Mike's Backyard Nursery

The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!

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Home » mike mcgroarty

A 15th Anniversary and a 58th Birthday

Updated : November 10, 2014

2,462 Comments

An important message from Duston McGroarty (Mike’s son): I can’t believe it’s been 15 years (I guess time flies, right?). 15 years ago, this January, my Dad started FreePlants.com. He didn’t know it then but his life would never be the same. Over the course of the next 15 years he went on to change… Click here to read more…

Mike and Pam McGroarty with their Miniature Donkeys Finnegan and Fergus.

Updated : April 20, 2021

167 Comments

Mike & Pam McGroarty with the donkeys and their little yellow dog.

Mike’s Plant Farm4850 North Ridge RoadPerry, Ohio 44081 I have to thank my daughter-in-law Lorelei  for taking these photos for us. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.  The solid dark brown donkey is Fergus, the white and light brown one is Finnegan.  My subscribers helped us pick the Irish names in honor of my Irish father…. Click here to read more…

This is the Way that Crazy People Prune Plants.

Updated : September 8, 2020

70 Comments

What happens when crazy people prune plants.

. . . and guess who the crazy person is? Me.  Mike McGroarty. This is what I did that appears to be so crazy, but this is a great lesson in pruning as well as a lesson in Plant Propagation. I bought this one plant last summer and planted it in the yard.  My only… Click here to read more…

Mike McGroarty Gets Slammed by a Subscriber.

Updated : December 18, 2014

176 Comments

A despondent Mike McGroarty.

Recently one of my long time subscribers unsubscribed from my FREE gardening newsletter because he said I’ve lost focus on plants.  He’s not interested in Donkeys, or Goats. So for those of you who are wondering why we are posting about Donkeys and Goats or Bee Keeping and other things that interest people who live,… Click here to read more…

I Bought 1,300 More Plants and Fixed Up Our Sales Area

Updated : December 19, 2014

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Another busy week! We finished the installation of our water line and frost-free spigot, fixed up our sales area and I went crazy buying 1,300 more plants! Take a look at the video…

Mike McGroarty’s Savings Account

Updated : November 7, 2014

45 Comments

This is the Order Button, click here now!   You should spend the rest of your life doing what I do.  I grow small plants that make other people happy. Do you know why I’m typing this in purple?  Because I can’t figure out how to get rid of the stupid purple!  I need to… Click here to read more…

Mike McGroarty’s Dirt Farmer Fudge

Updated : December 10, 2019

159 Comments

Aydan adding 6 cups of sugar.

Keeping the Dirt Farmer Fudge Tradition Alive.  Making fudge with the grand-kids. List of ingredients. 6 cups of sugar 1 and 1/3 cups of Hershey’s Cocoa 1/4 teaspoon of salt 3 cups of milk (I use 2%.  I like to eat healthy!) 1 stick of butter 2 teaspoons of vanilla Optional (which means you don’t… Click here to read more…

What is Mike McGroarty Reading?

Updated : June 15, 2015

1 Comment

This page contains affiliate links from Amazon.com    I know some people will be curious about what I’m reading so here we go. Let’s see, what have I read lately . . . I’m just finishing up this book by Tina Fay.  I saw it on a book stand at the airport and it looked fun… Click here to read more…

Three Generations of McGroarty Nurserymen

Updated : June 7, 2019

14 Comments

Lunch Break at McGroarty's Nursery

My father would be so proud to see the three generations of McGroarty Nurserymen. I’d love to add at least one McGroarty girl to this crew but so far we have three little boys in the family.  We’re counting on Kevin and Grace to add the girl or girls to the mix.  Time will tell. EDIT… Click here to read more…

“Grammaw’s” Baked Bean Recipe

Updated : November 25, 2014

39 Comments

Ingredients: Two Large Cans of Campbells Baked Beans (53-1/4 ounce cans) One Large white onion chopped up in small pieces One pound of Dark brown sugar 1/4 cup of Ketchup Mix all the ingredients together in a baking dish.  Mix them together as best you can, but the brown sugar will be lumpy until it’s been… Click here to read more…

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$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

Big Daddy Hosta.

‘Big Daddy’ 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

'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

Ice Plant, delosperma

Ice Plant, delosperma

How pretty is that? And it's a ground hugging perennial that comes back year and year. These plants were new to our nursery last year so Pam and I planted three of them in our landscape at home. Not only did they do really well last year but they wintered … Read Full Article

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