Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

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How to Sell the Plants that You Grow.

Updated : June 17, 2024

28 Comments

Selling the plants that you grow is actually quite easy because people love plants.  They love to buy them, they love to plant them and they love looking at them. This is How You Make Up to $93.60 per Square Foot Right in Your Own Backyard. How do I know this? 1.  I am one… Click here to read more…

Growing, Propagating and Caring for Exbury Deciduous Azaleas.

Updated : June 17, 2024

175 Comments

Exbury Deciduous Azalea

The not so popular, not so well known member of the Azalea family is Exbury Azaleas which are deciduous, which means that they are not evergreens.  Many people don’t consider Azaleas evergreens because they don’t have needles, but the most popular, the most readily available Azaleas are Evergreen Azaleas.  They are red, white, pink, and… Click here to read more…

Backyard Landscape Design Ideas, what plants to use where.

Updated : November 5, 2014

62 Comments

Backyard Landscaping Design Ideas

A few days ago I gave you some landscape design strategies in this post, and today I have a few more ideas for you. At the nursery I decided to dig out an area where we could set our small pots.  Great idea, but that left me with a mountain of dirt that you can… Click here to read more…

Getting Ready for the Plant Sale

Updated : June 17, 2024

2 Comments

Getting ready for our plant sale, plants lined up everywhere, building is packed full of Rhododendrons!

Landscaping Ideas. What Plant Goes Where in the Landscape?

Updated : June 17, 2024

114 Comments

Landscaping Ideas

What does it take to create a nice, attractive landscape planting? What is the number one thing that many people do wrong? The secret to an attractive landscape design is you have to be bold and daring.  Take off your “conservative” hat and toss it in the fire pit! What do most people do wrong?… Click here to read more…

Colorful and Flowering Plants to Brighten Up Your Yard in the Early Spring

Updated : May 16, 2020

138 Comments

Lynnwood Gold Forsythia

Your yard should have a sequence of color starting in spring and taking you on a journey of color and joy throughout the year.  I’m going to start by showing you a few things that will really wake up your yard in early spring. Lynnwood Gold Forsythia. A lot of people don’t like Forsythia, but… Click here to read more…

Mondays with Mike McGroarty at Mike’s Plant Farm, 4850 North Ridge Road, Perry, Ohio 44081

Updated : November 5, 2014

10 Comments

Welcome to Mondays with Mike McGroarty. I started doing these videos for my Backyard Growers, but realized that a lot of other people will like them as well.  This is a bit of a documentary of what we we have going on at Mike’s Plant Farm here in wonderful Perry, Ohio. May 27th, 2013. Mulching… Click here to read more…

We Landscaped the Old House

Updated : November 5, 2014

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We got the old house landscaped, we’ve got our sign posts up, no sign so we hung up some rubber chickens (long story), the landscaping around the sign is done and the pile of dirt from last week’s video is now a beautiful landscape planting.  

How to Make Your Own Sprinklers on Stand Pipes.

Updated : June 17, 2024

61 Comments

Homemade Sprinkler Stand Pipe

Last week I realized that I need a couple of portable sprinklers that I could easily move around but they had to be high enough to clear small plants so I would get good coverage.  Those tripod sprinklers that you can buy are nice but they are expensive, and I had some that were made… Click here to read more…

Snow Damaged, Hoop House, Greenhouse, High Tunnel.

Updated : June 17, 2024

38 Comments

Snow Damaged Hoop House

A lot of our members want greenhouses, even though you can easily do the Backyard Nursery Business with one.  I don’t have one.  Had one, took it down.  Everything I do is without a greenhouse.  If I were to do 30,000 or 50,000 Rhododendron cuttings each year for that I’d build a greenhouse.  Everything else… Click here to read more…

Rooted Cuttings Experiment and More

Updated : June 17, 2024

6 Comments

I setup a rooted cutting experiment to see which medium would work best between coarse sand and potting soil. Watch the video to see which worked best!  

How can I use free wood chips in my garden?

