The Kansas Gardener

Profile
Andrew Mitchell, also known professionally as the Kansas Gardener, is a Horticulturalist, Nursery Crops Specialist, and Landscape Maintenance Supervisor for Grimm's. He has a B.S. Degree in Horticulture from Kansas State University and a A.S. Degree in Agronomy from Cloud County Community College. Andrew is a Lifetime Member of the National Home Gardening Club and a member of the American Horticultural Society. He is a regular writer and on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Native Plant Society and the Eternal Hope Worship Center. Andrew lives on an oak-hickory remnant forest edge with his wife and 3 children. He is an avid collector of plant species, and has an interest in heirloom vegetables. Andrew spends his free time in photography, hiking, spending time with his family and church, and working in the garden.

Posts by The Kansas Gardener:

  • Attracting Wildlife to the Garden

    If you live in an urban setting, then attracting wildlife may not be the thing for you. But what does wildlife mean? To me, attracting wildlife mean providing homes for birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, arthropods, and other creatures to the garden. For some of you, it may only mean birds. For others, it might be [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Building Soil

    Do you know what your soil is? It is one the most fundamental building blocks to a healthy landscape. Or ecosystem. And we have a problem. Most gardeners, farmers, and landscapers know it is important, but they rarely know where to begin when it comes to building soil. Where do we begin? Since the beginning [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Rain Garden Plants

    What is a rain garden? A rain garden is an area within the landscape that gets the majority of its moisture from rain. It may also get wet from a hose runoff or hillside springs. The rain garden can be a functional and beautiful part of the landscape. I have heard some people call their [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Seven Son – September Plant of the Month

    The seven son tree is our September Plant of the Month for 2023. This is one of my all-time favorite trees. Ever since coming to Grimm’s Gardens in 2011, I have loved using and selling this tree. It is a great plant for a variety of locations, is drought tolerant and durable, and has 3 [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Fruit Tree Guide: Growing Cherries

    Cherries are one of the most rewarding fruits to grow, mainly because there is nothing else like them. I love almost all things with cherries: cherry pie, black cherry ice cream, cherry pepsi, fresh cherries off the tree. So I grow them in my landscape. One thing I always wanted to do was to plant [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Snakes in the Garden

    Snakes?! Yikes! Many gardeners would feel the same way about slithering snakes in the garden, but not I. Do they scare me sometimes? Sure. But the small snakes, not the large ones, I consider to be garden buddies. All things have a purpose on this earth, and for snakes it is no different. While I [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Native Wildflowers – Late Summer Bloomers

    Late summer and into fall is a hard time for native wildflowers. While there are many things still blooming from earlier, not much gets going this time of the year. Except for aster and goldenrods, the 2 big powerhouses of late summer blooms. Even though not much else starts to bloom now, you can still [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Insect Eggs – Exploring the Garden

    What kinds of insect eggs can you find in the garden? During the summer months, I work a lot, from 6 to 5 every weekday. Where do I find the time for hunting bugs, insect eggs, and other things in the garden? Well, I spend most of my lunch period each day hiking woods and [...]

    Read More...

    Read more

  • Helenium – August Plant of the Month

    Helenium, also known as sneezeweed and Helen’s flower, is our August Plant of the Month. It can be difficult to find a plant of the month for August, because a lot of plants are either finishing up blooming, or not starting to bloom yet. But the sneezeweeds are going strong, and blooming well. There are [...]

    Read More...

    Read more