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citymousegarden.bsky.social
City Mouse Garden
@citymousegarden.bsky.social
3.2K followers 52 following 2.7K posts
#NativePlants & #Pollinators Fan. Master Gardener. Master Urban Farmer. Cookbook Editor/Chef. Tiny #Chicago Garden Zone 6A. All photos mine unless otherwise indicated. #UrbsInHorto #GardenDogs #KitchenGarden #FantasticFoliage
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citymousegarden.bsky.social
Another pre-snow memory from last week. Usually on struggle bus, my neighbor’s Magnolia (scale) & Hydrangea macrophylla (wilty/doesn’t bloom often here) were looking so gloriously #FantasticFoliage #FallColor that even #WeAreAllZoey appreciated it.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #GardenDogs #ACDLife 🌱
A lovely small vase-shaped Magnolia with golden and bronze leaves, a large-leafed Hydrangea with gorgeous green to burgundy fade, & a small grey and brown Cattle Dog on a leash snuffling in the dried brown fallen tree leaves below.
November 10, 2025 at 6:07 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Windy and snowy today so reflecting longingly on the Rosa ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ bloom we had just opening on Saturday with hints of #MagentaMonday around the outer petals.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #SmellTheRoses 🌱
A full cupped layered rose in bright peach with hints of deep pink around the edges.
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Woke up to a totally different season so feeling even better about getting the water barrels put to bed yesterday even though it means quality time with the heat pad for my aches and pains today.

#gardening #FirstSnow 🌱
A light dusting of snow covers the garage roof, deck surfaces, and tops of the pots and raised beds.
November 9, 2025 at 5:57 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
A little late #SundayYellow of epic #FallColor proportions.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FantasticFoliage 🌱
A wooden trellis covered in a waterfall of golden leaves of Climbing Hydrangea in full fall glory.
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 AM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Managed to get outside this afternoon to do the muddiest winterizing job in the yard with help of Mr. CMG: all 4 rain barrels pumped out to give the backyard beds a good soak, scrubbed out inside, turned over, tarped, & tubes/tops stored in the garage.

#gardening #FallColor #WinterIsComing 🌱
Rain barrels lining the garage wall covered with tarp and tied down with diverter switched over. Also visible are the last signs of life from the Aristolochia tomentosa and Passiflora incarnata we grow for the butterflies in this otherwise unused space between the garages.
November 8, 2025 at 11:09 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
#UrbsInHorto Chicago Parkway update: #NativePlants still showing out with Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, Symphyotrichum urophyllum, Solidago caesia, Heliopsis helianthoides & Ageratina altissima blooming just in this section.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #NoSpray 🌱
A city parkway between sidewalk and street parking with small blue aster flowers, smaller white aster flower, stem-lining yellow Solidago, daisy-like Heliopsis flowers and white clusters, all surrounded by heavy golden brown fallen leaves.
November 8, 2025 at 6:54 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Damp cool day so #GardenDogs #WeAreAllZoey and I are browsing seed catalogs & online sales, ordering so many #MilkweedForMonarchs #seeds for winter sowing this year, & doing totally normal Cattle Dog stuff.

#gardening #DogsOfBlueSky #ACDLife 🌱
A small grey and brown Cattle Dog sits at the edge of a bed she likes to hide under with the comforter draped over her head like a nun’s whimple as it got stuck when she popped out waiting for me to do something, anything “fun” according to her.
November 8, 2025 at 6:09 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Terrible at #houseplants but managing to keep these guys happy in the laundry room (our only good natural light spot). New leaves coming on leafy bois and fun funky growth on my #succulents.

#gardening #PlantSky #Cactus #FantasticFoliage 🌱
Beautiful streaky cream and green leaves on Philodendron and new unfurling leaves on Bird of Paradise. Cactus with at least 8 or 9 different growth points surround by decorative river rock. Four different pieces of cactus putting on new growth points after I cut and callused and replanted a single long floppy piece into four. Also surrounded by decorate river rock.
November 7, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by City Mouse Garden
jbtheexplorer.bsky.social
The plains sunflowers (H. petiolaris) I planted in memory of my grandma are still providing for wildlife will into November. 🥲 Still blooming and still producing seed. The goldfinches have been visiting them for months!

#nativeplants #nativegarden #birds
American goldfinch eating plains sunflower seeds. American goldfinch eating plains sunflower seeds.
November 7, 2025 at 5:42 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Glowing green Nicotiana still blooming!

#Gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FlowersOnFriday #February2Frost #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Neon green tubular blooms with wide flared faces and equally neon buds.
November 7, 2025 at 4:35 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Toad Lilies are great for late blooms if you aspire to color from #February2Frost. Fresh buds still opening!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FlowersOnFriday #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Dramatic purple and white spotted bloom. Dramatic purple and white spotted bloom and slightly fuzzy deep burgundy bud.
November 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Another handsome capture by Mr. CMG of a hoverfly pausing on our trellis.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #InsectThursday #inverts #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Beautiful black and yellow and metallic little guy with huge eyes and clear wings held extended out casting a huge shadow on the sides of an architectural trellis cap.
November 6, 2025 at 3:37 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
#Pollinators still pollinating…and yes, flies are pollinators too.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #InsectThursday #inverts #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
A beautiful green and gold metallic fly visits the yellow composite flowers of Aster ‘Jindai’ surrounded by lovely purple rays. A beautiful green and gold metallic fly visits the yellow composite flowers of Aster ‘Jindai’ surrounded by lovely purple rays. A beautiful green and gold metallic fly visits the yellow composite flowers of Aster ‘Jindai’ surrounded by lovely purple rays. A beautiful green and gold metallic fly visits the yellow composite flowers of Aster ‘Jindai’ surrounded by lovely purple rays.
November 6, 2025 at 3:32 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
When your Cattle Dog has been in wild dingo mode all day and then curls up into a cute little ball with her furry little toe beans on display. 🥰

#WeAreAllZoey #GardenDogs #DogsOfBluesky #ACDLife
Tiny little Cattle Dog feet with little black pads skirted by ruffles of long hair.
November 5, 2025 at 10:55 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Fall has been so mild that the Hostas are blooming again—such an architectural delight!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Soft purple buds clustered into a lotus like group at the top and spreading further apart as the stem extends.
November 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
#FallColor like whoa from mostly #NativePlants plus a few friends!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Bright red color of native Aronia. Bright yellow lily pad-like foliage of native Thalictrum. Deep golden foliage of native Serviceberry. Three different colors of lily foliage in a rainbow of gold, yellow-green, deep burgundy, and burgundy-streaked green. Plus an excellent huge fresh green deeply ridged Hosta leave for contrasting shape.
November 5, 2025 at 7:54 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Aster battle right now on our little city Parkway! Symphyotrichum oblongifolium vs Symphyotrichum oolentangiense—all winners.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Large blue-purple blooms of Symphyotrichum oblongifolium with long thin foliage. Smaller blue-purple blooms of Symphyotrichum oolentangiense on wiry stems with very minimal foliage.
November 5, 2025 at 7:29 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
This is how we do bird feeders in our small #UrbsInHorto #Chicago garden.

#gardening #NativePlants #birds #ecosystem #GrowYourOwn 🌱
Aralia racemosa with its deep wine colored berries hidden among clusters with bare ends that have already been picked clean by our resident and migratory bird visitors.
November 5, 2025 at 5:30 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Strawflowers today. Snow this weekend maybe. Seize the day, friends!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Layers of pink in the freshest bloom and various stages of pale pink and white as they fade and go to seed. A total of four lovely flowers.
November 5, 2025 at 4:23 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Mr. CMG spotted a new backyard visitor while outside with #WeAreAllZoey at lunch. Surprised he got a photo with our four-legged wildlife alarm by his side. He says it is White-Throated Sparrow, native unlike zillion introduced House Sparrows we see daily.

#gardening #birds #ecosystem #GardenDogs 🌱
A beautiful little bird with black striping over the head and behind the eyes, a hint of yellow in front of the eye, and white on the throat, plus beautifully detailed brown and white and black wings, momentarily resting on the fence rail behind a blurry dried panicle hydrangea in the foreground.
November 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
A very good Aster in transition.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago #NativePlants 🌱
Bright blue-purple rays surrounding center composites changing from fresh yellow to deep brown but captured in a transition moment of almost bullseye pattern.
November 4, 2025 at 6:48 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Backyard #FallColor still shining in yellow, pink, orange, and deep purple.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Wide shot of the Main Garden with tons of golden Tithonia center left and tall Coreopsis upper right plus dots of pink in the form of Strawflowers and Japanese Anemone here and there. Closeup of Phlox ‘Jeana’ still pushing out some fairly fresh buds. Another golden orange sunshiney Strawflower. A deep purple candle of Agastache flowers still providing pollinator food.
November 4, 2025 at 5:53 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Eupatorium & roses in November is a good reminder to be grateful for #SmallJoys every day.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #FantasticFoliage 🌱
Creamy variegated green foliage and fluffy pink blooms of Eupatorium punctuated by a fresh creamy white rose.
November 4, 2025 at 5:46 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
Newly emerging Snapdragons for #MagentaMonday. What a fun surprise to find these blooms & buds hiding among #LeaveTheLeaves on November 3rd!

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #UrbsInHorto #Chicago 🌱
Deep pink Snapdragon bloom fresh and newly opened with maybe a half dozen fuzzy pink buds in the background.
November 3, 2025 at 6:08 PM
citymousegarden.bsky.social
#MagentaMonday survivor. The color of this single Echinacea bloom is so fresh but everything else screams late season struggle bus.

#gardening #bloomscrolling #FlowerReport #NativePlants 🌱
An Echinacea bloom with a deep burgundy cone and magenta fading to white rays, most of which have been chomped off or are browning at the tips. Golden fading foliage of other plants surrounds it in the background.
November 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM