Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      Hot off the minds of Midwest travel writers: a fresh look at where to eat, drink, play and stay around the region. Read More
    • Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      One has conquered the world of plant-based baking. Another runs a microbakery from her home. Two own businesses with their spouses. And the fifth is a James Beard finalist chef. The common thread? Absolutely delicious cakes. Read More
    • The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      For many Midwesterners, holiday feasting kicks off with a relish tray. We dare not mess with an icon—at least, not too much. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    At Wisconsin supper clubs, the steak is served rare and the traditions are well done. Like the brandy in an Old-Fashioned, these timeless institutions only get better with age.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    This sleeper hit of a weeknight dinner comes from Food Network star Molly Yeh's cookbook Home is Where the Eggs Are—and is basically a vehicle for Parmesan and garlic toast. No complaints! (The alternate version, with ham and cream, is excellent too.)
    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    With visions of dinner parties and game nights dancing in their heads, a Chicago couple renovated their historic (and first) home, one DIY project at a time.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    Author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf shares how to make blooms last longer—and repeat.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Buses, trains and very few automobiles—check out these out-of-the-ordinary holiday lights displays.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Tamales are a project, but many hands—even tiny ones—make lighter work.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • DIY Pistachio Wheat Stalks for Fall Decorating
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
    • Fall 2022 Issue
    • Winter 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Garden
  3. Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  4. Garden Lessons from a Midwest Blog

Garden Lessons from a Midwest Blog

By Photographers Kritsada & Marty Baldwin June 01, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Go wild
A young couple realized their dream of getting back to the earth when they purchased a small Iowa farm.
Start Slideshow

1 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Blog and bloom

Blog and bloom

You know that dream about getting back to the earth? The one that always fades away amid bills and routine? Anne Armitage and Alan Peterka actually went for it.Trading a house in town for a small farm near Tama, Iowa, they started gardening and selling plants and produce. Anne is wild about trees, bushes and flowers; Alan handles the garden structures, pests and veggies.The two share the successes (and failures) of their growing season through their blog at barkandbloom.com. The following slides show some of the clever ways they grow plants and use natural or recycled materials on their farm.Bark and Bloom Blog

1 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Tub garden

Tub garden

Anne created a water garden in an old bathtub. The wire grate can be pulled over the tub at night to keep deer from eating water plants.

2 of 15

3 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Vintage birdhouse style

Vintage birdhouse style

A variety of handmade vintage birdhouses, found at flea markets, adorn the peak of an outbuilding. The birdhouses add a touch of style to the shed, while providing multiple nesting spots for birds.

3 of 15

Advertisement

4 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Homemade arbor

Homemade arbor

Alan built this simple arbor and is training vines to climb the posts and provide shade eventually. Pieces of salvaged furniture provide a place to sit and enjoy the garden.

4 of 15

5 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pot creations

Pot creations

Anne isn't fussy about plant pots. Here, she uses old baskets and a rotted-out tree trunk to hold succulents.

5 of 15

6 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Hoop house

Hoop house

Alan built the hoop house and cold frames. "Our seedlings usually do very well until we neglect to open the cold frame and fry them, or forget to close a cold frame and freeze them. With any luck we won't need to learn these lessons again," he says.

6 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Bag planting

Bag planting

To make gardening quick and easy, Anne sometimes plants lettuce (and other seeds) right in a potting soil bag that has a section cut out of the side. The mini garden can be transported easily from the hoop house to the garden and back if frost threatens.

7 of 15

8 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Sink planter

Sink planter

An old sink makes an interesting planter for an assortment of small succulents.

8 of 15

9 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Curly willow

Curly willow

During the winter, Anne propagates hardwood cuttings of curly willow; red-, yellow- and copper-twigged dogwood; bittersweet; and sycamore. This curly willow bush is from one of her cuttings.

9 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Right at home

Right at home

No need for fancy garden art here. This vintage tractor wheel provides just the right accent beside a barn and will become a trellis for climbing plants.

10 of 15

11 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Recycled tiles

Recycled tiles

Inexpensive drainage tiles hold a variety of small plants.

11 of 15

12 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Easy path

Easy path

Anne and Alan created a simple path through the garden using stepping-stones made from tree trunk slices and wood chips made from fallen branches.

12 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

New life for old springs

New life for old springs

Anne found these springs in a burn pile adjacent to their property. She thinks they're from an old truck seat. This find makes a surprisingly attractive trellis for a fast-growing, climbing trumpet vine.

13 of 15

14 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Home harvest

Home harvest

Anne and Alan harvest abundant produce from their property, including at least seven varieties of peppers, various volunteer squash, a 'Kellogg's Breakfast' tomato, cut Banana Melon and sweet 'Minnesota Midget' melon, along with berry jams and pickled cucumbers.

14 of 15

15 of 15

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Go wild

Go wild

"Our wild, 'naturalistic garden' is a tangled mess of perennials and self-seeding annuals," Anne writes in her blog. "I have to admit that I have achieved exactly the garden I set out to create when we moved here several years ago."Bark and Bloom Blog

15 of 15

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Photographers Kritsada & Marty Baldwin

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 15 Blog and bloom
    2 of 15 Tub garden
    3 of 15 Vintage birdhouse style
    4 of 15 Homemade arbor
    5 of 15 Pot creations
    6 of 15 Hoop house
    7 of 15 Bag planting
    8 of 15 Sink planter
    9 of 15 Curly willow
    10 of 15 Right at home
    11 of 15 Recycled tiles
    12 of 15 Easy path
    13 of 15 New life for old springs
    14 of 15 Home harvest
    15 of 15 Go wild

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    Garden Lessons from a Midwest Blog
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.