Learning In BLoom

Every plant tells a story

Where field notes, failed experiments, and plant investigations are kept on record.

Learning in Bloom

Learning in Bloom is the practical side of the garden. It’s where observation meets experimentation — a record of what’s growing, what’s changing, and what I’m still figuring out. Here you’ll find plant profiles, experiments, and the lessons unfolding in real time. It’s less about perfection and more about curiosity in motion, the way growth teaches through both success and revision.

Plant Profiles

Plant Profiles are part observation, part record-keeping, and part conversation with the garden. Each one begins with what caught my attention, then unfolds through the details that make a plant worth knowing: where it lives, how it behaves, what it teaches, and how it fits into the larger design. These are not verdicts, just snapshots of experience written while the story is still growing.

garden experiments

Garden Experiments begin with a question and unfold through observation. Each one tests a small idea in real conditions, from soil mixes and spacing to timing and companion choices. The goal is not proof but understanding, to see what happens, what patterns appear, and what the garden reveals when curiosity leads the process.

Working Knowledge

Working Knowledge grows from time spent learning through practice, the kind that happens while tending, observing, and applying ideas in real soil. It is where understanding builds through repetition, where curiosity meets experience, and where lessons surface through shared work as much as personal exploration. These entries gather what I’m learning along the way, shaped by doing the work and seeing what it teaches.
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inkberry holly

Inkberry Holly

Opening Observation Some plants earn their keep quietly. Shamrock inkberry is one of them. I first noticed it at Country Bumpkin while hunting for a...

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Kathi
Heuchera (Coral Bells)

Heuchera (Coral Bells)

Opening Observation I had seen heuchera for years without ever really noticing it. It never caught my attention in bloom, and I dismissed it as...

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Kathi
Buckwheat

Buckwheat

Opening Observation I came to buckwheat looking for a helper, not a harvest. The back edge of my yard, where the property meets the easement,...

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Kathi
Coral Sunset Peony

Coral Sunset Peony

Opening Observation Peonies have been part of my gardening life for so long that planting a new one feels almost like adding a familiar piece...

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Kathi