Do You Have a Healthy Landscape?
What exactly is a healthy landscape? Well, that term might mean something different to each one of you. But to me, as an ecological horticulturalist, it means how healthy is the landscaping in regards to overall habitat health. There are a number of factors which relate to whether or not a landscape can be deemed […]
Hazelnut – March Plant of the Month
Hazelnut is our 2025 Plant of the Month for March. This native shrub is commonly found in wooded areas on on woodland edges, from the Great Plains eastward. It can be a large shrub, growing 4 to 15 feet tall and can be thicket forming. It is one of our earliest blooming shrubs, starting its […]
Keystone Plants for the Central Great Plains
Just what are keystone plants? Well, keystone plants are plants which a habitat or ecosystem is mostly dependent on to thrive. By removing these species, you may collapse an ecosystem or limit its ability to keep biodiversity in place. If add keystone plants back into the landscape, you can increase biodiversity within region. We gardeners […]
My Meadow Garden – 3 Years Later
3 years ago I started my Meadow Garden, planting around an existing bed of native plants. I started this bed in order to create a “naturalized” space within my landscape where the only regular maintenance needed is yearly burning and occasional woody plant removal. What has changed in 3 years? How is it going? Is […]
Proven Winners Annual Flowers
When it comes to annual flowers, Proven Winners is ahead of the game. Even though they are not the only name on the market, they have upped everyone else’s quality by competition. In other words, becuase they do so well, it makes everyone else better. In the past, I was not as fond of annual […]
Growing Luffas
Also known as loofahs, these edible gourds are where organic bath sponges come from. Several years ago, as our farm was growing, my wife asked me to look into growing luffas. So I did. And it turns out, I can grow them here in my garden in Northeast Kansas. But there is some work involved. […]
Shrubby Plant Picks – Proven Winners
Now that 2025 is here, we need to talk more about Proven Winners shrubby plant picks. Yes, I said shrubby. Proven Winners has been working on their shrub line for a while now, and we love them! It is nice to be able to find plants that work in a host of ways within the […]
Invasive Pests Update 2025
Invasive pests are among us, but hopefully not yet in our area. But they are coming. Be ready! We have been fairly blessed so far in the Central Great Plains Region to not have too many invasive pests. However, there is no barrier to stop them from coming sooner or later. So we need to […]
Proven Winners Perennial Plant Picks
Now that is a tongue twister. Proven winners has become and icon in American gardening, with the help of several influencers. And because the plants are as good as they say, we sell them. A lot of them. And because many of our customers want to know what plants to pick, I am going to […]
