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:

  • 10 Tips for a Great Spring

    Spring is right around the corner! Even though we have had a long winter, and it is not over yet with more snow forecasted, spring is definitely coming. I have been watching the geese flying northward, bluebirds coming back into my yard, and the smell. Oh, the smell of spring in the winds. Now that [...]

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  • Great Trees: Baldcypress

    Trees come in all sizes and shapes. Among the different trees available today, I like to think the Baldcypress is among the best for gardens.  The baldcypress is one of the coolest deciduous conifers available. We typically think of conifers as being evergreen, such as pines and spruces, but trees such as baldcypress and dawn [...]

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  • 8 May Tips for the Lawn

    The American Lawn, although a tedious chore, can be the pride of a beautiful landscape and home. It is the definition between landscape beds, and “blank” space that lets the eyes rest between the hubbub of flowers and textures. Without some solid green space, we would have no place to play football, croquet, or lawn [...]

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  • 15 Host Plants for Butterflies

    Butterflies are the flying flowers of the garden. Everyone notices them and everyone loves them. To attract a wider range of butterflies to your garden, you need to have a variety of host plants and nectar plants, and even a variety of ecosystems would be helpful. The best butterfly populations are going to be common [...]

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  • March Gardening Tips

    Garden Tips for a Happy March! Spot treat winter annual or perennial weeds in your lawn on days above 50°F. Follow all label directions Cut back perennials and grasses in the landscape. Use hedge shears or gas powered trimmers to prune back grasses. Never use a chainsaw on grasses! (Note: Use of a chainsaw on [...]

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  • April Gardening Tips

    Tips and Tricks to Make Your Year Great – April  Apply and water in pre-emergent herbicide on turf Apply pre-emergent herbicide granules to rocked landscape beds Divide hostas, daylilies, sedum, phlox, coreopsis, daisies, and red hot poker and share with your gardening friends! (Tip: Iris should be divided in July; peonies should be done in [...]

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  • Sumacs for the Landscape

    Sumacs are one of the more under used native shrubs in our landscape. If you want shrubs aglow with colors of fire and sunsets, then sumacs are the plants for you. You have seen them along the highways in the fall, oranges and reds in large masses dotting the hills of the prairie and un-mown [...]

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  • Spring Pollinator Plants

    Finding plants for pollinators in springtime can be a bit frustrating. While there are lots of trees and shrubs, not to mention natives, blooming around you, it can be difficult to discover exactly which plant is best suited for your own pollinator paradise. And spring blooming flowers for the garden can be difficult to come [...]

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  • What to Do About Messy Fruits?

    While it is true that most people do not refer to sweetgum balls as fruits, that IS what they are–the tree’s fruit. And sweetgum trees are not the only messy fruits. There are a variety of plants with messy fruits or seeds. Silver & Amur maple trees produce loads of samaras every year; ornamental pears [...]

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