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City Mouse Garden

@citymousegarden.bsky.social

3.1K followers 50 following 2.6K posts

#NativePlants & #Pollinators Fan. Master Gardener. Master Urban Farmer. Cookbook Editor/Chef. Tiny #Chicago Garden Zone 6A. All photos mine unless otherwise indicated. #UrbsInHorto #GardenDogs #KitchenGarden #FantasticFoliage

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 17h

Hostas were foolproof at beginning of my garden journey but I’ve removed most of less showy ones as I’ve trained my green thumb & made more room for #NativePlants. Still their blooms are always a lovely surprise that #pollinators love.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FlowersOnFriday 🌱

Purple pendant buds make way to creamy white bell-shaped flowers inviting bees to hide inside. #FantasticFoliage of ferns glow in sunlight in the background.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 17h

Strawflowers holding out hope for a long fall season.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FlowersOnFriday 🌱

A beautiful white strawflower showing off its thin papery layers crowned in gold with another star-shaped bud unfurling next to it.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 20h

Mr. CMG could not stop giggling when he brought in this particularly rude fruit last night. 🤣

#gardening #KitchenGarden #GrowFood #NoSpray 🌱

A smoky red-brown tomato with a particularly entertaining protuberance—a bit of a gonzo nose for the family friendly audience.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 21h

Rudbeckia ‘Henry Eilers’ is just magical in sun or shade. 🥰

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FlowersOnFriday #February2Frost 🌱

Three quilled yellow blooms float in dappled shade above dark green matte foliage with other flowers opening behind them in the distance.

Three quilled yellow blooms shine in the sunlight against a background of deep green matte leaves and ferns.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 21h

Is it the weekend yet? Because I also feel like this.

#WeAreAllZoey #GardenDogs #DogsOfBlueSky #ACDLife

A small grey and brown Cattle Dog lies on a rug with her paws folded up across her chest and her eyes rolled back in her head.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Still harvesting from #KitchenGarden to turn some frozen Crab & Lobster Ravioli into a special supper topped with a rainbow of chopped #homegrown tomatoes, chiffonaded basil & shredded Parmesan.

#gardening #GrowFood #NoSpray 🌱

Gold, green/red, smoky red, and bright red tomatoes piled together and topped with the most perfect tiny fluted red tomato and a big bunch of fresh green basil on the stem in the background.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Yep. Gorgeous, hardy, surprisingly drought tolerant.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Hard without knowing location but I would start by comparing to Lonicera Sempervirens if you’re in the Eastern or Southeastern US.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Not sure which I love more—the delicate tropical-looking blooms or the gilt-edge #FantasticFoliage?

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FeelsLikeFall 🌱

A white and bright purple bloom speckled and accented with dramatic chandelier-like stamen, glimmering deep purple hairy buds, and a background of healthy bright green foliage edged in pale yellow.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Truly epic bloom! 👏

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Exciting!

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Just an absolute forest of Solidago caesia on the Parkway right now and I couldn’t be prouder!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants #UrbsInHorto #Chicago #February2Frost 🌱

Hundreds of stems of green foliage dotted with clusters of tiny yellow blooms all along each one.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Always one of my favorite visitors. Along with the birds, they keep our Katydid and Grasshopper populations from getting out of hand. Love a good natural balance!

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Rainy roses from earlier in the week that I forgot to post yesterday.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #SmellTheRoses 🌱

Two forms of the same rose, newer at bottom and fully open at the top.

Creamy butter yellow rose tipped in pink and dripping with huge raindrops.

Faded cream rose tipped in pink and dripping with huge raindrops.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

We finally got maybe 1.5” give or take through Monday night and Tuesday. The plants are rejoicing! I will still take more though because I have lots of plugs and new plants I just put in that need it to establish before the end of the season.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Tradescantia. Looks like it’s getting uneven light which is why shady side has bigger darker leaves and the sunny side has faded small leaves. You can shear it back heavily and start rotating it every few days to encourage it to grow back in more evenly throughout the pot. Very hard to unalive.

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 2d

Still the time of year when you can’t walk in from the garage without picking up a handful of beautiful delicious #homegrown tomatoes along the way.

#gardening #KitchenGarden #GrowFood #NoSpray 🌱

Three large red perfectly round unblemished tomatoes.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 4d

We were promised rain in the forecast tonight which we desperately need so #GardenDogs #WeAreAllZoey is putting the ‘blue’ in Blue Heeler as she vigilantly watches for it… and squirrels… mostly evil plant uprooting squirrels. #gardening #ACDLife #DogsOfBlueSky 🌱

A small grey and brown Cattle Dog glows a faint blue in the soft light as she stares unflinchingly out the open back patio screen door.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 4d

Our house is pale blue so it seemed like a good fit. They went out this morning and the birds seem to like the rolled edge more too for their little feet to grip!

City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 4d

Beautiful color but I’m afraid it isn’t Callicarpa americana. One of the Japanese or Chinese varieties, mislabeled perhaps. Callicarpa americana has extremely short peduncles that make the fruit sit in tight clusters around the stem and larger more textured foliage.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 5d

Pleased with myself because Mr. CMG got a bit overzealous scrubbing painted metal bird bath bowls & no lacquer or sealant was doing the trick so I ordered pair of extra deep ceramic pie dishes that just came. Trying size out in pic. Will be perfect I think after a wash & stones added. #gardening 🌱

A thin metal bird bath stand pokes up between shrubs and perennials holding a deep blue glazed ceramic pie dish with high walls ready to be washed, filled, and set with some river rocks to give smaller insects safe access. I think the birds will like the thinner fluted edge rather than the wide flat rim of the metal predecessor too.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 6d

Found even more blooming Elephantopus carolinianus from seed that have reached their moment of glory today. I’m really excited about this tiny wonder proving to be so happy on our tough dry part shade urban parkway.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #NativePlants #FantasticFoliage #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱

A wide shot showing the beautifully outlined and symmetrical veins of the basal leaves that are as lovely as the tiny purple blooms.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 6d

Pushing record highs around 89F today again. Out early to refresh the water dishes (each with enough depth for #birds splashing and enough large river rocks for #inverts to safely visit).

#gardening #pollinators #wasps #ecosystem #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱

A beautiful Bald-Faced Hornet rests on the rim of the water dish.

Closeup of a beautiful Bald-Faced Hornet showing the incredible detail of their mask-like coloring.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 6d

#WeAreAllZoey playing nosy neighbor looking for cats/squirrels/falling leaves/bugs/anything moving in the shrubs on the other side of this fence on afternoon walkies.

#gardening #GardenDogs #DogsOfBluesky #ACDLife 🌱

A small grey and brown Cattle Dog on a leash sticking her head trough the bars of a cast iron front fence with her tail perked and her ears up on a garden hunt. Tiny yellow leaves starting to gather on the sidewalk at her feet as she casts a perfect dog-shaped shadow.

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City Mouse Garden @citymousegarden.bsky.social · 7d

Thanks for the kind words!