Updated : November 5, 2014

99 Comments

When we utter the word mulch it can mean a lot of different things.  Some mulch is free, some mulches we make ourselves via composting and some mulches you have to pay for. Where can I get Free Mulch? For the most part the only mulch that you are likely to get free of charge… Click here to read more…

How to Propagate Fragrant Viburnum.

Updated : April 30, 2019

119 Comments

Viburnum Carlesi

There is nothing like the smell of a fragrant viburnum outside your bedroom window or off the end of your porch.  As the wind blows the fragrance is carried throughout the yard. There are a number of different fragrant Viburnums but two old time favorites, and the two that are still the best no matter… Click here to read more…

Went Whacko at the Nursery Auction

Updated : November 5, 2014

2 Comments

I attended a recent nursery auction in my local area and went a little crazy buying plants!  

Mike McGroarty’s Backyard Cash Machine Report for only Seven Dollars.

Updated : May 9, 2013

46 Comments

Why am I offering this report for only $7.00? Great question.  Here’s the deal.  I am doing everything in my power to get people involved in the business of growing and selling small plants at home with as little financial commitment on their part as possible.  The plant growing, plant loving world needs more small… Click here to read more…

Easy Composting Ideas and Receipes.

Updated : June 17, 2024

307 Comments

Tell us about your composting methods. I’d love for you to share your composting, recipes, ideas and strategies here with others.  Post a comment below. You Should Be Doing this!  You Can Make Up to $93.60 in One Square Foot in Your Backyard.  Take a Peek. Rule #1 about composting. Composting doesn’t have to be… Click here to read more…

Harry Lauder Walking Stick

Updated : January 11, 2021

47 Comments

Harry Lauder's Walking Stick in a pot

As many of you know I’m a big fan of the crazy looking plant Harry Lauder Walking Stick.  The true beauty of this plant is it’s crazy contorted branches that can’t grow straight if they tried. A few years ago we planted hundreds of these in the nursery and we’ve since dug them all up…. Click here to read more…

How to Ruin a Japanese Maple Tree.

Updated : April 12, 2019

415 Comments

Why would I Write a Blog Posting about Ruining a Japanese Maple? Because people do it all the time unintentionally.  Here’s the deal;  “You only know what you know.”  That includes me. So my job here is to make sure that all of my followers/subscribers learn things that I know and they may not. Contrary… Click here to read more…

Should I Remove the Burlap Before Planting My Tree?

Updated : April 9, 2019

64 Comments

Excellent question and here’s my definitive answer;  “It depends.”  There are a lot of different kinds of so-called burlap being used to ball trees today and there’s no way for me to know what kind of burlap your tree has on it. I often like to leave the burlap intact when planting trees because it… Click here to read more…

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…

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Digging a Large Tree by Hand

Posted On January 30, 2026 By Duston

new three bin compost bin

Composting Your Way To Beautiful Gardens

Posted On October 19, 2025 By Duston

Young trees planted in organized rows, sunny landscape.

15 Fast-Growing Trees to Transform Your Yard Quickly

Posted On March 23, 2025 By Duston

The Donkey Bucket Challenge (Watch Video)

Posted On December 6, 2024 By Duston

How to Make Money Growing and Selling Mums (Chrysanthemums)

Posted On September 28, 2024 By Duston

Hydrangea cuttings stuck close together.

My Month-By-Month Plant Propagation Guide

Posted On August 24, 2024 By Duston

Mike’s Plant Farm Spring Ad

Posted On May 15, 2024 By Mike

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

Recent Posts

Mike's Big Perennial Bed.

Mike’s Big Perennial Garden

At The Nursery I have this big bed that is really just a big pile of sand and gravel that I dug out to make a container area. Rather than haul the material away I just gave it some contour and landscaped it. Over the years I've had all kinds of really … Read Full Article

A Profound Thank You from Mike.

Later this month, September 2022, I have invited our members to my place for an event that we call The Backyard Growers Shindig. We've been doing this for so long, gathering together once a year to meet new members and catch up with old members. It truly is … Read Full Article

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

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