Mike's Backyard Nursery

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You are here: Home / Archives for Mike

Buying Plants at Wholesale Prices.

Updated : June 17, 2024

50 Comments

Members of the Trade Never Pay Retail Prices for Plants, Wholesale Rooted Cuttings or Liners. What most people don’t realize is that as a member of the trade, nurseryman, landscaper, garden center, or Backyard Grower, you are entitled to buy plants on the wholesale market.   And the prices are remarkably lower, for a lot of… Click here to read more…

Spring Pruning Tips. Should I Prune Now?

Updated : April 5, 2019

112 Comments

Pruning, pruning, pruning, pruning! When to prune?  How to prune?  When to prune this?  When to prune that? People seem so confused by it all. So in as few words as possible I am going to give you my take on pruning. Hey!  Do You Have an Extra Square Foot in Yard?Just One Square Foot? … Click here to read more…

Preventing a Back Injury While Gardening.

Updated : November 5, 2014

32 Comments

To many, gardening and back injuries go hand in hand.  But that shouldn’t be the case.  Gardening can be the most back friendly activity that you engage in, but you have to be smart about it. Gardening is not about killing yourself with hard work, heavy lifting or tugging and pulling. I’ve got back problems… Click here to read more…

Are Hybrid Plants Better?

Updated : March 8, 2025

54 Comments

Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud Tree

Nature Intended for Plants to Reproduce by Means of Sexual Reproduction. Along time ago when the earth was green (stole that line from the Irish Rovers song “The Unicorn”) new plants were born.  Chance seedlings that just popped up.  Probably a tad more complicated than that but for the sake of simplicity we’ll just assume… Click here to read more…

Heirloom Seeds, are they Really Better?

Updated : November 5, 2014

276 Comments

Let’s start with . . . what exactly is a Heirloom seed? Heirloom seeds come from plants that are really old like me, even older really.  I was born in 1956, most or all heirloom seeds come from plants that were being actively grown prior to 1951.  Why 1951?  What’s so significant about that?  I… Click here to read more…

How to Make 65¢ per Square Inch in Your Backyard.

Updated : May 7, 2021

240 Comments

Mike and Pam's Dining Room Table

65¢ Per Square Inch.  That’s $93.60 in One Square Foot! And you can do it over and over and over. Does the idea of growing and selling small plants in your backyard seem like an intimidating venture for you?  I know for a lot of people it does because they look at what I am… Click here to read more…

Using Predator Pee (Urine) to Keep Unwanted Animals Out of Your Gardens.

Updated : June 17, 2024

238 Comments

Keeping unwanted animals out of the garden can be a challenge and I hear from people all the time who have this problem. Those of us who Make Money Growing Small Plants often use sand in our plant propagation areas and all too often neighborhood cats think these propagation areas are great big litter boxes…. Click here to read more…

Protecting Plants from Frost

Updated : November 7, 2014

42 Comments

As a gardener there are a lot of things that you can do to protect your flowering shrubs and fruit bearing trees and shrubs from frost damage in the early spring.  Of course the size of the plants determines how much you can do and be successful. Frost is the quiet enemy that looks in… Click here to read more…

Fruit Trees that Fail to Make Fruit.

Updated : June 17, 2024

271 Comments

Do you have a fruit tree or trees in your yard that just don’t seem to know how to make fruit?  Are you frustrated with your fruit trees and their lack of adequate fruit production?  I know it can be frustrating, but here’s the deal… Fruit trees are programed at birth to be robotic fruit-producing… Click here to read more…

How to Trim Fruit Trees

Updated : February 15, 2019

105 Comments

Lopping Shears

Trimming fruit trees is not that difficult, nor do you have to be an expert to do a nice job trimming your fruit trees. All you need are the right tools, and a basic understanding of what the tree needs, and what you need as the person who will harvest the fruit. Timing.  When is… Click here to read more…

Saving Snow Damaged Japanese Maples and other trees and shrubs.

Updated : November 7, 2014

119 Comments

Damage to our favorite trees and shrubs can happen.  Sometimes the damage is the result of heavy snow fall, sometimes an animal, large dog, horse pony, donkey whatever it might be, decides to eat part of a tree, or small trees are often physically damaged by kids cars or other means. Recently somebody wrote to… Click here to read more…

Grafting Japanese Maple Trees Made Easy!

