It has been awhile since I have posted anything, life has been so busy! But the ed of 2025 is nearing and it is time for my annual review of the year. I have a lot to tell you about, so bear with me. Before I delve into more specific happenings, let me tell you of personnel changes here at Grimm’s Gardens. If you are a local, then you would probably know by now that Ben Walker, our longtime jack-of-all-trades (tree planting, landscaping, shrub trimming, and greenhouse repairman) left us in the fall of 2024. We started off 2025 one man short in the maintenance department.
But we made up for it this year by having extra help for a month during spring cleanups, and by having a summer internship in landscape maintenance and the nursery. Montgomery Lindeen is our newest hire in Landscape Maintenance and I trained him on proper tree planting. He and I tag-teamed on a couple of larger tree plantings (more on that below) and he was hired on full-time this fall.
Besides the tree plantings, I will go over our annual flower program for the year, my trip to southeast Kansas, some 2026 changes to the nursery and little arboretum, and a few other exciting things!
2025 Annual Flower Program
Each season brings both joy and sadness. I was sad to lose the account for annuals for one of my biggest customers, but I picked up a new one at a local funeral home. We were favored in 2025 by warm temperatures (no late spring frosts!) and rain at just the right time. At no time through the summer did we go more than 10 days without rainfall.
One of my clients asked me to vary some of their plantings more than usual (they were tired of mixed impatiens and ready to spend more). I planted a mix of annuals in the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Christian Nursing Home in Sabetha, KS – including impatiens, coleus, dusty miller, and begonias. The results were awesome and now I have some new combo ideas for next year.
I also discovered that red petunias do not provide enough pop of color to be seen from the road in late summer. After the summer of 2024, I decided to use more the Bidens ‘Campfire Marshmallow’ which did not disappoint, but the red petunias paired alongside it in Atchison, KS just did not pop. Another plant which performed but failed in the end was the Cleome, which blew over in the wind, even though it did continue to bloom.
For 2026, I am planning to put in several beds with patriotic themes of red, white, & blue for our Nation’s 250th anniversary. You may also see some of these colors in Nebraska City, where our Designer DeAnn Michel is planning the bump-outs of downtown.
One last thought on the annuals of 2025. If you plant Helenium ‘Dakota Gold’ anywhere, plan for it to grow on its own the following year.
Southeast Kansas
While this is not strictly about things in the landscaping world, it is a nice side note. For 2025, my wife and I planned several trips for the 3rd Friday of each month. There were a few months where we did not get out, but we were able to take our first real family vacation in October, spending 3 days in Southeast Kansas, visiting the communities of Independence, Galena, and Caney. We even travelled into Oklahoma, a first for the kids and my wife. While in Southeast Kansas, we enjoyed the Southeast Kansas Nature Center at Shermerhorn Park in Galena, Big Brutus by West Mineral, Elk City Lake by Independence, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder home by Independence.
Besides these places, we also were able to visit Milford Lake & Lake Shawnee in May, Lake Perry in February and August, and Lindsborg & Salina in September. It is one of our goals for 2026 to visit Little Jerusalem and Cimarron National Grassland. We will see Kansas!
Changes Coming to the Nursery in 2026
I did not change much around in the nursery in 2025, except to move the shade garden from next to the Sales Shed to under the shade cloth by the evergreens. I really liked how that move turned out, and it was easier for shopping than trying to walk on the river rock by the Sales Shed. In place of the shade garden, I built an oversized chair just in time for Open House in May. Our plan looks to have Open House again the first week of May in 2026.
I will be leaving the shade garden among the evergreens, but re-arranging the tables slightly, to allow for more access. The roses are going to be moved closer to the shrubs, where the a-frame boxes are now at, between the shrubs and the perennial tables. In place of the roses, the new section for the Plant of the Month will go, as well as the hardy hibiscus, baptisia, and tropicals. Also, the natives will once again have their own place, instead of being scattered through the nursery. And the grasses will mostly be on low tables or the ground.
In the Landscape
In front our greenhouses (to the east) is the area I call the little arboretum, where Doug Grimm planted some of our best-selling trees, such as ‘Oregon Trail sugar maple, ‘Matador’ hybrid maple, Seven Sons tree, and Japanese tree lilac. I have added to it over the years with other trees as other came out. In 2026, the area closest to Greenhouse 1 will be occupied by an annual trial bed, showcasing our newest annuals and those coming to the garden center in the future.
To the east of the little arboretum we currently have a large lawn. In the spring of 2026, we are going to add a 60 foot long by 10 foot wide showcase bed, planted with Proven Winners perennials and shrubs. That way you can see what we are growing and selling, so you will know if you want to put it into the your landscape.
Tree Plantings in 2025
Like I said above, we have a new tree planter on staff. Montgomery and I will be teaming up to give you the best planting experience we can manage. In 2025, Montgomery and I teamed up to plant more than 140 trees! I did have some other help for 24 of them at the Johnson Ballpark in Johnson Nebraska, and Montgomery planted a bunch for the landscape team, but it was a lot of trees, and I already have a planting of 55 trees planned for next June!
We planted trees for many individuals, but also for the cities of Highland KS, Johnson NE, and Coryell Park NE (not a city). Plus several larger plantings for businesses. Our most popular trees this year were maples ‘Matador’, ‘Oregon Trail, ‘Fall Fiesta’, & ‘Flashfire’; also ‘Majestic Skies’ Northern Pin Oak, ‘Prairie Fire’ crabapple, and Northern Red Oak.
New trees coming in 2026 include:
- ‘First Blush’ flowering cherry
- ‘Noreaster’ cottonwood
- ‘Cloudburst’ flowering dogwood
- ‘Winter King’ hawthorn
- ‘Moonglow’ magnolia
- ‘Yellow Bird’ magnolia
- ‘Autumn Fest’ sugar maple
We are also bringing in a LOT of ‘Oregon Trail’ sugar maples, but they will not be ready for sale until fall.
New fruit trees include:
- ‘KinderKrisp’ apple
- ‘Scarlet Sentinel’ columnar apple
- ‘Santa Rosa’ plum
A Few Other Things . . .
This fall, after attending the Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association’s fall event in Manhattan, KS, I was asked if I would join the KNLA board. Of course, I said yes! After passing my Certified Nurserymen test it seems like the natural thing to do next. I feel like there are more things I can aspire to yet!
As many of you know, I spend a lot of free time hiking and identifying life on iNaturalist. In 2025, I added more than 9500 observations of life, and 790 new to me species, mainly in insects and plants. I also found – new to me butterflies in Kansas:
- Eastern Gemmed Satyr
- Common Western Pygmy Blue butterfly
- White M Hairstreak butterfly
- Aragos skipper
- Cobweb skipper
Conclusion
2025 has been a good year all-around. But I expect 2026 to be even better. I am looking forward to the 250th anniversary of the United States and what our President has in store for it. Tree sales are already looming large and with an extra maintenance crew, we can do more than ever before. And I look forward to seeing all of yiu in garden center next summer.
Happy planting!
