without muscle fatigue.

I'm sure some of you are thinking that you don't take good enough care of your garden tools to own something so great. But remember when you got your first pair of really good (and pricey) sunglasses? Suddenly you stopped losing sunglasses every two weeks. You stopped throwing them in the bottom of your purse only to have them emerge mangled. Two years passed and you found yourself still wearing the good sunglasses. That's sort of what it's like with good tools: you take care of them if you love them.

Look at it this way: You spend hours upon hours gardening. You may very well spend more time gardening than any other leisure activity. So why would you have crappy tools? Why wouldn't you have a tool that will serve you well for the rest of your gardening life (Sneeboer has a lifetime warranty on its tools) and might even serve your kids as well? There's something comforting about a garden tool you can give to someone in your will.

This is a special spade made in Holland by true craftsmen at Sneeboer, which has been making some of the finest gardening tools in the world since 1913. But this spade is special for another reason as well. Blake and Anne Schreck founded Garden Tool Co. after a frustrating experience with an edger from a big box store. They now have a store in Colorado as well as an excellent website. And despite the fact that they are busy (I saw on their Facebook page that they shipped 435 tools last week), their customer service is outstanding. If you have a question about a product (like I did when I was looking for a spade), drop them an email or give them a call. I can almost guarantee you'll end up wanting to buy everything they sell and move to Colorado to be close to their store.

There is so much bad customer service out there. Giant retailers don't really have to care if you are satisfied because when you're just one out of millions of customers, you don't matter. Trust me, you matter to Blake and Anne. It is fun to do business with a company like that.

But let's get to it. You've made it through far too many words and I know you're anxious to know how you get your hands on this great tool.

1. Log in with the Rafflecopter widget below.
2. If you can, leave me a comment about why you'd like to win this. Because of commenting issues this week (sorry about that) it's not required it for entry, but I'd love to hear from you.
3. Use the Rafflecopter widget to gain additional entries (such as by liking the Garden Tool Co. Facebook page, which you should do anyway because they do occasional giveaways and have great stuff on their page).

And it's not required for entry, but do yourself a favor and check out the Garden Tool Co. website to see all of the great tools they have there. And if you don't win, think about picking up something and say hi to Blake and Anne when you do.

The giveaway is open for entries for a week. And remember to enter to win my other favorites that I'm giving away this week:

The Perfect Garden Hose
My favorite soil knife
Manure tea

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MY FAVORITE GIVEAWAYS: THE SOIL AMENDMENT I ALWAYS HAVE BREWING

Welcome to Day 3 of my favorite giveaways, where I'm giving away all the gardening stuff I love best. Today I'm giving something I guarantee will make your garden grow better.

I know you just rolled your eyes. Or scoffed. Or thought, "She's nuts." You may be right on that last one, but hear me out on this giveaway.

Think of all the benefits of compost and composted manure in your garden. You don't question that, right? Imagine if you could bottle that goodness? Manure tea is the answer.

Authentic Haven Brand soil conditioner teas are giant "tea" bags filled with dried, high-quality cow or horse manure. There is also an alfalfa variety. Either way, brewing it couldn't be easier. I just fill up a five-gallon bucket and drop in a "tea" bag. Wait a day and then use it.

And it's what happens next that is right up there with garden magic. Use the so-called MooPoo tea (which is a too-fun nickname that I prefer) by watering plants with it, using it as a foliar feed or as a soak for bareroot plants, bulbs or new transplants. When I buy small starter plants that I grow on in pots for awhile before transplanting to the garden, I always give them a few-second soak in MooPoo tea. You can read more about how to use it here.

Anytime a plant is stressed or looks in need of a boost, I reach for the MooPoo tea and I feel like it often helps. It's not a panacea, but in my mind, it's close. It's also a no-brainer: You're never going to hurt a plant with it like you might with many other fertilizers or amendments.

I almost always have a batch of tea brewing and just a few weeks ago I bought several bags to get me through the first part of the growing season.

If you read a lot of gardening blogs, you've probably heard about MooPoo tea before. The stuff has a pretty strong following. But if you've never had a chance to actually try it, you're going to get a chance to fix that today. Authentic Haven Brand has generously donated two sample three-packs (each three-pack is good for up to 15 gallons of tea) so that two wonderful readers can give it a shot.

