Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

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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…

A Very Simple Landscape Design Idea.

Updated : June 17, 2024

6 Comments

Landscape design idea.

Over the years I’ve landscape somewhere between 500 and 1,000 homes.  I’ve done everything from simple, basic landscapes to extravagant landscapes for very expensive homes.  Over the years I adopted a basic landscape design that I could apply to just about any house and actually repeat that scheme on different sides of the same house… Click here to read more…

Free Pruning Shears, Free Memberships!

Updated : January 9, 2017
Free Pruning Shears!

We are having two Drawings. Details on how to enter the contest are at the bottom of the page. On January 3rd, 2017 we’ll draw two names for the pruning shears.  We are giving away two pair of these Corona Pruning Shears.  These are the exact shears that we use a Mike’s Plant Farm to… Click here to read more…

The Ten Minute Plant Show.

Updated : June 17, 2024

4 Comments

Annabelle Hydrangea.

In Our Members Area we are always discussing new and interesting ways to sell more plants.  Many people live in an area where it’s just not feasible to invite a bunch of people to their house for a plant sale, so they are always looking for new ideas. This simple idea starts with a simple… Click here to read more…

Rooting Cuttings in December and January.

Updated : June 17, 2024

63 Comments

Golden Curls Willow hardwood cuttings.

It’s really cold and snowy here in northern Ohio in December so that means no gardening right? Wrong!  Here’s at Mike’s Plant Farm we have been crazy busy making and sticking cuttings. Indoors right?  Nope!  Outside. The bed on left are cuttings Hardwood Cuttings that we’ve stuck between November 15th and December 10th. These are… Click here to read more…

The Magic Candy Dish

Published : December 4, 2016

4 Comments

The Magic Candy Dish

How to sell hundreds if not thousands of plants with “The Magic Candy Dish”. Crazy right? Crazy like a fox.  Follow along. I am actually doing this blog post for Our Members, not really interested in showing it to the general public, but putting it here is the easiest way for me to convey my… Click here to read more…

The Wrap Around Potting System.

Updated : June 17, 2024

8 Comments

The Wrap Around Potting System.

My life of potting benches truly has involved.  For years and years I used a “Legless Potting Bench” and I pretty much made that bench famous when I shared it online so many years ago.  That started with me resting one end of the bench on my potting soil pile and supporting the other end… Click here to read more…

Growing Hydrangeas from Cuttings in the Fall or Winter.

Updated : June 17, 2024

105 Comments

Hydrangea cuttings stuck close together.

I am writing this article on election day, November 8th, 2016. Don’t forget to vote for the Donkeys, they are Running for President! The plants right in front of Cathy are Annabelle Hydrangea.  We stuck those cuttings last November, potted them up in late June and I took this photo in October.  They bloomed like… Click here to read more…

Growing Roses from Cuttings in the Fall.

Updated : December 20, 2023

103 Comments

Wrap the rose cuttings in several layers of wet newspaper until you have a "Rose Cutting Burrito".

Basically there are two ways, two different times of the year to grow roses from cuttings.  Softwood Cutting Season begins in June and continues through the summer.  By fall the wood hardens off and you have to do things a bit differently, You have to Apply Hardwood Cutting Strategies. Let’s keep things simple and put… Click here to read more…

Re-Landscaping Older Homes, Gardening for Extra Money.

Updated : October 29, 2016

4 Comments

This came up in A Discussion in Our Members Area and I thought I’d share it here because it’s valuable information. What most people don’t realize is that there are thousands of people that will happily pay you to do yard work for them.  Those customers come in all sizes and shapes and have different… Click here to read more…

Shindig 2016 at Mike’s Plant Farm in Perry, Ohio

Updated : June 17, 2024

11 Comments

Mike and Pam McGroarty with Duston McGroarty.

Every year, for many, many years now, we hold an annual event at our nursery here in Perry, Ohio for our Backyard Grower Members.  It’s a big deal for all of us because we spend all year communicating online, buying and selling plants to and from one another, helping each other growing problems, but seldom… Click here to read more…

This is Why I Do what I Do.

Updated : June 17, 2024

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…

We are Giving Away Two Memberships to The Backyard Growers Business Center!

Updated : June 17, 2024
Backyard Growers Shindig 2016 at Mike's Plant Farm, Perry, Ohio

Each membership is a $610 value! Be sure to throw your name in the hat. Entering this contest is easy, simply post a comment below.  On October 5th, 2016 we will randomly pick two people from those that posted a comment and you will be given a permanent, membership free of charge. What is the… Click here to read more…

Hardwood Cuttings, Winter of 2015/2016.

Updated : June 17, 2024

90 Comments

Rose of Sharon and Purple Sand Cherry Propagation.

Hardwood cuttings are cuttings that are done during the winter months when the wood that you use to make the cuttings is hard and not pliable.  See this for a Detailed Explanation of How to Do Hardwood Cuttings. Couple of days ago I was looking at this post about Proper Nursery Plant Tagging and on… Click here to read more…

Achillea ‘Saucy Seduction’ common name ‘Saucy Seduction’ Yarrow. PP20782

Updated : June 17, 2024

4 Comments

Achillea 'Saucy Seduction', common name 'Saucy Seduction' Yarrow.

This deer resistant perennial is an excellent addition to any garden.  This perennial is extremely hardy in zones 4 to 8 and loves sun.  They start blooming in early summer and bloom right on into fall. They get 18″ to 24″ tall but what we do is let them flush out in the spring, then… Click here to read more…

Enchanted Eve Coreopsis, commonly known as Tickseed.

Updated : June 17, 2024

3 Comments

Enchanted Eve Coreopsis, common name Tickseed.

Here at Mike’s Plant Farm in Perry, Ohio we root tens of thousands of cuttings.  Mostly flowering shrubs but we also do some evergreens as well.  But in addition to that I buy plugs from wholesale suppliers that we can grow on and resell at a nice profit.  I share my wholesale sources with Our… Click here to read more…

It’s all about Arithmetic and Believing in You.

Updated : June 17, 2024

16 Comments

A note to my backyard growers. Here’s something to think about. We are all here, in this group, growing plants, because about 20 years ago some blue collar knucklehead took a chance and bought a personal computer when almost nobody had one.  He didn’t know how to use a computer. Then the brazen jerk decided… 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 : June 17, 2024

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.

Updated : June 17, 2024

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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Young trees planted in organized rows, sunny landscape.

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The Donkey Bucket Challenge (Watch Video)

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Hydrangea cuttings stuck close together.

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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

Posted On January 8, 2023 By Mike

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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