Wordpress Author Finding Your Secret Garden One of my all-time favorite books (after the Bible), is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This story enlivens my spirit in the winter, awakening my soul to the gloriousness of the coming s... Feb 14, 2019
Wordpress Author Consider the Cottonwood With Kansas Day over and done, we think back to the symbols of our state. What is mightier than the cottonwood, the tree that towers over the Great Plains? The Eastern Cottonwood, Populus deltoides , ... Jan 31, 2019
Wordpress Author Nurse Trees What are nurse trees? Nurse trees are fallen branches or whole trees left on the forest floor Nurse trees are fallen trees and branches that support wildlife through their own degradation and breakdow... Jan 24, 2019
Wordpress Author Year in Review: Insect Pests 2018 was quite the year for insect pests. We saw a huge increase in Japanese beetle numbers, as well as a large population of grasshoppers. Lets discuss these and other insects seen this year. The lar... Dec 6, 2018
Wordpress Author Using Stone in the Landscape (and not as mulch!) Stone has become an increasing factor in American landscapes, being used primarily alongside weed fabric in place of mulch. As great as this looks, it is increasing knowledge that this is hard on plan... Nov 15, 2018
Wordpress Author Prepping for Feathered Friends As winter looms in the background, many of us gardeners who have cleaned our landscapes of wilted hostas, frozen daylilies, and dead annuals look forward to the influx of feathered friends that come t... Nov 8, 2018
Wordpress Author Benefits of Growing Black Walnuts Autumn is harvest time, and as harvest of field crops begins to dwindle, many turn their thoughts to Thanksgiving and Halloween. I often think about my grandparents at this time of year, remembering a... Oct 25, 2018
Wordpress Author Artful Additions Using statuary and art in your garden can make it pop in the off months and seem more worldly in the rest. Many gardeners add there own bit of whimsy as they go along, whether it be a colorful glass b... Oct 11, 2018
Wordpress Author Garden Bones Just the other day I remarked to a colleague about his garden and how we designed gardens with the “bones” in mind. Garden bones of course, are not the bones of any animal, but the strong plants that ... Sep 27, 2018
Wordpress Author Top 5 Plants for Pollinators - September September is here and right around the bend is autumn. September is a month after my own heart, with my birthday and my siblings’ birthdays. We always had a huge party for the three of us, usually on ... Sep 6, 2018
Wordpress Author Top Perennials for Bees & Butterflies - August August is here with the dog days of summer. The cicadas are singing their wings off in the trees each night, but the pollinators are in full force across the summertime perennials. I have seen the man... Aug 2, 2018
Wordpress Author Top Plants for Bees/Butterflies: June-July Part II Welcome back! The glorious Independence Day is over and summer is bearing down upon us. I am always so busy getting things done for the holidays, that I hardly have time to put posts together. The sec... Jul 5, 2018