Here's how you can enter:
1. Log in on the widget below.
2. Leave a comment (by clicking the large, highlighted link at the bottom of the post that displays the number of comments) telling me if there is a "special" plant in your garden that you give a little extra love.
3. Earn additional entries by doing other tasks in the widget.

If for some reason you cannot comment, drop me an email at impatientgardener@gmail.com and I'll make sure that your entry is included. The giveaway will remain open for a week.

And remember that you can also still enter to win other giveaways from this week:
Monday: The Perfect Garden Hose
Tuesday: My favorite soil knife

And make sure to come back tomorrow when I'll be giving away a tool you won't want to miss.

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MY FAVORITE GIVEAWAYS: THE TOOL I'M NEVER WITHOUT

I've written about the prize for the second day of giveaways this week so many times on the blog, regular readers are probably sick of hearing about it. But the fact is, you'll rarely find me in the garden without a hori hori (or a soil knife, if you prefer the term).

A hori hori does almost everything I need a hand tool to do. Most often I use it to weed, either by popping up them up, or by digging deep and cutting the root. I also use it to plant smaller plants, using it sort of like a trowel. I also deadhead with it, cut open bags, trim twine and generally walk around the garden feeling like a badass (carrying a giant knife will do that).

Last year I talked about the hori horis I've loved before. I ended up getting the A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife and I've been using it for a year (and wrote about it here). I've found it to have some important benefits over other soil knives I've used. For one, the handle is rounded and much more comfortable in your hand. It is also bright orange which is a much bigger deal than I realized. Because I often stick my knife in the ground, I used to lose them all the time. For weeks at a time. The orange helps with that a lot.

So today I'm giving away an A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife to one lucky reader. This one's on me because that's how much I like this thing. I bet you will too.

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below to login and leave a comment telling me about your favorite garden tool.

IMPORTANT: In order to leave a comment, you need to go to the bottom of the post and click on "50 comments" (or whatever the number is up to) in order to leave your comment. I've made it bigger and highlighted it to help you find it.  Additional entries are available by liking The Impatient Gardener on Twitter or Instagram.

Yesterday, several people reported problems with commenting. I've changed the commenting form view in hopes that that will help (apparently with the way it was, you had to have third party cookies turned on in your browser). If you have a hard time commenting, just drop me an email at impatientgardener@gmail.com and I'll make sure you're entered.

I'll pick a winner on May 6. And don't forget, you can still enter to win a Perfect Garden Hose.

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MY FAVORITE GIVEAWAYS: THE PERFECT HOSE

Every day this week I'm giving away one of my favorite gardening tools. I've written about all of them and I'm hoping that whoever the lucky winner of each item is will share my enthusiasm and fall just as in love with these tools as I am.

I'm kicking off this big week by giving away a hose. OK, I'll admit, hoses aren't flashy and they aren't the most exciting things in the world, but I'd be willing to bet that most gardeners use them more than any other tool in their garden. And if you've ever had a bad hose, you know how frustrating they can be.

Here's what I require in a hose: It needs to be light enough to move around easily, but large enough to have enough water flow to power a water wand or sprinkler (I briefly tried one of those light, skinny garden hoses and I could even use my water wand with it because there wasn't enough water pressure). It needs to have heavy-duty brass ends that last and don't leak. Crucially, a hose must not kink. On the scale of terrifically frustrating things, a kink down the line of your hose is right up there with metal folding chair legs that insist on intermingling.

I found the Tuff-Guard Perfect Garden Hose four years ago and I've been using the same two since then. Having and intensely using a hose for four years is a first for me, so in addition to having all the attributes that I require in a hose, it also has longevity. I can't tell you how nice it is to pull a hose out of the garage in spring and know that it's just going to work. It's not going to leak or have developed a random hole or somehow grown a kink that will not come out no matter what over winter.

I've written about this hose before, including here and here.

The nice folks at the Perfect Garden Hose have agreed to give away a 50-foot hose in any color to one lucky winner. I have boring old gray so that it blends in with the patio a little better when I get lazy and don't coil it up, but it comes in a bunch of fun colors.

Entering is easy: Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to log in and then leave a comment (go to the bottom of the post and look for the highlighted # of posts link) telling me what color you want your hose to be or just what your favorite color is. Additional entries can be gained through other tasks in the widget. I'll pick a winner on May 5.

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