Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

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Home » Backyard Living » Page 2

The Donkey Chronicles. Mike McGroarty and his miniature donkeys.

Updated : November 16, 2021

6 Comments

Many of our subscribers love the donkeys, some I’m sure think it’s dumb and waste of time.   But for those of you who love them, this page is for you.     Mike McGroarty and Finnegan Swapping Spit?  View the page here. The donkeys running for president?  View that page here.

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

Updated : April 4, 2017

34 Comments

Roger Higgins and Duston McGroarty discuss growing seeds in the rain.

Meet Roger Higgins from Roger’s Backyard Nursery in Cranesville, Pa.  Every one of those plastic jugs next to Roger contains seeds.  Some are perennial seeds, some might be Dogwood Seeds, maybe some Japanese maple seeds. Some of the jugs are milk jugs, the bigger jugs are kitty litter jugs.  If you look closely Roger has… Click here to read more…

Mike McGroarty Swapping Spit with a Donkey.

Updated : April 4, 2017

10 Comments

Mike and Finn

See the video below. I know that we have people who really, really love Finnegan and Fergus so we try and include them in our shenanigans as often as possible.  Once a day I grab a five gallon bucket to sit on and and I take a few moments to feed them crackers. Fergus is… Click here to read more…

Putting up a Building in Five Hours!

Updated : January 1, 2017

3 Comments

From the inside looking out.

We were running out of room at the nursery and decided to add an extra storage building that we intend to Use to Pack and Ship Small Plants, Liners and Rooted Cuttings. We have a local company run by an Amish Family that builds all kinds of outdoor storage buildings and this is the second… Click here to read more…

Thank you Tim and Patty!

Published : December 21, 2016

5 Comments

A Christmas Gift? For me?

Tim and Patty (“Cookie”), thank you so much for thinking of us at this time of the year.  But mostly, thanks for being part of our Backyard Growers Family! Folks, I’m sharing this for a couple of reasons.  All of Our Members are like family to me.  Words cannot even begin to explain why. Timothy… Click here to read more…

The Little Yellow Dog.

Published : December 21, 2016

68 Comments

The Little Yellow Dog.

In October we lost our little yellow dog.  She was 14 years old.  We loved her to death and I wanted her to be buried at the nursery, Near the Donkeys.  We bought her a grave marker and I had a sign made that hangs on the fence by her grave.  I’ll post a photo… Click here to read more…

This is Why I Do what I Do.

Updated : September 21, 2016

39 Comments

Dancing Queen Hosta

It was early Sunday morning, the third day of our fall plant sale and I was walking through the nursery.  It was a beautiful September morning, very quiet except for the birds chirping, even the Donkeys were Quiet, just watching me stroll through the nursery when suddenly it hit me;  What an amazing thing it… Click here to read more…

An Open Letter to Mike McGroarty and the other Members.

Updated : May 16, 2016

16 Comments

I joined The Backyard Growers Business Center in September of 2013. I had been researching how to propagate Crape myrtles, found Mike’s site, and it seemed like an interesting place to learn something new. I don’t know if I meant to start growing for profit, but that’s what happened, and here we are three years later…. Click here to read more…

Dwarf Alberta Spruce, growing them from cuttings and caring for them.

Updated : April 27, 2016

33 Comments

Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Dwarf Alberta Spruce is an awesome little evergreen that stays small and only grows a few inches per year.  Yes, they can get five or six feet tall, but it takes a long time and with one annual pruning you can keep them to the size you want. This is plant that I have been… Click here to read more…

Heeling in Japanese Maple Trees, Rooted Cuttings and other Plants.

Published : April 22, 2016

22 Comments

Rooted cuttings heeled in a bed of sand.

Heeling in?  What do you mean by that? I’m telling people that they can temporarily “heel in” plants until they are ready to deal with them and this often confuses people.  Why do I need to do that? There are a lot of reasons for heeling plants in, but the reason that we do it… Click here to read more…

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Mike’s Big Perennial Bed by the Month.

Posted On April 27, 2023 By Mike

$180.00 per Square Foot? Is it really possible?

Posted On March 28, 2023 By Mike

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

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Posted On September 1, 2022 By Mike

Finnegan keeping the sun off his head.

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

Posted On July 17, 2022 By Mike

This upside down donkey is a hoot!

An Upside Down Donkey and Cute Puppy.

Posted On July 14, 2022 By Mike

'Rockin Raspberry' Bee Balm.

‘Rockin Raspberry’ Bee Balm.

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

'Bubblegum Blast' Bee Balm.

‘Bubblegum Blast’ Bee Balm

Posted On June 26, 2022 By Mike

Blue Angel Hosta.

‘Blue Angel’ Hosta.

Posted On June 25, 2022 By Mike

Complete Guides

Growing, Rooting and Propagating Dappled Willow in Tree Form from Cuttings.

Growing Seeds, Winter Sowing, in Milk Jugs and Kitty Litter Jugs.

The Correct Way to Pot Rooted Cuttings, Nursery Stock Liners and other Plants.

Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

How to Propagate, Root Cuttings, of Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

Recent Posts

'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

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ Hosta

'Big Daddy' hosta is one of my favorite big hostas, mostly because it's big, it's blue and it has very interested leaves that are a bit dimpled. Big Daddy hosta gets about 24" tall and 36" wide. It's hardy in zones 3 through 9, the flowers are blends of … Read Full Article

'Humpback Whale' hosta.

‘Humpback Whale’ Hosta.

We sold out of 'Humpback Whale' hosta pretty early this year. Humpback Whale is pretty impressive hosta and this one really hasn't matured yet because they can get three feet high and 7 feet wide. I've also seen photos of them that show them to be a lot … Read Full Article

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