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:

  • Plant Profiles: The Peony

    Peonies have long been cultivated throughout the world and valued for their durability, fragrance, flower colors, and longevity. Peonies have been used in nearly every American garden since our ancestors set foot on this land. There is a certain air of age and wonder associated with peonies. It is not difficult to go to an [...]

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  • More Daylilies?

    I know it seems crazy to think about adding more daylilies to your garden, but for me, it is not a stretch. Back in 2000 when I first thought about becoming a landscape designer, I constantly studied plant materials and their use in American landscapes. Here is what I noticed: Americans have a love affair [...]

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  • Beautiful Beneficials: Crab Spiders

    Spiders…Yikes! When I was a child I became terrified of spiders after having one run down my face in the bathtub. Still gives me the creeps. However, I have come to not fear spiders so much and revel in their existence more. In the house, they still bother me, I usually end up killing them [...]

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  • ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass

    The 2001 Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year in 2001 was ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grass. This perennial grass has since become a standard in American landscapes. It is a very versatile and useful grass. Its upright habit and smaller stature make it an ideal plants for both formal and informal landscapes. It can [...]

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  • Destructive Turf Pests: Two-Lined Spittlebug

    We do not often enough discuss turf and lawns here. However, starting with this blog, I will be going over some turf insect pests in 2019 and beyond. First up, two-lined spittlebug. While this insect is not a problematic pest in Kansas or Nebraska, it can be a problem on southern turfgrass species such as [...]

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  • Growing Apricots

    There is an old apricot tree in nearly every old farmstead landscape in Kansas. It is one of the trees I best remember from growing up in North Central Kansas. Along the lane to the back my parent planted an apricot tree-the first thing to bloom in the spring. Apricots since then have always held [...]

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  • Add Beautiful Rose-of-Sharon to the Landscape

    Rose of Sharon is a beautiful, long-blooming shrub for the landscape. It can be used in a variety of ways, from hedges and screens to focal points in pollinator gardens and there are even tree forms available. Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is native to China and India. In the United States it is a [...]

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  • How to Prune Spireas

    Ever since I graduated in Horticulture I have been getting questions about plants and their maintenance from friends and colleagues. That is what I want, but it sometimes gets old when the same questions are asked every year. Now what about my spireas? a coworker asked me yesterday. Can they be cut down now? Yes [...]

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  • 2019 Perennial Plant of the Year: Stachys ‘Hummelo’

    Every year, the Perennial Plant Association promotes a perennial of the year. In the past it has been butterfly milkweed, allium ‘Millenium’, switchgrass ‘Northwind’ and others, since starting the list in 1990. This year, the PPA has selected stachys ‘Hummelo’ as the perennial plant of the year.  That is good news for us here in [...]

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