Grimms Gardens Blogs | Grimms Gardens

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8 Mistakes New Gardeners Often Make

Andrew Mitchell

8 Mistakes New Gardeners Often Make

I started gardening when I was 5 years old, but I can still remember many of the mistakes I made. I am still making mistakes now! They are just different mistakes than the ones which new gardeners oft...

Gardening Organic Gardening garden irrigation gardening mistakes landscaping pruning watering

May 7, 2026

Ephemerals for the Garden

Andrew Mitchell

Ephemerals for the Garden

With the onset of spring also comes flowers galore. But some flowers (and their plants) seem to leave far to soon, after staying for only a little while. These are ephemerals of course. What is an eph...

Virginia bluebells ephemerals jack in the pulpit perennials wildflowers woodland flowers

Apr 9, 2026

Suckering Shrubs

Andrew Mitchell

Suckering Shrubs

Suckering shrubs are not what most homeowners are looking for in their tidy landscapes. But with trends in landscaping veering towards natives and providing more for wildlife, why not add in suc...

aronia butterfly hosts desert willow flowering shrubs fothergilla host plants shrubs smooth hydrangea sumac sweetspire wild plum

Apr 2, 2026

Fothergilla

Andrew Mitchell

Fothergilla

Fothergilla is our 2026 April Plant of the Month. Also known as bottlebrush or witch-alder, Fothergilla is a wet-loving shrub native to the Southeastern US. There are 2 species. Fothergilla major is n...

April flowering fall color flowering shrubs fothergilla legend of the fall legend of the small mt airy plant of the month proven winners

Mar 26, 2026

Spring Cleanup!

Andrew Mitchell

Spring Cleanup!

Now is the time for spring cleanup. Winter is staring to fade away and I know you all want to get out in the garden. By the end of February, I am just itching to get the crews out the door and into th...

Gardening Native Grasses Ornamental Grass cleanups flowering shrubs landscaping pollinators spring cleanup yard maintenance

Mar 5, 2026

Monarch Waystations

Andrew Mitchell

Monarch Waystations

Although it has been more than a decade since I first wrote about Monarch Waystations, they are just as important as before. Even as gardening trends more and more towards natives, pollinator protecti...

butterflies monarch butterflies monarch waystations monarchs native insects native plants pollination pollinator gardening pollinators

Feb 26, 2026

Orchard Planning

Andrew Mitchell

Orchard Planning

Here in the Central Great Plains region, we have a long tradition of orchard plantings. Even though Kansas is no longer known for its fruit, it once was a hub for apples and other fruits. In the late ...

apple cherries fruit fruit bushes fruit trees orchard planning pawpaw peaches persimmons plums serviceberry

Feb 12, 2026

Dogwoods

Andrew Mitchell

Dogwoods

Dogwoods have become a very important part of our landscapes, even as they have always been important to the natural landscapes around us. Did you know there are at least sixteen species of dogwood na...

Sgt Pepper dogwood arctic fire dogwood trees dogwoods flowering shrubs native plants pollinators trees

Feb 5, 2026

Chitalpa

Andrew Mitchell

Chitalpa

Last summer Doug asked me up to the arboretum to look over some new trees he had planted from J. Frank Schmidt. It was a Chitalpa. But what in the world is a Chitalpa? He was excited because his was b...

Garden Answer Pink Dawn chitalpa catalpa chitalpa desert willow el nino chitalpa flowering shrubs hybrids

Jan 30, 2026

Blackhawks Big Bluestem

Andrew Mitchell

Blackhawks Big Bluestem

Surprise! I was totally surprised to discover that the Perennial Plant Association named a grass (Blackhawks big bluestem) as the perennial plant of the year for 2026. Has this happened before? Well, ...

2026 Perennial Plant of the Year Big Bluestem Blackhawks Big Bluestem Grasses Native Grasses Ornamental Grass Perennial Plant of the Year

Jan 15, 2026

What Organic Mulch is Best for Your Garden?

Andrew Mitchell

What Organic Mulch is Best for Your Garden?

What kind of organic mulch should I use? Wintertime for the gardener is planning time. When snow comes and the frigid winter winds keep us from tinkering in the garden shed, we curl up on the couch wi...

Garden Planning Gardening Mulching Organic Gardening Vegetable gardening organic

Jan 1, 2026

Wordpress Author

New Plants in the Nursery - 2026 Edition

Each year, as I become more and more accustomed to ordering for the nursery and landscapers, I try to add new plants that I think might excite customers. Adding new plants not only gets people more ex...

Dec 25, 2025

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