Updated : November 7, 2014

32 Comments

Japanese Maple Grafting DVD

“How to” DVD Now Available. Graft Your Own Beautiful Japanese Maples at Home! Japanese maple trees are by far some of the most beautiful and the most desired plants in gardens around the world.  Those who have them love them, those who don’t covet them.  But in garden stores they can be pricey!  And the… Click here to read more…

Top 10 Gardening Tools

Updated : June 17, 2024

2 Comments

Here is a list of the top 10 gardening tools you should have in your shed.Hand trowels are a gardening staple. They can be used to dig holes, transplant seedlings, pull weeds and plant bulbs. All gardens require water. Whether you are using your hose for drip irrigation or just attaching a soaker nozzle, a… Click here to read more…

10 Reasons Not To Be Afraid Of Garden Spiders

Updated : June 17, 2024

5 Comments

 Garden spiders are not aggressive. They are much, much more likely to run than to attack. They are typically found in gardens, meadows and clearings….not in your bed. If you do happen to find a garden spider in your house, its most likely in search of disease carrying flies. There are approximately 120 known species… Click here to read more…

Plant Tying Techniques.

Updated : February 22, 2019

95 Comments

Soft Wire Tie for Tying Plants.

Here’s an easy way to tie up plants in your yard and garden. A few days ago I was walking through the hardware store when this stuff caught my eye. It’s called Soft Wire Tire and basically, it’s rubber coated wire. You can use it to tie up your plants without damaging them because it’s… Click here to read more…

Charlie’s Locally Grown Plants of Kansas City

Updated : November 24, 2014

3 Comments

You Can Make Money Growing and Selling Small Plants!  Click here for details. Kansas City, KS Charlie’s Locally Grown Plants of Kansas City We are located in Kansas City, Kansas near the famous Legends shopping area off Interstate 435 west.  We have many quality plants for sale for the very reasonable price of $4.97, there… Click here to read more…

The Easy Digger

Updated : November 7, 2014

100 Comments

The Easy Digger

The Easy Digger gets a big thumbs up from Mike McGroarty! I first came across this handy gardening tool a number of years ago, then my Easy Digger somehow went missing as often happens with gardening tools.  At least my tools often go missing! Anyway, I really, really like the easy digger.  It is by… Click here to read more…

Plant Propagation via Tissue Culture

Updated : November 7, 2014

13 Comments

Plant Propagation via Tissue Culture is the most modern and scientific method of propagating new plants. Plant propagation via tissue culture is a form of micro propagation where tiny pieces of plant tissue are used to produce exact clones of the plant from which the tissue originated.  In the nursery business many plants are not… Click here to read more…

Japanese Maples and Sex

Updated : June 17, 2024

50 Comments

Japanese Maple Asahi Zuru

Let’s have a straight talk about Japanese Maples and Sex because . . . Somebody asked. Actually her question was, if Japanese maples are so easy to grow from seed, and they are, why do they have to be grafted?  That’s a really smart question. In a nutshell, what I am about to explain is… Click here to read more…

How to Graft Japanese Maple Trees.

Updated : February 11, 2015

1,835 Comments

Lion's Head Japanese Maple

Japanese Maple Grafting DVD, three people get it free! Discover how to grow beautiful Japanese maples like this at home!   Grafting your own Japanese maple trees really isn’t difficult to do once you know how.  The actual act of grafting is easy, but there are a lot of little things that determine how successful… Click here to read more…

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Young trees planted in organized rows, sunny landscape.

15 Fast-Growing Trees to Transform Your Yard Quickly

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The Donkey Bucket Challenge (Watch Video)

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Hydrangea cuttings stuck close together.

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Mike’s Plant Farm Spring Ad

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Mike’s Big Perennial Bed by the Month.

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$180.00 per Square Foot? Is it really possible?

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Rooted cuttings of variegated weigela in bunches to harden off.

Over Wintering Rooted Cuttings.

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

Mike's Big Perennial Bed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Garden

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A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Posted On September 1, 2022 By Mike

Recent Posts

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

An Old Guy, Two Donkeys, a Puppy and a Hammock. What could possibly go wrong?

… Read Full Article

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

You can see more of the donkeys here. And more silly donkey stuff here. Questions, comments, mean things to say? Post them below and I will respond. Until then, by any and all means stay inspired! … Read Full Article

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Wow! I planted four of these 'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm in the perennial garden at the nursery last summer and look at them now. They are in bloom right now, end of June here in northern, Ohio and every person that sees them asks about them. This beauty … Read Full Article

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

This beautiful Bee Balm is part of the 'Sugar Buzz' series. I planted these in my perennial bed last summer and this year they are beautiful and blooming like crazy! They grow from 16" to 24" tall, are hardy from zone 4 through zone 8. They love full sun … Read Full Article

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

'Blue Angel'hosta is by far one of my favorite blue hostas. A big hosta like this in a perennial bed covers a lot of area and that keeps a ton of weeds at bay! These giant heart shaped leaves are very slug resistant. We have this plant in full sun. With … Read Full Article

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