Myth: You Need a Big Garden to be a Great Gardener
In the world of gardening (and Instagram), we so often see pictures of massive gardens with more raised beds than we can count. And harvests?
Your Garden Questions, Answered
What Seeds to Start, What to Direct Sow, and What to Buy From a Nursery
The age old question! Every gardener finds their own balance here, but there are a few general rules that can help you strike the perfect
Read This Before You Buy Seeds
January is the season of the glossy, gorgeous seed catalogues! Every gardener loves receiving them in the mail. It’s hard not to love looking at
A Fresh Midcentury Modern Twist with Native Landscaping
Sometimes, I get to add gardens to landscapes that have been lovingly tended for years. It’s such a fun challenge to design a garden that
A New Kitchen Garden Paradise for Non-Profit Northwest Compass
My favorite days in the garden are the ones when I get to garden with other gardeners! This installation was so much fun and even
A Glorious Garden Party
Near the end of each growing season, I throw a Garden Party for my wonderful client gardeners and everyone who helped me grow my business
How to Plant a Fall Garden
Fall gardens are one of the most rewarding gardens that you can plant. I love the time of the year where the weather shifts from
Creating Space For Yourself in a Kitchen Garden
Can we all agree that life is ridiculously busy? Sometimes it feels like we’re always multitasking, on the go, trying to fit more into our
A Kitchen Garden Pairs Perfectly With a She Shed
Sometimes necessary parts of our landscapes, like sheds, can look a bit out of place. How do you fix that? Add a garden! Your shed
How to Make a Big Impact with a Small Garden
Have you ever been frustrated that you only have a small space to garden? Or frustrated that you have an awkward corner of your yard
3 Tips to Make Planting Your Garden Easy
How often have you walked out to your garden for the first time all year on Mother’s Day weekend and been absolutely overwhelmed by all
Seed Starting Mistakes to Avoid
It’s here! Seed starting time! Every Chicago winter feels a bit endless. But for us gardeners, there are a few early glimpses of warmer days
Making Seed Ordering Simple
I love looking through seed catalogues. I can’t think of a gardener who doesn’t! Each January, beautiful, glossy seed catalogues start appearing in your mailbox
5 Garden-Centered Resolutions
With snow on the ground, it’s tough to imagine the beautiful, warm summer mornings in the garden. You know the mornings I mean: the ones
Three Ways to Keep Your Salad Garden Going Through December
Don’t you love the simplicity of fall? A few frosts mean the end of your tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and flowers. With those plants gone, gardening
How Your Garden Can Help You Have a Zero-Waste Halloween
Americans spent about $10.14 Billion on all-things Halloween in 2021, which is a terrifying $100 per person! And unfortunately, we know a lot of that
Three Steps for Fall Veggie Garden Clean Up
Do you look at your garden in the fall, and realize that while you should clean it up, you just don’t have energy to do
What No One Told You About Growing Garlic
Garlic is RIDICULOUSLY easy to grow. Seriously. Here’s how: Step 1: Buy garlic bulbs Step 2: Break garlic bulbs apart into cloves and plant them
How to Keep Harvesting Tomatoes Through Frost
When you think of vegetable gardening, what does your mind immediately jump to? Growing tomatoes, if you’re like most Americans. Somewhere along the way we’ve
Love a Good Garden Party? Join us!
We have so much to celebrate together as we near the end of this growing season. All the veggies and herbs we grew. All the
Succession Planting: What I Planted in My Garden in August
If you’re the kind of person who plants your garden on one day in May and doesn’t plant anything else the rest of the year,
Tricks to Harvest and Cure Garlic
Garlic is one of the most fascinating veggies to me. No other vegetable demands being put in the ground in the last moment the ground
Two Quick Tips for Tomato Harvesting
It’s tomato season and I hope you’re enjoying your big, gorgeous tomatoes on sandwiches, salads, and (my favorite) caprese salad. Harvesting tomatoes may sound pretty
Solving Garden Problems: Japanese Beetles
There’s nothing like stepping out into your garden on a warm summer morning with a cup of coffee and admiring your beautiful garden. You glance
The Value of Succession Planting (+ What I Planted in My Garden in July)
If you’re the kind of person who plants your garden on one day in May and doesn’t plant anything else the rest of the year,
Help Your Garden Thrive While You’re On Vacation
We all need a break sometimes. Vacations give us a chance to get out of our normal routines, experience new thoughts and ways of life,
When to Wave the White Flag (or, When to Pull a Plant From Your Garden)
In an ideal gardening world, you will get a beautiful, huge harvest from every plant you put in your garden. But you know that ideal
How to Help Your Salad Garden Thrive During the Summer Heat
Salad gardens are one of my favorite types of gardens to grow. To me, there are few things more rewarding in gardening than having a
Native Garden Installation for a Special Furry Friend
The more gardeners I meet, the more I realize that we all want the same thing: beautiful, productive, and easy-to-maintain gardens. We can create those
Raised Garden Bed for a Growing Family
My mission is to incorporate vegetable gardening into modern, busy lives. What better family to start with than with the busiest of families: new parents?
Three Simple Steps to Take Before Planting Your Garden
Ah, May. The month that the weather magically becomes nice and we suddenly remember that we need to plant a garden (and clean up the
Nicole Jagielski
GARDEN COACH
Helping you incorporate growing your own herbs and vegetables into your busy, modern life is my passion. Most people believe they have a “black thumb,” but with the proper setup, I believe in your ability to grow more food on your patio, in your backyard, or on your balcony than you know what to do with.
Certified Gardenary Consultant
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